UFC on Fox: Creating the Promotion's First Main Card on Network Television

At a press conference held earlier today by Fox Broadcasting Company, the UFC announced a seven-year partnership with the media giant. According to the terms of the deal, the UFC will hold six events each year on FX, while another four events will be shown on FOX.

According to UFC president Dana White, the promotion will hold its first FOX-televised event on Nov. 12, 2011. With less than three months to prepare for the event, it will be a mad scramble for matchmaker Joe Silva to put together a card that will generate the interest of a mainstream audience.

Click on through to see the four fights that Silva should set up in order to make the UFC's first appearance on network television a major hit.

Josh Koscheck vs. Stephan Bonnar

With roots dating back to Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter, Josh Koscheck and Stephan Bonnar are two of the most well-known fighters on the UFC roster.

Coming off of a loss to Georges St-Pierre, Koscheck has expressed interest in a move to middleweight for a fight with Bonnar, his latest rival. The bad blood between Koscheck and Bonnar began when "The American Psycho" used Koscheck's image on his t-shirt line, which is called Trash Talkin Kids.

An undisclosed injury forced Bonnar out of UFC on Versus 5, but he has been healing the injury since June. A timetable for Bonnar's return has not been announced, but if he can be ready in time to compete on the FOX card, this fight would be an excellent way to open the broadcast.

Rich Franklin vs. Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz is coming off of a recent loss to Rashad Evans, but "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has never been one to shy away from the big lights. Ortiz was one of the fighters who helped the UFC reach this level of success, so there is no way he will miss out on the opportunity give a blatant plug for Punishment Athletics on national television.

Rich Franklin was recently pulled from UFC 133 when his scheduled opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, was forced out of the event due to injury. When offered a replacement opponent, Franklin suggested that he was only interested in fighting big names at this point in his career.

The biggest-name opponent that makes sense for Franklin right now is none other than Ortiz, so this fight just makes too much sense to not be booked for the UFC's first card on FOX.

Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson

The UFC prides itself on making the fights that fans want to see. After Ben Henderson defeated Jim Miller in impressive fashion at UFC on Versus 5, the fans spoke loudly in favor of a lightweight title shot eliminator between Henderson and Clay Guida.

If the UFC wants to continue the rapid growth that it has had, it will have to remain cognizant of its fans' desires. While this fight wouldn't generate a ton of interest from mainstream viewers, it would show those who may be watching the sport for the first time that the UFC treats its fans well.

Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir II

Since the UFC will have trouble drawing a large audience with Ben Henderson and Clay Guida as headliners, it will be extremely important for the promotion to put together a fight between two well-known competitors in the main event.

Having fought in entertaining fights against ultra-popular Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin would both generate plenty of mainstream interest. In addition, the rematch makes a lot of sense due to the contrasting paths the two fighters have followed since they last met.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.