ABC Gets First Taste Of UFC Action Later This Month From Fight Island

ABC will air its first UFC broadcast later this month when it carries the card headlined by Max Holloway-Calvin Kattar from Fight Island. ESPN+ will carry the prelims for the Jan. 16 event beginning at noon ET, while ABC and ESPN+ will carry the main card starting at 3:00pm. ESPN opted to move the Jan. 16 main card to ABC for a couple of reasons. Since UFC is staging its event at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, the best fights will start at 3:00pm -- right in the middle of broadcast network’s traditional weekend window for sports. ABC’s UFC card also comes one week before its heavily promoted PPV headlined by Dustin Poirier-Conor McGregor. A weekend broadcast window on ABC gives Disney a good opportunity to market the PPV, which is available through ESPN+. ESPN has no specific plans for future fights on ABC, but this is not meant to be seen as a one-off. ABC will remain a viable option for MMA, especially as live programming has become so important to broadcaster schedules.