After weeks of speculation, the UFC finally has the big debut on Fox they always wanted. Promotion president Dana White announced the headlining bout this afternoon in a media conference call, declaring that Cain Velasquez (9-0) and Junior dos Santos (13-1) will battle for the heavyweight championship as the sole featured fight of the UFC's one-hour primetime unveiling.
"What better way to kick this off than with a heavyweight championship," White said. "Both guys were so excited to be fighting on the first Fox card.
"Junior dos Santos' manager has texted me 50,000 times telling me how excited they are."
Tickets for UFC on Fox are set to go on sale Friday, September 9th. For fans in attendance at Anaheim's Dodge Center a full card of fights will still be available.
And, in true UFC style, the promotion plans to open with a emphatic bang. According to Fox executives, the touted partnership will be introduced with a "Super Bowl-style tailgate-party, red-carpet production."
"This is going to be an event of all events," White explained.
"We want the input of Fox. We want their production help. They are the best at what they do," White said. "We're not mainstream. Mainstream is when you walk down the street and ask somebody if they know what basketball is. We're getting the opportunity from Fox to become mainstream. Now is the time to work. We need to step it up. You guys are going to see a lot of changes in the way the shows are run. Everything."
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