On Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, UFC 104 will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and will broadcast live on pay-per-view. Now for the second time in a row, the UFC will be making a minimum of two preliminary bouts available free to viewers on Spike TV prior to the pay-per-view.
The fights which will air on Spike TV include a light heavyweight match-up between Ryan “Darth” Bader vs. Eric “Red” Schafer and a heavyweight bout between Antoni Hardonk and Pat Barry. The broadcast for these two preliminary bouts will begin airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will run for one hour commercial-free.
For the very first time on Saturday, Sept. 19, Spike TV aired preliminary fights from UFC 103. The broadcast drew a robust 1.4 million viewers, and placed second on cable with men ages 18-34 in the time slot. Due to the program’s success, UFC fans will get the same treatment on Oct. 24.
A look at the Spike TV match-ups:
The Ultimate Fighter season eight winner Ryan Bader (9-0) is undefeated as a professional and 2-0 in the UFC. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision victory over Carmelo Marrero at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April.
Bader will be taking on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Eric “Red” Schafer (11-3-2) who is on a four-fight win streak. His most recent victory came via TKO against Antonio Mendes at UFC 93.
Also featured will be Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk (8-5), who has won three of his last four fights inside the Octagon. His last bout was a TKO loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 97 in April.
Hardonk’s opponent will be dangerous striker Pat Barry (4-1). Barry, who is 1-1 inside the Octagon, lost his last fight via rear-naked choke to Tim Hague at UFC 98 in May.
Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, determined by length of fights.
Bader will be a guest on the new episode of the The Info. Check it our Tuesday!