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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has already let the cat out of the bag in regard to its ambitious international mixed martial arts (MMA) plans for 2014, including stops in England, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, Scotland and Germany, among others.
In addition, the world's leading promotion also intends to coordinate six overseas "Fight Night" events scheduled next year that are "not designed for U.S. audiences," as well as international versions of "The Ultimate Fighter" (TUF) in Canada/Australia, China, Brazil and India, among others.
That effort, seemingly, is designed to chip away at the ultimate goal of "global domination," which begins with foreign awareness and market cultivation, even if it seemingly distracts from -- and often waters down -- UFCs core pay-per-view (PPV) business. Of course, that business will never go away; in fact, UFC once again plans to deliver 13 PPV events in 2014.
White, who was a guest on "FOX Sports Live" this evening, outlined the following programming schedule for next year:
- 13 PPV events
- Four UFC on Fox Events
- 14 FOX Sports 1 events, including two TUF Finales
- Four FOX Sports 2 events
The good news, at least from a saturation standpoint, is that UFC did not significantly increase the amount of its signature events from 2013.
Its domestic programming will once again kick-off with a FOX-televised event, UFC on Fox 10, which will take place (again) in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 25. It will follow up that effort with its annual Super Bowl-weekend show, UFC 169, in Newark, N.J., on Feb. 1 and then UFC 170 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 22.
No rest for the wicked.
To check out the remaining UFC schedule for 2013, which includes its 20th Anniversary show, UFC 167, and its year-end blockbuster event, UFC 168, click here.