Various: UFC Signs Deal w/ ESPN, Almas’s Debut, SD Dark Matches

UFC Signs Deal with ESPN

UFC and ESPN have signed a deal to bring 15 UFC Fight Night events to ESPN’s pay streaming service, ESPN+ starting in January 2019.

It is a five year deal worth $150 million a year. ESPN+ costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

It was rumored last month that ESPN and FOX could “team up” and each sign a deal with UFC, rather than FOX signing a deal on its own and paying the $400 million a year that UFC was seeking.

No deal with FOX has been announced yet, but the ESPN deal could allow FOX to sign a UFC deal and have money left over to also sign a deal with WWE, rather than just signing one or the other. WWE and FOX are also currently in negotiations for a new TV deal.

Andrade “Cien” Almas’s Debut

Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega will make their SmackDown Live debuts next week.

PLUS: #ElÍdolo @AndradeCienWWE, with @Zelina_VegaWWE in tow, will make his #SDLive debut across the pond NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/mKVM2YLDwm

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2018

SmackDown Dark Matches

Before SmackDown: Asuka defeated Sonya Deville

After 205 Live: AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ after Nakamura hit him with a chair