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Monday, March 7, 2011

UFC® AND SPORTSNET AGREE TO FOUR-YEAR DEAL

Broadcast Agreement Makes Sportsnet Home of the UFC® in Canada

TORONTO, March 7 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship® and Rogers Sportsnet today announced a four-year agreement for broadcast rights to UFC® television events in Canada.

Sportsnet, the live-event high-definition leader in Canada, will have a consistent schedule of UFC programming including preliminary fights of UFC Pay-Per-View events and UFC Fight Night™ events while also having the home sports position for the 10 p.m. (ET) timeslot for The Ultimate Fighter® series. In addition, Sportsnet will broadcast live non Pay-Per-View international UFC events and provide UFC content on a non-exclusive basis across other platforms.

"This deal cements our commitment to bring fans the best UFC coverage in Canada," said Scott Moore, President, Rogers Broadcasting. "Sportsnet is excited about this partnership with the UFC as the sport continues to rapidly grow in this country and beyond."

"We're excited to announce a new deal with Rogers Sportsnet that will put the UFC in millions of homes in Canada," UFC President Dana White said. "Canada is an amazing market for this sport and we look forward to bringing the fans more UFC programming. We're happy to have a strong television partner in Canada like Rogers Sportsnet."

"This is great news for the UFC and our fans," said Tom Wright, UFC Director of Canadian Operations. "Canadians are hungry for UFC shows and segments and now have so much to look forward to as we continue to grow the sport together with Sportsnet."

"Showdown" Joe Ferraro is the featured UFC analyst for Sportsnet Connected and sportsnet.ca, reporting on all UFC events. He is also the host of MMA Connected, which presents highlights and news from around the mixed martial arts world every Monday night. Sportsnet has been broadcasting UFC programming for the past four years.

About Rogers Sportsnet

As Canada's live-event and high definition leader, Sportsnet is comprised of five channels: four regional channels and the nationally distributed Sportsnet ONE., which are all available in high definition. The network broadcasts more NHL games than any other Canadian network with 253 regional regular-season telecasts, featuring the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators.

Sportsnet broadcasts over 500 Major League Baseball games, featuring all of the Toronto Blue Jays' 162 games and the World Series, MLB Playoffs, MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. Sportsnet is a member of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, and an official broadcaster of the London 2012 Games of the Olympiad. Sportsnet also features NFL on Sunday and Thursday nights, UEFA Champions League and Barclays Premier League. Sportsnet also broadcasts the Canadian Hockey League and the MasterCard Memorial Cup. Sportsnet Connected is the network's nightly news program, providing regional coverage of the day's events in the world of sports. Fans that want to get connected to their home teams choose Rogers Sportsnet and sportsnet.ca for news, highlights and live-events.

Ultimate Fighting Championship® - www.ufc.com

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually and 30 live arena events around the world. UFC content is distributed commercially through Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries and territories, reaching 354 million homes worldwide, in 19 different languages. Ancillary businesses now include UFC.com with over 5 million unique visitors per month, the best-selling UFC "Undisputed" videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a U.S. bimonthly magazine.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

Source: Rogers Media, Inc.