The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues to lay the groundwork for an eventual push into the massive Latin American market thanks to an "historic television distribution deal" with FOXSports en Español -- the leading Spanish-language sports cable network in the U.S. -- that gives exclusive telecast rights to "Guerreros del UFC," according to UFC.com.
It's the first-ever UFC show fully produced in Spanish.
Here's a snip from UFC President Dana White:
"We are pleased to expand our partnership with Fox Sports en Español to bring the Ultimate Fighting Championship to its millions of Spanish-language viewers around the country. We are looking forward to launching ‘Guerreros del UFC' and to introducing the world's most exciting brand of professional mixed martial arts – the UFC – to an even greater number of Hispanic fans."
"Guerreros del UFC" episodes appear to be similar in format to "UFC Unleashed" or "UFC Wired," which highlight some of the best and most memorable fights from various events. These are scheduled to air on FOXSports en Español from December 18 through December 22 at 11 p.m. ET.
The first five installments will feature:
- Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre
- Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben
- Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan
- Frankie Edgar vs. Tyson Griffin
- Roger Huerta vs. Leonard GarcÃÂa
It's clearly no coincidence that several of the match ups include high profile Latin stars such as Huerta, Sanchez and Silva. Mexican-American former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was not mentioned in the announcement.
The eventual play is for the UFC to stage an event in Mexico sometime in the future. Similar international initiatives are also taking place in Canada and throughout Europe to increase UFC brand exposure beyond United States borders.
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