Last week it was announced that the UFC signed an exclusive deal with Florida based promotion Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) to air all their cards live on the UFC’s digital streaming service, UFC Fight Pass. The deal will not only air upcoming cards but will make all past Titan FC events available to stream digitally. UFC Chief Content Officer Marshall Zelaznik announced the partnership last Monday and had this to say about the young promotion:
“Titan FC puts on great events and we’re happy to make Titan fights available live and on-demand to our UFC Fight Pass subscribers. In the nine years since its first show, Titan has earned a reputation for putting on quality events featuring a mixture of up-and-coming talent and experienced veterans. I’m excited to offer these events live and exclusively on Fight Pass.”
The first live even for Titan FC on Fight Pass will take place on July 18th and features a great mix of veterans and young up-and-coming talent. The card brings fans twelve fights from start to finish and boasts four title fights. The bout order is as follows:
- Lightweight Title: Mike Ricci vs. Pat Healy
- Featherweight Title: Kurt Holobaugh vs. Andre Harrison
- Bantamweight Title: Brett Johns vs. Anthony Gutierrez
- Flyweight Title: Tim Elliot vs. Illiard Santos
- Welterweight: Jose Landi-Jons vs. Tyler Stinson
- Featherweight: Freddy Assuncao vs. Cody Bollinger
- Welterweight: Jason Witt vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
- Middleweight: Phillip Hawes vs. Lucas Rota
- Featherweight: Desmond Green vs. Vincent Eazelle
- Featherweight: Sirwan Kakai vs. William Joplin
- Lightweight: Dakota Cochrane vs. Mike Bruno
- Flyweight: Cody Peterson vs. TBA
The action at the top of this card is sure to grab the attention of Fight Pass subscribers as it features a few former UFC fighters. One of the more notable fighters on this card is Oregonian Pat Healy. Healy signed with Titan FC at the end of 2014 after a second stint with the UFC fell flat. He then went on to win the Titan FC lightweight title less than a year later. At 31 years old, Healy is still young enough to be pushing for another shot with one of the top MMA promotions and thanks to the Fight Pass deal there will be considerably more eyes on his upcoming matchups. He and other UFC veterans like, Tim Elliot and Isaac Vallie-Flagg are just a few of the fighters who have the potential to once again leap from the regional fight scene back to the big shows like Bellator or the UFC. The amount of exposure these Fight Pass cards will receive is going to put more eyes on the talent and will go a long way in giving the fans a bit of control in regard to whom they’d like to see back in the UFC or elsewhere. This could mean a lot for a fighter like fan favorite Isaac Vallie-Flagg, who is already 37 years old and might otherwise have to go on a four or five fight win streak if he hoped to peak the interest of a top promotion. If he looked dominant enough on one or two Fight Pass cards and the UFC was in need of a tough veteran fighter, it is not crazy to assume that his phone might ring.
Along with the veteran fighters looking to right the ship that is their MMA career, there are even more young up and coming fighters who are still looking to leave their mark on the regional circuit in hopes of catching the eye of a top tier promotion. The deal between Titan FC and the UFC will go miles in making it easier for young talent to get noticed and will provide these fighters with a tremendous amount of big fight experience. Fighting on a Rumble at the Roseland card for the FCFF is one thing, but fighting for Titan FC while tens of thousands watch your fight live is another. This big fight feel could pay off in spades if these young athletes make their way to the highest levels of the sport.
This deal seems to be a win-win for the UFC and Titan FC. This partnership will most certainly help to further the careers of top local talent, as they will now have another outlet to reach for that isn’t the elusive UFC contract. Not only can Titan FC prove to be a great middle ground for young talent, it can also be a safety net to catch top talent as they fall from major promotions. The cyclical nature of the sport will certainly keep Titan FC’s roster full of both seasoned pros and young upstarts for the foreseeable future and that will only make their upcoming cards on Fight Pass more interesting and exciting.
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