Sneak Peak At “Strikeforce on NBC” Available Online
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A minute and a half preview of “Strikeforce on NBC,” the 52-week mixed martial arts series that premieres from 2-2:30 a.m. ET tomorrow on NBC, is available for viewing at NBC Sports Online as well as on the official Strikeforce homepage.
“Strikeforce on NBC” marks the debut of mixed martial arts programming on network television in The United States. The series will include fighter profiles as well as Strikeforce bouts and highlights.
Tomorrow’s historic, premiere episode will be highlighted by a feature segment on newly crowned Strikeforce World Middleweight (185 lb. limit) Champion, Cung Le. The battle between Le and longtime rival, Brian “Unbreakable” Warren, as well as the classic, barnburner fight between knockout artist Duane “Bang” Ludwig and rival 170 lb. warrior Tony “The Freak” Fryklund will also air tomorrow night.
“Strikeforce on NBC” represents the latest addition to the network’s traditionally first-class late night programming lineup, arguably best defined by “Saturday Night Live,” the award-winning variety show in the midst of its 33rd season. “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” have consistently ranked number one in their respective weeknight time slots for nearly the last decade and a half.
About Strikeforce:Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” Since then, it has co-produced the first SHOWTIME PPV mixed martial arts event in history with its world championship “Shamrock vs. Baroni” card on June 22nd of this year followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29th.