by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 28, 2008 at 11:42 am ET

As expected executives from the cable station today officially announced that UFC 89, an event that takes place Oct. 18 at The NIA in Birmingham, England, will air on Spike TV.

The broadcast kicks off via tape delay at 9 p.m. PT/ET -- a five-hour delay on the U.S. East Coast.

The event is headlined by a fight between "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner and British fighter Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported last week that Spike TV and the UFC were close to a deal to air the event. The official announcement came Saturday.

Although UFC 89's main event has been criticized, the UFC put together an intriguing main card for the fight that includes light-heavyweight fights of Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva and Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera.

UFC 89 is the latest special booking for Spike TV. In addition to a handful of contracted UFC Fight Night and The Ultimate Fighter Finale events each year, Spike TV and the UFC occasionally negotiate for additional broadcasts. Such past events have included UFC 75 and "Ortiz vs. Shamrock III: The Final Chapter."

However, while overseas pay-per-view events air live, the overseas Spike TV events usually air via tape delay.