UFC Fight Night: Stevenson Vs Guillard - Overview

Overview

Occasionally, the UFC holds a live "UFC Prelim" show, prior to their pay-per-view events, which airs at least two of the event's preliminary fights live on FX or Fuel TV. As of UFC 100, typically most UFC events have held 11 fights in total at each event, though sometimes there can be more than 11 or fewer, due to last-minute injuries. Prior to UFC 83, it was common to see 9 fights per event take place.

UFC events are separated into seven different formats:

• "Numbered" events, such as UFC 94 that are mostly sold on pay-per-view.
• "The Ultimate Fighter Finale" events, such as The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, which are aired as part of its reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter
• "Ultimate Fight Night Live" events, such as UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger, which are often used as the lead-in broadcast for season premieres of The Ultimate Fighter.
• "UFC Live on Versus" events, such as UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson, which aired for free on Versus.
• "UFC on Fox" events, such as UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez.
• "UFC on FX" events, such as UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping.
• "UFC on Fuel TV" events, such as UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann.

Many of the "numbered" events have taken place on pay-per-view, though there have been a few exceptions for reasons such as tape-delay. Events such as UFC 72, which took place in Belfast, United Kingdom, were sold on pay-per-view, but due to tape-delay, purchase rates were not as high as events that aired at a traditional starting time. UFC 72 had a buyrate of 200,000 viewers; a figure so low that it would not be matched as of October 2010. As such, many events taking part in significantly different timezones, such as UFC 120 in the United Kingdom, were given a same-night airing in American primetime on Spike TV.

In July 2009, the UFC held its unofficial 100th "numbered event"; however, officially, despite being called UFC 100, it was actually the 101st due to UFC 37.5. The UFC signed a deal with Fox Sports Net, after Fox agreed to broadcast one fight in June 2002, during its "All-Star Summer" that month. UFC 37 and 38 had already been scheduled and promoted, but as UFC 38 was the promotion's debut in the United Kingdom, they created UFC 37.5; an event that became the first ever mixed martial arts fight available on cable television.

As of UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold, which took place on May 18, 2013, there have been 236 UFC events held in 85 cities, within twelve countries and 32 U.S. states or territories. .