UFC on ESPN+ 1 Preview
A new era begins in the UFC and it is a big one for MMA in general as the biggest promotion in the sport heads to ESPN.
The first fight of the year will officially kick-off the new deal between the UFC and ESPN with this fight heading to ESPN’s new streaming service ESPN+.
It will be a mainstay on that streaming service as ESPN begins to build their service and get into the digital market.
More than anything though this deal signifies a big moment for the sport in general as it is a sign that MMA is being taken seriously.
ESPN is not what it used to be as the subscription service that they used to provide is beginning to go away.
Cable subscriptions are not as big as they once were, which is a big reason why they are looking to build their online service.
Despite the decline in their traditional services, they are still considered the leader in sports programming.
They have just about every major sport in the world and remain the main broadcaster for some of the biggest events in sports.
If it is on ESPN it is a major sport as their broadcasting and talk shows still lead the thinking in the sports world.
For the UFC to sign a deal with ESPN for the broadcasting rights means that the UFC must be a promotion making noise.
They have always been the biggest promotion in MMA and are always leading the way for the sport to take that next step.
They are the promotion that brought cage fighting from basements to pay-per-view and eventually to a major network in FOX.
Now they are taking another step from the fringes of major sports towards legitimacy and being one of the major sports.
This relationship will be the best chance to grab that legitimacy and the UFC is looking to make an impact right away.
They will be featuring a big title fight that is truly a super fight between two champions although in a division that might not be around much longer.
Last year one of the greatest fighters ever was finally beaten as Demetrious Johnson lost his Flyweight title to Henry Cejudo.
It was a surprising win but one that signalled the beginning of the end for the division as Johnson was really the only draw in the entire division.
Without a title, he was traded away in an unprecedented deal and without their top guy, the UFC announced that the Flyweight division would be no more in the coming year.
With that announcement, the first fight on ESPN+ will be a bit of a party to celebrate the best of a division that is no longer viable.
Cejudo will get his chance to defend his belt before he likely moves up to the bantamweight division.
He will do so against a fighter that many wanted to see in the flyweight division most of last year, TJ Dillashaw.
The current bantamweight champ was supposed to fight Johnson to determine the best lighter weight fighter in the world and possibly pound for pound fighter.
He missed his shot at that fight but will look to follow the trend of taking two belts at the same time.
After defending his bantamweight belt he will drop down and look to take the flyweight title before there is no flyweight title.
Although this is a smaller weight class the fact is that both of these fighters are among the best on the UFC roster.
Cejudo is an Olympic gold medalist who beat the man that many considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Dillashaw has evolved into one of the best fighters in the world and many thought that he could take the crown from Johnson.
A bigger and stronger Dillashaw will move down and bring his great MMA wrestling along with power to a lighter weight.
It is a display of great talent to kick-off of the new deal as the UFC puts on a show to display just what they have for one of the biggest networks in sports.
The Sport Addiction 