Friday, June 21, 2002 | 8:58 a.m.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas on Saturday with a new wrinkle -- free TV.
The six-fight show starting at 1 p.m. at the Bellagio will be filmed, with the chief undercard bout and undercard highlights scheduled to be shown on the Fox Sports Network.
The welterweight battle between undefeated Robbie Lawler (5-0-0) of Davenport, Iowa, and veteran Steve Berger (15-7-3) of St. Louis, along with highlights from four other bouts will be shown on Fox Sports Network's "The Best Damned Sports Show, Period" on June 25, as part of the show's "All-Star Summer" celebration.
It will be the first time that cable audiences will be able to see a UFC fight without ordering it on pay-per-view.
"That is a big boost for us," UFC spokesman Jack Taylor said. "It'll get us into the mainstream of sports in America.
"It's going to be a very good program. There are a lot of young and exciting fighters. Being on cable gets us into the mainstream which is where we want to be and need to be."
The main event will be a light heavyweight elimination bout between Chuck Liddell of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Vitor Belfort (10-2-0) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the winner facing UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in a title fight later this year. The fight between Liddell and Belfort will be shown on a UFC pay-per-view show in August.
Benji Radach (11-0-0), Olympia, Wash., will take on Nick Serra (5-0-0) of Long Island, N.Y. in another welterweight bout. A third welterweight offering will feature newcomers Pete Spratt (10-4-0), of Sherman, Texas, against Zach Light (11-1-1), of Corona, Calif. Light is a member of Ortiz's Team Punishment.
Joao Pierini (5-0-0) of Redwood City, Calif., will battle Josh Thomson (20-1-0) of San Jose, Calif., in a lightweight fight. In the middleweight division, Iowan Tony Fryklund (6-1-0) will fight Rodrigo Ruas (1-0-0) of Rio de Janeiro.
Tickets are $25, $50, $100 and $150. They can be purchased at the Bellagio box office or by calling 693-7722.
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