UFC and TUF could leave Globo's schedule in 2016, says columnist

First fight between Cigano (right) and Velasquez (left) marked the UFC's debut on Globo in 2011. Photo: Disclosure

Since the end of 2011, the exclusive rights to broadcast the UFC on Brazilian open TV have been with Rede Globo, which signed a long partnership with the organization after the end of the old agreement with “Rede TV!”. However, the biggest MMA event on the planet may have its days numbered on the screen of Brazil's main broadcaster starting next year.

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At least that's what columnist Keila Gimenez, from the “KTV” blog, guarantees. According to the journalist, sources close to Globo reported that the Rio broadcaster would not agree with the renewal proposal received from the UFC for the current contract, lasting until 2016. The main point of divergence would be in the contract values ​​in relation to the return of audience of events.

The uncertainties regarding the future, according to the column, also extend to the reality show The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, and the justification would again be the audience. When it premiered on Globo in 2012, TUF Brasil was well received by the public and maintained good numbers throughout the season. However, reception gradually fell over the following editions, and the attraction was pushed later and later in the programming schedule.

This year, TUF Brasil 4 suffered one of the biggest losses in the history of the program's national edition, losing Anderson Silva, removed from the program and replaced by the brothers Rodrigo Minotauro e Rogério Minotouro after the doping scandal at UFC 189. Without the biggest name in Brazilian MMA in history, the program ended with an audience around 30% lower than the debut edition.