UFC renews broadcast agreement with BT Sport until 2018

UFC events will continue to be broadcast on BT Sport as the world’s largest mixed martial arts organisation renewed its exclusive television deal with the channel in Ireland and the UK.

It was announced on Wednesday that over 150 hours of UFC events a year would be shown on BT Sport with the renewal now taking us up until 2018.

The television deal was set to run up at the end of this month so the announcement comes rather late in the day but it’s presumed that there will be little change for fight fans who are already signed up with a BT Sport subscription.

We're excited to announce @btsport has retained the exclusive rights to @ufc in the UK and Republic of Ireland. 👊 https://t.co/ltq5ElmNVB

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) July 27, 2016

It was believed that the two main parties involved in any bidding process would be BT Sport and its largest rival in this part of the world, Sky Sports, and many fans will be relieved that the former won out as a deal with Sky Sports could well have resulted in UFC’s numbered events (pay-per-views in the United States) being shown exclusively on Sky Box Office.

But that’s not the case as BT Sport will continue on with the deal signed in 2013 which has played a significant role in the explosion of MMA the UK and Ireland.

Every @ufc event across the globe ✅
Over 150 hours of @ufc events a year ✅@NateDiaz209 vs. @TheNotoriousMMA 2 ✅ pic.twitter.com/A6kfqWIyiA

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) July 27, 2016

“There is no doubt that our initial partnership with BT Sport placed UFC and the sport of MMA in front of an engaged sports audience, and helped to grow the sport in the UK & Ireland,” said James Elliott, General Manager and Vice President UFC EMEA.

“This renewal is a signal from both organisations that there is clearly more to come and that BT Sport provides the perfect platform on which to continue to grow the sport of MMA and UFC. The potential for growth for both organisations is huge and we are delighted to be continuing our partnership and to building something special.”

The next event to be shown on BT Sport will be UFC 201 this weekend, which is headlined by Robbie Lawler’s welterweight title defence against Tyron Woodley.