UFC Fight Night 26 video preview, start time, fight card, TV info, media events

It’s fight week again for the UFC, and this weekend, we’re treated to one of the deepest free fight cards in MMA history. Here’s the essential information for “UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen,” which marks the UFC’s debut on FOX Sports 1.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 START TIME: UFC Fight Night 26 (previously UFC on FOX Sports 1 1) takes place Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. The night kicks off with Facebook prelims at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT). The action then shifts to the new FOX Sports 1 channel, which kicks off its first day of programming, beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 BACKGROUND: With the organization’s cable events moving to the new FOX Sports 1 (which replaces SPEED) and FOX Sports 2 (which replaces FUEL TV), the UFC has been featured prominently in FOX’s extended buildup and promotion of the new channels, which executives hope will rival ESPN and ESPN2. Saturday’s headliner features two notable light heavyweights, Mauricio Rua (21-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) vs. Chael Sonnen (27-13-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC), though the card is solid from top to bottom.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 VIDEO PREVIEWS: Video segments on the card’s three primary bouts can be found below. In addition to Rua vs. Sonnen, the card includes heavyweights Travis Browne (14-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) vs. Alistair Overeem (36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and bantamweights Urijah Faber (28-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) vs. Yuri Alcantara (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 ON-SITE REPORTERS: Staff reporters John Morgan and Steven Marrocco are on site in Boston this week. Give them a follow on Twitter (@MMAjunkieJohn and @MMAjunkieSteven) for updates from fan and media events all week. We’ll also have support from Christian Stein (@CopperHeartCT?) and Yannis Koutroupis (@YannisHW).

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 OPEN WORKOUTS ON WEDNESDAY: UFC Fight Night 26's open fighter workouts take place Wednesday at TD Garden, and they’re free and open to the public. They kick off at 1 p.m. ET and include Rua, Sonnen, Overeem, Browne, Faber, Alcantara, Joe Lauzon and John Howard. They’ll do a light workouts and media interviews, and usually, photo and autograph opportunities are available for fans.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY: UFC Fight Night 26's traditional pre-event press conference takes place Thursday at Boston’s Wang Theatre, and it’s also open to the public. You can also watch a live stream of the press conference on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Attendees include UFC President Dana White and UFC Fight Night 26 fighters Rua, Sonnen, Overeem, Browne, Faber, Alcantara, Lauzon and Michael Johnson.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 WEIGH-INS FRIDAY: Friday’s UFC Fight Night 26 fighter weigh-ins take place at TD Garden. You can watch a live video stream or get text-only results beginning at 4 p.m. ET. We’ll also have a video replay and full photo gallery available afterward.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 ON SATURDAY: Join us at 4:30 p.m. ET for UFC Fight Night 26 play-by-play and live results. You can also discuss UFC Fight Night 26 in our discussion thread. Afterward, watch the post-UFC Fight Night 26 press conference on MMAjunkie.com at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET.

FULL UFC FIGHT NIGHT 26 FIGHT CARD:

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
• Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem
• Yuri Alcantara vs. Urijah Faber
• Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle
• Uriah Hall vs. John Howard
• Michael Johnson vs. Joe Lauzon

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 6 p.m. ET)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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