SKY SPORTS SIGN DEAL WITH THE UFC(

Post date: 13-Sep-2010 12:57:21

SKY SPORTS SIGN DEAL WITH THE UFC^(R) FOR THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: TEAM GSP v TEAM KOSCHECK IN HIGH DEFINITION

SKY SPORTS will show the new Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP v Team Koscheck Series in high definition.

The world’s longest running sports reality show premiers its twelfth season from Tuesday 21st September at 10pm on Sky Sports HD2 and Sky Sports 2 and runs for the following thirteen weeks.

This season features 28 of the world’s best lightweight (11stone 1lbs) prospects competing in an elimination tournament to crown the next Ultimate Fighter^(TM) and win a six-figure contract with the UFC^(R), the world’s leading combat sports organisation.

The competitors will be split into two teams - one coached by UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, the other by No1 contender Josh Koscheck - and endure a gruelling regime of jiu-jitsu, judo, Muay Thai, karate, boxing and wrestling in a state of the art Las Vegas training facility.

The intense competition between the teams will continue after they leave the gym – at the Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors will live together, with their every move and comment captured on camera, knowing that any day they might be forced to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagon^™ in order to advance towards the season finale.

The two finalists will square off in a finale held in front of a sold out Las Vegas crowd, where the winner will be declared “The Ultimate Fighter”. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host of the series and boxing legend Mike Tyson will feature in the premier episode.

This season of ‘TUF’ features British hopeful Aaron Wilkinson, a 23-year-old fighting out of the same Wolf’s Lair gym which boast UFC stars such as Michael Bisping and ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Bisping shot to stardom by winning the Ultimate Fighter in 2006, and has since fought in front of packed arenas across the US, the UK, Canada and Australia and parlayed his Ultimate Fighter fame into TV and movie roles.

Sky Sports.com, the UK’s leading commercial website, will also promote the series via a new UFC page which will include regular stories, interviews, features and footage on the show and the wider UFC scene.

Announcing the deal, Sky Sports’ Managing Director Barney Francis said: “We’re delighted to renew our association with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as we were the first UK broadcaster to feature the UFC back in 2002. The Ultimate Fighter series offers a unique taster of a sport that has experienced a phenomenal rise in popularity in recent years and we’re sure it’ll prove popular with our viewers.”

UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said: “We’re very excited to announce Sky Sports as the new home of ‘the Ultimate Fighter’ in the UK and Ireland. This season is going to be fascinating, with two of the biggest names in the UFC –St-Pierre and Koscheck – competing against each other as coaches. The Ultimate Fighter series combines the best aspects of reality TV and sport, and will give Sky Sports viewers a great insight into why the UFC’s brand of mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world.”