UFC strengthens Russian presence with VGTRK deal

Russian state broadcaster VGTRK has acquired rights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s entire programme of mixed martial arts events throughout 2015.

All events from the UFC 2015 series will be available across various platforms operated by VGTRK.

These platforms comprise free-to-air channel Russia 2, pay-television channel Sport 1, specialist boxing and combat sports channel Fight Club and online sports video service Sportbox.ru.

Coverage will commence with the UFC Fight Night event on January 24. Russian fighters Konstantin Erokhin and Albert Tumenov will take part in the event.

The UFC series currently features a total of 20 Russian fighters.