VIDEO: UFC Primetime: St. Pierre Vs. Shields Episode 2
If you didn't catch episode two of last night's UFC: Primetime, now you can. Part 1 is above and part 2 is after the jump. This episode isn't marginally better or worse than the last one. While I felt the first episode did a good job of trying to build Jake Shields as a credible contender, now the need to prove his legitimacy is going overboard. On the plus side, there's really cool footage of Georges St. Pierre using high-end gymnastics training to prepare for his UFC 129 fight. The show still feels a little bland overall, lacking the personality of previous series. I get the sense the purpose of the event is more about trying to make the fight legitimate than it is to provide character depth.
In more interesting news, the show aired last night on ESPN 2. Why does that mean for the UFC and ESPN? Dana White explains:
UFC president Dana White today confirmed the series will continue to air on the all-sports channel as the UFC continues to look for increased viewership on a variety of networks.
“We have it on Spike TV, ION Televesion, Fuel TV, ESPN2 and Versus,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “We have a good relationship with everyone.”
White declined to describe the specifics of the relationship or to speculate on whether the appearance of the in-depth UFC 129 preview show on “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” could potentially lead to further programming on the ESPN family of networks.
“As we continue to grow, who knows what could happen,” White said. “ESPN covers sports, and it’s great to see them cover the UFC.”
For now, the UFC’s goal with adding new broadcast outlets such as ESPN2 is simple: “Eyeballs!” White said.
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