NBC to Premiere Martial Arts Cage-Fight Series

BURBANK, March 28: NBC has partnered with Strikeforce for a weekly mixed
martial arts cage-fight series, Strikeforce on NBC.

Kicking off on April 12, each episode will feature Strikeforce mixed
martial arts fights and highlights as well as fighter profiles. Mixed martial
arts pits fighters skilled in a wide array of combat disciplines against each
other inside a caged-in ring. The premiere episode will feature Cung Le versus
Brian Warren and Duane
"Bang" Ludwig versus Tony "The Freak," as well as a profile
on Le, a well-known competitor in the sport. The series is being produced by
Kevin Cusick of KC Productions in conjunction with Carr-Hughes Productions.

Strikeforce on NBC will air at 2 a.m., immediately following NBC's
poker-tournament series Poker After Dark.

"Mixed martial arts
has exploded onto the sports scene,” said Jerry Petry, the executive VP at NBC
Universal Television. “Its athletes are tremendous competitors and the sport is
one of the fastest growing in the world. As a leader in this arena, Strikeforce will be able to deliver some of the finest and
most intense action ever seen on broadcast TV."

"It's truly an honor
to have the opportunity to bring the Strikeforce mixed martial arts product to one of the
longest-standing and most well-respected national television platforms,"
said Strikeforce’s CEO, Scott Coker. "NBC has a history of popular late
Saturday TV and, in the ’80s, NBC's Saturday Night's Main Event show helped catapult the popularity of
professional wrestling. Strikeforce is looking to follow in suit and establish
a legacy of its own on the network."

—By Ned Berke