Earlier this year ESPN and the UFC agreed a five-year deal that would consist of 30 UFC Fight Night events per year for the broadcaster, including 10 main cards on ESPN's television networks.
The first of those cards is set to air on January 19 in New York with Rachael Ostovich set to take on Paige VanZant in a women's flyweight bout at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The fight was originally set to take place on November 20 but was cancelled after Ostovich suffered a broken orbital bone following an attack that she claims was carried out by her husband and fellow MMA fighter Arnold Berdon.
Former NFL player Greg Hardy is also reportedly set to fight on the card with the ex-Dallas Cowboys defensive end likely to fight heavyweight Allen Crowder after progressing through Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series.
Hardy had previously been suspended and placed on an NFL exempt list stemming from a domestic violence incident that occurred while he was playing for the Carolina Panthers in 2014.
The decision to put both fighters on the same billing has been described as 'tone deaf' by ESPN MMA journalist Ariel Helwani and has received plenty of criticism online.
https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/1070204222241693696
https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1070293354477436928
https://twitter.com/marc_raimondi/status/1070214102159548416
https://twitter.com/DamonMartin/status/1070212121496035328
https://twitter.com/ToddMartinMMA/status/1070310600817946628
