Fans Able to Watch UFC 100 Live and Free

U.K Fans Given Free Stream & Sky Channel Following Demise of Setanta

Jul 11, 2009

Sky step in to rescue U.K fans however not everyone is pleased with how things have turned out. Many also fear the online alternative may not be able to take the strain.

Since the collapse of Setanta Sports GB in June many UFC fans had feared they may not be able to watch UFC 100 live.

Those fears were allayed at the start of July when the UFC's UK president, Marshall Zelaznik confirmed it would be aired live although didn't confirm through what medium.

UFC 100 On Sky Channel 433

Just 3 days before the scheduled event news broke that UFC 100 would indeed be screened live on Sky Channel 433, formerly The Racing Channel, which will now become the UFC Channel for just 9 hours.

As well as showing the action packed show, which is being touted as the biggest MMA event of all time, this special UFC Channel will also be showing the complete series of 'UFC's Top 100 Fights' from 9pm, with coverage switching live to Las Vegas at 3am.

Thrifty fans will also be glad to hear that this all comes at no extra cost what so ever, 9 hours of UFC action completely free.

UFC Fans Not Happy With Channel Switch

While the option to watch 9 hours of UFC content completely free sounds amazing, it has also caused a large number of fans to become dejected with the organisation.

The reason for this? The previous carrier, Setanta Sports, was much more appealing to freeview and Virgin Media viewers, with many switching from the Sky product and now being left high and dry.

"I specifically switched to Virgin for UFC. Now Setanta has gone bust we are the ones that lose out. Great."

while many others worry that this one-off airing on Sky may be a sign of things to come with the rights to future events still very much up in the air.

UFC 100 Streamed Online for Free

Virgin Media and Freeview customers do have an alternative option, as long as they have an adequate broadband connection.

UFC 100 will be streamed in it's entirety, for free, on the UFC Website but only for residents of the UK.

While this sounds like a good solution, many fear that the strain on the site will lead to complications that will prevent thousands from seeing the event as promised.

Many websites ground to a halt as people tried to find more information about the death of Michael Jackson in June and although the numbers involved here will only be a fraction of that, the UFC website may struggle to deliver a high quality video stream that fans will be expecting.

Justin McFarquad, a long time UFC fan from Manchester said when asked his if he would be using the stream:

"I'm still undecided. Although it's free, I'm wary of waiting up until 3am to see if the stream is actually watch-able, or if the site is even accessible."

UFC 100 Card

Whether UFC.Com is able to meet the needs of the fans is yet to be seen, but few fans will argue that the card looks like one of the most exciting to date:

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