By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Dana White is downright giddy about his Las Vegas-based UFC being on ABC network TV this afternoon. The former boxing trainer who had his own gym remembers the old Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard boxing matches on ABC of yesteryear.
White knows there was a day when the MMA fight promotion organization could not even get on cable TV let alone network television. There was a day also when UFC was not even legal in the state of New York.
But these days, UFC has become a mainstream force, relying on a broadcast rights deal with ESPN to promote the brand and go where no UFC fight show has gone before — as part of ABC network sports programming.
Coverage will begin at 2 p.m. today with the debut of UFC 257 Countdown: Poirier vs. McGregor 2, which will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at athlete training camps ahead of UFC’s upcoming January 23 event
Today’s UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar will air on ABC, live from UFC Fight Island on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The main card will simulcast on ABC as well as ESPN+ beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Coverage begins on ABC at 2 p.m. ET with the debut of UFC 257 Countdown: Poirier vs. McGregor 2, which will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at athlete training camps ahead of UFC’s upcoming January 23 event.
Max Holloway is 21-6 and fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii. He’s coming off a razor-thin loss to the division’s titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in July 2020. Calvin Kattar (22-4, fighting out of Methuen, Mass.), who is on a two-fight win streak, looks to keep his momentum going and insert himself into the conversation for title contention.
The co-main event will feature a bout between two UFC welterweight veterans, as Carlos Condit (31-13, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.), a former Interim UFC welterweight champion, squares off against Matt Brown (24-17, fighting out of Denver, Colo.).
The event will be the first live combat sporting event to air on ABC since June 17, 2000, a boxing event headlined by Jose Luis Castillo’s upset of Stevie Johnston in Bell Gardens, Calif. Live coverage of this Saturday’s UFC prelims begins at noon ET exclusively on ESPN+.