On Wednesday, with a backdrop of the sun setting on Sydney’s Circular Quay, Foxtel Group and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a new multi-year agreement. The deal will see Main Event become the exclusive home of Pay-Per-View in Australia for all UFC events from January 1, 2024.
Under the new agreement, starting next year, fans looking to purchase a PPV via UFC Fight Pass will be redirected to Foxtel and Kayo Sports’ Main Event platform for exclusive access to fights. UFC Fight Pass will continue to showcase archived bouts, highlights, and breaking fight news from around the world.
Opening the evening’s event, Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delaney told the crowd: “If I said to all of you 700 million, it’s a big number, right? 700 million. That’s the number of fans for the UFC worldwide. This is a global sport, and in our little country, there are 4 million fans of the UFC. These are big numbers, they are eyewatering. It’s just amazing – we’re in a golden era of the UFC.”
Next up to the stage, executive director – commercial, sport, Rebecca McCloy said: “Foxtel Group and the UFC have had an amazing relationship since 2008 – and some of us have been here from the beginning! The most exciting part about this is that the UFC’s growth is accelerating, and Foxtel Group at the same time, we’re hitting records every day – subscribers, performance. So when we did this deal, we knew that we needed to take advantage of this growth, we needed to combine it, we needed to give the fans an exclusive home. We’ve done that, and we know that this sport is about to explode.”
A surprise video appearance from UFC president Dana White then got the crowd cheering, as he said: “I am excited that we are extending our broadcast partnership with Foxtel Group. Foxtel and Kayo Sports are the best sports broadcasters in the country and they have backed UFC in Australia since the beginning. Together, we will continue to grow UFC in Australia and they will be the destination for the biggest and baddest fights we put on year-round.”
Three fighters – Alex Volkanovski, Tai Tuivasa, and Jack Jenkins – then came to the stage, answering questions from the 500 fight fans who had made it to Sydney Harbour to celebrate the news.
UFC action is bound for Sydney this September as part of UFC 293 with a sell-out crowd expected at Qudos Bank Arena. Fans will be able to purchase the PPV via Main Event, available on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
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Top Image: Alex Volkanovski, Patrick Delany, Rebecca McCloy, Bam Bam Tuivasa