ESPN in U.K. and Ireland, next week's UFC 101 event airing

[Guest baseball25]

A previously rumored deal between the UFC and ESPN that will keep the world's top MMA organization on airwaves in the U.K. and Ireland was made official today.

The UFC and ESPN have agreed to a multi-year deal, though details of the partnership were not disclosed.

The UFC lost its previous U.K. broadcast partner, Setanta Sports, after the financial collapse of the troubled station in June.

The ESPN coverage, which airs on a region-specific version of the worldwide leader in sports, kicks off with next week's UFC 101 event, which takes place Aug. 8 in Philadelphia.

"ESPN's aim is to serve U.K. and Ireland sports fans by bringing the very best of both domestic and international live sport to their living rooms," stated Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN vice president for TV Channels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "We are delighted to add UFC; TOP 14 ORANGE, the leading French Rugby Championship; the Australia Football League; EuroBasket and DTM to our growing portfolio of live sport."

Prior to the June 13 UFC 99 event in Cologne, Germany, UFC President Dana White repeatedly reassured fans that the show would be available on Setanta despite the station's problems. The event did air without incident, though UFC 100 was forced to broadcast on an alternate station.

Earlier this year, Setanta reportedly lost millions of dollars while denouncing rumors of a potential demise. However, the company later entered into administration, ceased its U.K. operations and is in the processing of laying off more than a hundred employees following sagging subscription numbers and missed payments to partners such as the English Premier League. (The rights have since been purchased by ESPN.)

The UFC and Setanta first joined forces in January 2008. The partnership fueled the UFC's move overseas and into a variety of U.K. and other European markets before Setanta's financial troubles doomed the relationship.