On Friday, UFC president Dana White ended weeks of speculation by dropping a bombshell: the UFC's first-ever event on FOX will feature a heavyweight title fight.
And while the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos fight appears on paper to be a can't-miss contest, White contends that's far from the truth.
He has faith in his fighters, to be sure, but he realizes there are always risks involved in a live event. And with the UFC set for its network-television debut, White said he's making the ultimate gamble and banking that the two heavyweights will deliver the goods.
"The way that I look at this fight, this is our Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar, now on a huge, massive platform, and we need to deliver," White said. "There's no doubt in my mind, and I will bet anything and everything – and am betting that – that these guys are going to deliver.
"I put on all the bells and whistles and do all the good stuff, and then those guys have to go in there and do their job when it's time. If you'll look over the past 10 years, I can count on one hand how many fights have sucked. You tell me the last time you saw Junior Dos Santos or Cain Velasquez in a boring fight. I'm literally betting everything that it's not going to happen."
In some ways, White has been here before. In 2005, with the company on the verge of extinction, the UFC rolled the dice with "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV. The promotion funded the show in hopes it would draw eyeballs to the fledgling sport. The gamble worked, and millions tuned in to watch Griffin narrowly edge Bonnar in a thrilling three-round affair that is still considered among the most exciting contests in company history.
Now White finds himself in a similar position. FOX has committed big bucks to the promotion for a seven-year partnership that also extends to FX and FUEL TV, and UFC execs want to make a big splash with their first event. While rumors of Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and others all circled in the days leading up to the announcement, White said the ultimate choice to headline the Nov. 12 event in Anaheim, Calif., was clear.
"If you're going to go out on your first fight on the biggest network in the country, you go with your best foot forward," White said. "We're going with a heavyweight fight that's going to be a barnburner. These guys are going to go at it and be exciting.
"It's more than just a heavyweight title. It's two heavyweights that I know are going to perform and put on a great fight."
Of course, White isn't fighting the ratings battle alone, and FOX officials have committed to promoting the UFC event during its upcoming football and baseball broadcasts, as well as "across all of our sports and all of our entertainment properties."
A "Super Bowl-caliber" slate pre-fight of activities is also planned as the UFC and FOX both work to make the event as high-profile as possible.
"This is going to be an event of all events," White said. "Just to be in Anaheim for this event, even if you can't get a ticket to this event, just to be in Anaheim and watch it in a bar that night, you're going to be able to feel the atmosphere and the buzz that's going on down in Southern Cal."
Hardcore fans have already voiced some displeasure for FOX's broadcast plans. The one-hour special will feature just the one fight unless time allows for replays of previous bouts to be slotted in. However, White said the plan was necessary to allow for a little education for the inevitable crop of first-time viewers who tune in for the event.
"The way we're looking at this thing, there are going to be millions of people tuning into the UFC that have never seen it before," White said. "Some people are going to need to be educated on what the sport is, where it comes from. So we're going to need some time to kind of set up the whole, 'The UFC is on FOX' and what's going on. That's basically why it was done that way."
If successful, the broadcast could potentially launch the UFC into another period of rapid growth that matches or even surpasses the boom that followed the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter." It's the payoff White hopes to score with his big gamble: real mainstream popularity.
"We're not mainstream," White said. "Mainstream is when you walk down the street of any major city anywhere and ask them if they know what basketball is. That is mainstream. What we're getting here is we're getting the opportunity from FOX to become mainstream.
"Like I said when we announced this deal, we're not sitting around patting ourselves on the back saying, 'We made it.' Now's the time to work. Now's the time to deliver."
Velasquez and Dos Santos now each have an opportunity to etch themselves into the annals of UFC history. Griffin and Bonnar's epic clash made them instant fan-favorites, and White remains so enamored with the bout he's promised each of the fighters jobs for life.
Now it's time for the heavyweights to hoist the promotion on their shoulders, and White believes he's picked the right two men for the job. The bells, the whistles, they'll all be ready on Nov. 12. White believes his fighters will, too.
"Everything that we've done in the last 10 years, we actually need to step it up a level and deliver even bigger and better now what we're on the No. 1 network in the country," White said. "Believe me when I tell you, you guys are going to see a lot of changes in the way the shows are run. The production, everything is going to the next level. We've been given this opportunity, and you bet your ass we're going to take it."
