UFC 103 prelims to air free os Spike TV

**rajuB4U** · #1 08-22-2009

UFC 103 prelims to air free os Spike TV.

August 21, 10:47

UFC 103 is going up head to head with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 19th.
This will mark the return of Mayweather from a two year hiatus. His last two fights against Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya have been box office blockbusters.
UFC 103 features a main event of Rich Franklin taking on the returning Vito Belfort. The Phenom will be fighting inside the octagon for the first time since losing a split decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51 in February of 2005.
While Mayweather is a proven draw, his opponent Juan Manuel Marquez is not as well known to the casual boxing fan. Don't get me wrong Marquez can bring it and the fight should be interesting but will Mayweather be able to generate enough interest in his fight to draw fans away from the UFC?
There are fans of both sports who have no interest in watching the other, but for the most part, any true fan of combat sports is going to have serious interest in both cards. This is where the UFC is at its best. When a rival promotion is planning a big event, the UFC swoops in at the last minute with some slick counter-programming. They did it to Affliction, they did it to Strikeforce and now they are going to do it to boxing.
According to a report from The Orange County Register, the UFC along with Spike TV will announce that preliminary fights of UFC 103 will air on Spike TV for two hours, most likely 7-9pm EST. This two hour block will be run completely commercial free.
The UFC is hoping to get people tuned in early. They figure once people are watching the free telecast it will generate enough interest on their part to go ahead and order the pay-per-view. This is a fantastic idea and will go a long way in showing the old school boxing fans, just how far mixed martial arts have come.