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With host Jon Anik, ‘UFC: Ultimate Insider’ to lead FOX Sports 1 debut

BAD MMA News — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 18:00:00 +0000

When FOX Sports 1 blinks to life on Aug. 17, UFC programming will be front and center. That evening, the promotion will hold UFC Fight Night 26 on the new cable network from TD Garden in Boston. But earlier that day, a cornerstone of UFC shoulder programming will beam to an estimated 90 million homes across the country. UFC commentator Jon Anik told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that “UFC: Ultimate Insider” is likely to lead a block of UFC programming that culminates with the live fight card. “I believe it will begin with ‘Ultimate Insider’ at 3 p.m. (ET), so it’s going to be a huge day of UFC programming and ‘UFC: Ultimate Insider,’ hopefully, will be the show that kicks it all off,” Anik said. The show, which profiles UFC athletes and goes behind the scenes at live events, debuted in 2010 as a web-only series before being moved to FUEL TV with the UFC’s broadcast deal with FOX. In the past three years, host Anik has interviewed some of the biggest names in the sport and given fans an inside look into the lives of UFC fighters. “I enjoy the opportunity to interview fighters, and to introduce the features, but it’s all about the fighters and the producers, who just get us such great content on location,” he said. Anik, who previously worked as a commentator at ESPN before joining the UFC’s ranks in 2011, said the switch to FOX Sports 1 could prompt a move from the show’s usual Tuesday evening time slot to Sunday, though he said nothing had been decided. “I think that’s still to be decided,” he said. “We’re hoping to get picked up for a third season.” If it is, Anik said, he’ll still be an integral part of the show beyond his work in front of the camera. “I think for any TV personality, you really want to write your own stuff as much as possible,” he said

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With host Jon Anik, ‘UFC: Ultimate Insider’ to lead FOX Sports 1 debut – MMA Junkie

With Bisping fight a no-go, UFC’s Cung Le focused on ‘TUF: China’

BAD MMA News — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:45:00 +0000

Cung Le really wanted a fight with Michael Bisping , but with the potential bout now a no-go, the UFC middleweight is hoping to focus his efforts on China. More specifically, he’s hoping a potential coaching gig on “The Ultimate Fighter: China,” which MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported as likely, comes to fruition. Le, a longtime Sanshou kickboxer, believes a footprint in the country could be massive for the UFC. “I’m here to help out any way I can with UFC in China,” Le recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I think it’s a huge market, and once they break into there, it’s truly going to be global.” “TUF: China” debuts in November, and a live finale is targeted for March in Macau. Producers are searching for UFC hopefuls from the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions who speak Mandarin and are of Chinese descent. No head coaches have been formally announced the show, though Le (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) appears to be a frontrunner.

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With Bisping fight a no-go, UFC’s Cung Le focused on ‘TUF: China’ – MMA Junkie

Randy Couture on Fight Master: Bellator MMA: “Everything Went Fantastic”

BAD MMA News — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:52 +0000

UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture is one of four coaches on the upcoming season of Fight Master: Bellator MMA . The Spike TV original series debuts on June 19, and Couture says everything in filming went “fantastic.” “It’s going to start airing the nineteenth of June on Spike TV. Everything went fantastic,” Couture told MMAWeekly.com. Thirty-two welterweight hopefuls will compete for a $100,000 prize and an automatic entry into a future Bellator tournament. “I was very excited about the level of competition and the level of talent that we had involved in the show. I was also very pleased with the direction of the show,” said Couture. “Bertram (van Munster) and Elise (Doganieri) are well-known Emmy-award-winning producers with The Amazing Race , and this is kind of their baby. I’m excited to see some of the edit and how it comes out,” he said. Couture coached opposite Chuck Liddell in the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV in 2006. In comparison to The Ultimate Fighter , Couture believes Fight Master got it right by focusing on the contestants

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Randy Couture on Fight Master: Bellator MMA: “Everything Went Fantastic” – MMA Weekly