ABC has confirmed that they will broadcast their first MMA card later this month with the main card of the UFC Fight Night event featuring Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar.
The news of the network’s coverage of the event was reported several weeks ago at MMA Junkie and confirmed by the network on Monday.
ABC, which has a steep history in carrying boxing decades back, will air the main card from Abu Dhabi beginning at 3 pm eastern on Saturday, January 16th. ESPN+ will simulcast the main card and carrying the prelims that begin at Noon.
It is the first UFC card to air on network television since the promotion’s deal with Fox expired at the end of 2018.
The card on January 16th is the first of three events from Fight Island within one week with another Fight Night card on Wednesday, January 20th headlined by Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny in the welterweight main events, and the UFC 257 pay-per-view on January 23rd featuring Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier.