Dave strikes Mixed Martial Arts deal

BAMMA Live on Dave

Thursday 27 April 2017 - Dave to broadcast Live MMA World Title Fight

- BAMMA Heavyweight fight with commentary from boxer David Haye

UKTVs leading entertainment channel Dave will exclusively air Live MMA World Title Fight, set to take place live from the Genting Arena in Birmingham on 12 May.

Two world title fights top-off an action-packed card headlined by Heavyweights - UKs Brett The Spartan McDermott Vs Germanys Ruben The Viking Wolf - live. Daves live coverage of the evenings events from 9pm - 11pm.

All the action and commentary across the evening will be led by seasoned MMA presenter Andy Shepherd alongside main pundit, former WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye. Each clash will be made up of 3 x 5 minute rounds with 60 breaks between.

Live MMA World Title Fight is ordered by director of commissioning Richard Watsham and Dave general manager Steve North. The announcement further extends Daves live sport coverage following live boxing, cricket and darts events in 2016, and the Tie Break Tens tennis tournament this May.

The co-main event will be MMA World Middleweight championship fight, between Yannick Black Mamba Bahati and Matt Farmer Boy Hallam. Former MMA professional Paddy Holohan and actor/comedian and MMA fan Tom Davis will also present some of the action across the evening.

Richard Watsham, director of commissioning UKTV, said,

David Greens BAMMA events are of the very best quality in terms of both sporting spectacle and sheer adrenaline. Given the further growth in popularity of MMA and Daves continued presence in free to air sport, theres an excellent opportunity to build on the existing fanbase and introduce new viewers to this highly skilled sport.

Dave general manager Steve North, said,

Mixed martial arts is growing in popularity and appeals to a young and highly engaged audience which is perfect for Dave. David Haye is a familiar face for Dave viewers after we showed his comeback fight last year and were delighted to have him back for Live MMA World Title Fight.

David Green, BAMMA CEO said,

We are delighted to be partnering with Dave and to continue bringing MMA fans the very best in British Mixed Martial Arts. MMA is one of the most exciting live sports in the world and fans now get the opportunity to watch all the BAMMA action on one of the UKs best loved channels.

McDermott is one of the nations most feared Heavyweights. With huge punching power and an attacking style designed to KO opponents, 12 May offers McDermott his greatest ever prize in MMA - the coveted BAMMA Heavyweight Title.

His equally as powerful and motivated German opponent, Wolf travels to Birmingham with the sole intention of defeating both McDermott and the hometown crowd and returning to Germany with the Heavyweight belt in hand.

For more information please contact: Denize Belingy, Publicity Manager, UKTV or email PressOffice@uktv.co.uk.

About Dave Sky 111/246, Virgin 128/194, Freeview 12, BT & TalkTalk 12. On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play

Daves had a haircut and shave in recent years as it grows from awkward teenager to fully-fledged commissioner of new and original shows. And its not just comedy these days but entertainment and even some knock-out live sport. Hit UKTV Original commissions include BAFTA-nominated Taskmaster, Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and Crackanory, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Dave enjoyed critical success with two series of Hoff the Record, an International Emmy award-winning mockumentary ensemble comedy led by the living legend David Hasselhoff.

As well as home-grown delights Dave also goes stateside, cherry-picking cult US Shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits and much-loved Parks and Recreation along with Emmy-nominated The Last Man on Earth. This all contributed to Daves award win at the 2016 Broadcast Digital Awards for Best Entertainment Channel.

Dave is the UKs most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, and viewers continue to enjoy the ludicrously addictive American Pickers and UK remake of Storage Hunters. The channel continues to grow its original commissioning slate with political show Unspun With Matt Forde, Red Dwarf XI, Dara O Briains Go8Bit, fantasy comedy Zapped! and Celebrity Storage Hunters airing later this year.

About UKTV UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching over 41m viewers every month.

The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market. The companys most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £344.8m and EBITDA of £91.3m. It invested £151.2m in programming and related launches last year, and is a significant investor in British creativity.

The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

About BAMMA BAMMA, Europes Leading Mixed Martial Arts Entertainment Brand, is the home for elite fighters from around the world. Launched in 2009 and drawing unrivalled domestic viewing figures, the UK based promotion continues to showcase the most exciting and entertaining fights, between the toughest and most skilled co

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