• Multichannel News, Monday, July 16, 2007 10:35 AM

Spike TV is nearing a multi-year renewal of its pact with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in a deal that will keep the country's fastest-growing sport on the network, according to insiders.

The new deal is expected to cost Spike in excess of $100 million and cover both its Ultimate Fighter reality series and add more live events than the last agreement, which expired at the end of 2006. Executives from Spike decline comment, while the UFC could not be reached.

The UFC and other mixed martial-arts programming has exploded in popularity over the last two years. Once viewed largely as a bloody, fringe form of entertainment, the sport is steadily moving ever deeper into the mainstream, as evidenced by a recent Sports Illustrated cover story.

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