Talk about confusing the casual fan… When the UFC returns to FOX on Saturday night, January 28, with a light heavyweight match-up between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis in the main event, Spike TV will air a “UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis” marathon at the exact same time.

From 4 p.m. until 12 midnight on January 28, Spike TV will air  the following pre-recorded bouts:

  • 4:00pm ET/re-airs at 9pm PT – UFC Unleashed – Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
  • 5:00pm ET/re-airs 10:00pm PT – UFC 137 – Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
  • 7:00pm ET/ 4:00pm PT – UFC Unleashed – Chael Sonnen vs. Renato Sobral (UFC 55)
  • 8:00pm ET/ 5:00pm PT – UFC Unleashed – Mark Munoz vs. Kendall Grove (UFC 112)
  • 9:00pm ET/ 6:00pm PT– UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes (“The Ultimate Fighter 2” finale)
  • 10:00pm ET/ 7:00pm PT – UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson (UFC 114)
  • 11:00pm ET/ 8:00pm PT – UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida (UFC 98)

For all intents and purposes, the UFC’s official relationship with Spike TV has come to an end. Unless something dramatic happens, there will never be another live UFC fight shown on Spike.

Due to the UFC’s new seven-year deal with FOX Broadcasting Company, The Ultimate Fighter reality show, along with the UFC Fight Night events, both of which were previously shown on Spike TV, will now air LIVE on FX.

However, Spike TV is allowed and will air UFC pre-recorded fights until the end of 2013. Viacom, who is the parent company of Spike, recently purchased a majority stake in Bellator Fighting Championships, a pro mixed martial arts promotion and competitor of the UFC.

Spike has already begun airing live Bellator fights on their website, Spike.com, and in 2013, the plan is to make Spike TV the new home for Bellator Fighting Championships.

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