A new online show focusing on the world of mixed martial arts is set to debut exclusively on ESPN.com Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Kenny Florian, along with ESPN’s John Anik and Newark Star-Ledger reporter Franklin McNeil, will host the show.
“(It’s) kind of a fast-paced show on the current news and events going on in the sport. There’s a whole lot of guys at ESPN that have been trying to get this done I guess for two years,” said Florian in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.com.
The show will talk about all aspects of the sport, including various promotions including the UFC, EliteXC, Dream, and other organizations.
The <st1:city w:st="on"> <st1:place w:st="on"> Boston</st1:place> </st1:city> native said the deal with ESPN was in the works even before his last fight. Now the show has finally become a reality.
“Basically, I was contacted by ESPN about two weeks before my fight against (Joe) Lauzon, and there was some interest. They finally got the okay to do an MMA show, and they were interested in using me for this show,” Florian said.
It will be called “MMA Live” and feature segments with Florian, Anik and McNeil. They will discuss the latest news and notes from the sport, and eventually will look to add interviews and other possible ideas as they move forward.
Right now the show will be featured exclusively on ESPN.com, but Florian says with the right reaction it could find its way to television.
“It’s strictly going to be on ESPN.com. It’s not going to be on TV as of right now,” he commented. “Basically they’re going to do a run for three shows on ESPN.com and see what the response is, see how it does. Then if it goes well, we’ll do a regular thing on the Internet, and if it does even better, then possibly you’ll see it on TV.”
Each show will be 30 minutes long. It debuts on ESPN.com on Thursday, May 15.
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