NBCSports.com Launches UFC Section

With little fanfare and not much in the way of an announcement, sports-media icon NBCSports.com recently launched a slick-looking UFC section of their Website.

Could this be a sign of things to come with traditional media outlets?

It’s too early to tell, but rest assured that — despite the stealthy launch — this is actually a pretty big deal. The sooner the UFC is covered like any other major sport, the sooner it will be introduced to the masses and potentially new fans.

If you think the UFC’s big now, just wait until major UFC events are covered like NFL, MLB and NBA games.

As far as the Web site, color me impressed. Of course, I’m a guy who still uses a basic WordPress cookie-cutter template, so I’m easily woo’d with bells and whistles. Audio and video interviews, a list of contenders, upcoming events, and other news and rumors are all packed into NBCSports.com’s UFC section. The list of contenders is pretty basic, fighter profiles are lacking, and — by golly — there’s not a Hump Day Gallery or Performify’s Picks column anywhere to be found.

In any manner, this is definitely a site worth bookmarking and keeping an eye on. Readers should especially see if anything negative is ever written about the UFC. Otherwise, this may actually just be a very thinly veiled sponsorship and publicity campaign between the UFC and NBCSports.com (not that I think NBC would actually go for something like that). I’m just interested to see how it plays out and what kind of access the site gets to the UFC, its management and its fighters.