At a glance
- Section split into UFC, Boxing and Wrestling.
- RDS aired the UFC in Quebec from January 2015 until TVA Sports regained the rights, announced in November 2023.
- MMA podcast "Dans la cage" hosted by Benoit Beaudoin, last episode in August 2023.
Overview
RDS Combat is the combat sports section of RDS, Bell Media's French-language sports network in Canada. It is split into three parts: UFC, Boxing and Wrestling. The site publishes news, results and fighter coverage, with a focus on fighters from Quebec.
RDS has history with the UFC. The network aired the promotion in Quebec from January 2015 until the rights returned to TVA Sports, announced in November 2023. RDS no longer broadcasts the events, but it still covers UFC news in this section.
What you'll find
The UFC section follows the promotion's international news. One example is its coverage of Tom Aspinall giving up the heavyweight title because of the injury he suffered in his fight against Ciryl Gane. The Boxing and Wrestling sections cover the other sports.
RDS also produced an MMA podcast, "Dans la cage" (In the cage), hosted by Benoit Beaudoin. The last episode came out in August 2023, but episodes remain on Spotify if you want to hear the archive from the years when RDS carried the UFC.
Why follow
RDS covers the UFC in Quebec French, with the perspective of a major Canadian sports network. If you follow fighters from Quebec or elsewhere in Canada, this section gives them more space than the European French-language press does.
Having boxing and wrestling in the same section lets you follow several sports in one place. And since the network carried the UFC for nearly nine years, its coverage comes from long experience with the sport. For an English-speaking fan in Canada, it is the French side of the national combat sports coverage from Bell Media.
MMA Official's take
This outlet is for Quebec fans who want UFC news and coverage of fighters from the province, and for French speakers who want a view other than the one from France. To watch UFC events in French in Quebec, the channel is now TVA Sports.
Start with the UFC section for the week's news. If you want to go back in time, listen to a few episodes of "Dans la cage" on Spotify, which cover the years when RDS held the rights.