Seven years, 700 million dollars.  The reported deal between the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Fox appears to have made what was once only a dream into a reality- cage fighting will finally be televised long term on a major network.  This marks what could be a pivotal moment for both Mixed Martial Arts and the sporting world in general as the already wildly successful promotion elevates to the biggest national stage.  “But what exactly is MMA?” you may ask.  “Is cage fighting even a sport?”

In a word, yes.  Unlike the WWE, fights put on by the UFC and other MMA promotions such as Bellator are 100% real.  Competitors in MMA use a blend of martial arts techniques from around the world such as boxing, muay thai, judo, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to try and get the better of their opponent over the course of three to five 5-minute rounds.  Fights can end suddenly and at any time when one of the combatants is knocked out, submitted, or otherwise unable to continue.  In lieu of an early finish, the fight goes to the judges’ scorecards where the winner is decided based on the fighters’ use of effective striking, grappling, aggression, and ring control.

Now that you understand the basics of the sport, let’s dive into the implications of the deal.  Aside from the $700 million the UFC is receiving in the deal, the deal indicates that there will be up to four UFC events per year on Fox and that all UFC content previously shown on Spike and Versus (current cable channels featuring UFC content) will be moved to FX starting in 2012.  As kind of a preview to the impending partnership between Fox and the UFC, Fox will host a 1-hour UFC event on November 12th featuring Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez defending his belt against Junior Dos Santos in 5-round main event that promises to be an action packed showcase of all that the UFC has to offer.  This is a can’t-miss fight and whether you’re familiar with the sport or not, I strongly recommend checking this one out.