Saturday night, November 12th UFC hits network television when FOX airs the UFC Heavyweight Title bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. The fight, originally planned for PPV, marks the beginning to a seven year deal between FOX and UFC which will see FOX broadcast four fights annually and the successful reality show The Ultimate Fighter join FX programming. There seems no bigger fight to kick off the UFC/FOX era than Cain Velasquez defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship against number one contender Junior Dos Santos. 

UFC President Dana White hopes to bring the big fight appeal once produced by live boxing back to network television. Yahoo! Sports correspondent Kevin Iole notes the MMA executive commented “Our goal has always been to bring big fights back to network television.” Given MMA’s history, having the UFC bring the big fight feel back to network television serves as poetic justice. For years MMA struggled in a personal big fight against public perception. People saw MMA as human cockfighting, giving the sport a negative stigma. Through tremendous efforts the UFC did away with the sport’s negative reputation, building a respectable national brand and winning over fans everywhere. FOX broadcasting Velasquez vs. Dos Santos symbolizes exactly how far the UFC has come.

Anaheim’s Honda Center provides a fitting venue for the UFC Heavyweight Championship fight to resonate from too. A little over a year ago at the Honda Center Cain Velasquez defeated “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Brock Lesnar to end Lesnar’s five fight win streak and become the first ever Mexican UFC Heavyweight Champion. Junior Dos Santos however will impose a different challenge than Brock Lesnar did a year ago at UFC 121. Lesnar like Velasquez incorporates much wrestling into his fighting style. On Saturday, November 12th though the UFC Heavyweight Champion, who’s a former two-time All-American wrestler for Arizona State University, will have to defend against Dos Santos’s boxing/Jiu-Jitsu fighting style.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Title headlines a night which will feature nine other fights. If you don’t want to miss any of the action from the Honda Center, tickets remain available at ticketmaster.com. You can also catch all the fights on FoxSports.com starting at 4:45pm ET/1:45 PT. At 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT FOX begins their coverage for the UFC Heavyweight Title bout. If you’ve never seen an MMA fight before, pop some popcorn, grab a cold beverage, and get ready to witness the sport at its finest Saturday, November 12th.