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Although the UFC’s seven-year deal with Fox is still in its infancy, the effects of the deal are beginning to trickle through the MMA world.
The MMA Corner has learned from sources close to the situation that the latest impact is that guns and ammunition sponsors, such as The Gun Store and Ammotogo.com, have been banned from events that take place on the Fox family of networks.
*UPDATE * - The MMA Corner has learned that the ban includes companies related to guns, knives, ammunition, and hunting. It will go into effect on Jan. 23. The ban has been extended to all UFC events, not just those broadcast on the Fox family of networks.
The Gun Store, based in Las Vegas, has sponsored numerous fighters in recent years, from heavyweight Shane Carwin to lightweight Spencer Fisher. The location has also hosted prominent fighters such as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (pictured), UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and MMA legend Wanderlei Silva.
Fighters competing at events that air on Fox, FX or Fuel TV will have to find other sponsors for their bouts.
The first such event takes place this Friday, Jan. 20, in Nashville, Tenn., marking the inaugural event on the FX network (although the UFC 142 prelims aired on the network on Jan. 14). The promotion then makes its second appearance on the Fox network the following weekend in Chicago.
After further examination of the aforementioned UFC 142 preliminary bouts, guns and ammunition sponsors were noticeably absent from both fighter banners and shorts.
At this point in time the ban does not appear to affect pay-per-view main card fighters, but any fighters taking part in Fox-broadcast preliminary card fights will be impacted as they shift from Facebook to Fuel TV in 2012.
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