BT Sport have agreed a three-year contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The TV providers have already bolstered their portfolio with a host of agreements for Premier League fixtures and live coverage of Premiership rugby.

Executive vice president and managing director of UFC EMEA Gary Cook said in a statement: "UFC athletes are the most committed and dedicated in the world of sport and this new relationship will help people gain a more in depth understanding of the sport and our brand.

"This agreement is a landmark step in UFC's development in the UK as it will increase our exposure to a much wider and more mainstream sporting audience. It means that the UK joins USA, Canada, Australia and Brazil as one of our largest TV broadcast markets.

"BT Sport certainly shares our vision for the premium quality broadcast of elite performance sport for our UK audience and we're very excited about the strategic partnership we've entered into. We look forward to working alongside them and showing a wider fan base how exciting and engaging the UFC is."

The three-year partnership with UFC will see all live and taped programming broadcast on the channel, which will also include produced programming.