UFC
Spike TV to air UFC marathon on Sunday featuring Nate Marquardt bouts
Jun 20, 2011 - 2:30:04 PM Spike TV to air UFC marathon on Sunday featuring Nate Marquardt bouts

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Though the UFC comes live to the Versus network this Sunday with UFC on Versus 4: Marquardt vs. Story, longtime home Spike TV will be airing a 10-hour UFC marathon throughout the day.

Nate Marquardt will be heavily featured during the marathon, with three UFC unleashed episodes and three full events that aired live previously on Spike TV airing during the marathon.

The marathon runs from 1PM ET to 11PM ET, which will directly go head to head with the first two hours of the Versus event, which is scheduled to air from 9-11:30PM ET.

Marquardt's fights with Anderson Silva (UFC 73), Martin Kampmann (UFC 83) and Chael Sonnen (UFC 109) will all be broadcast during the three Unleashed episodes, and UFC Fight Night 1, UFC 95 and UFC Fight Night 22 will all be broadcast in their entirety. Those events featured his fights with Ivan Salaverry, Wilson Gouveia and Rousimar Palhares, respectively.

Marquardt meets Rick Story in the main event on Versus, taking place from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Penick's Analysis: The marathon will end around when Marquardt's bout with Story is set to begin on Versus, but it's interesting that they'll be running this marathon all day and not end it before the Versus event starts. With negotiations still going on for a new television deal for the UFC, and having Marquardt's last Fight Night event air while the Versus event is live, Spike could be taking viewers away from the Versus broadcast. Those viewers may simply not be aware the UFC is on Versus, and are used to the events being on Spike TV, but it could still hurt ratings.