The agreement begins with unprecedented PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions
mega-global event on February 24
NEW YORK (February 19, 2024) - The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest-growing and most innovative sports league, today announced an expansive, multi-year partnership with U-NEXT, the leading Japanese video streaming platform, to become the home of PFL and Bellator in the country. The agreement begins with the unprecedented pay-per-view PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions mega event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 24.
Under the deal, all PFL Global Regular Season, PFL Europe, and PFL MENA event coverage as well as archival content will air exclusively in Japan on U-NEXT. Additionally, the streaming video platform will continue to broadcast live Bellator event coverage, beginning with the first-ever Bellator Champions Series event in Belfast, Northern Ireland on March 22.
“A core component of our global expansion strategy is to partner with leading media platforms in key territories around the world, and we couldn’t be more excited about this multi-year agreement with U-NEXT to bring the best in MMA to fans in Japan,” said PFL SVP, International James Frewin.
CEO, U-NEXT Tenshin Tsutsumi said, “We are delighted to announce our strategic partnership with the Professional Fighters League, the world’s most premiere mixed martial arts organization. Beginning with PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions, U-NEXT will continue to deliver the greatest MMA content to Japanese fans and look forward to solidifying our position as the premiere destination for mixed martial arts.”
As PFL continues to expand rapidly across the globe, it is committed to developing the best up-and-coming fighters from across the country to join its roster of world-class athletes, including Japanese combat sports stars Kana Watanabe and Goiti Yamauchi.
PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight class, the same percentage as UFC. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is primetime on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S. and is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.
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ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league worldwide. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sports business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.
PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter (@PFLMMA); Facebook (/PFLmma)
ABOUT U-NEXT
U-NEXT is Japan's leading video streaming platform, currently providing the largest volume of SVOD content in Japan (Source: January 2024, GEM Partners). In addition to the over 360,000 movies, live-action, and animated series available for on-demand streaming, U-NEXT also provides a variety of real-time live streaming of music concerts, stage productions, and top-level sports events ranging from soccer, baseball, golf, to martial arts. With a selection of over 1,010,000 manga, e-books and e-magazines. U-NEXT provides a unique entertainment experience amongst Japan's digital platforms, giving subscribers the opportunity to seamlessly enjoy electronic publications, video content, sports, concerts, and more within a single application. Through the service integration of Paravi in July 2023, a vast selection of the latest, best, and most-watched local variety and scripted dramas from Japan's leading terrestrial channels TBS and TV Tokyo as well as an extensive library of terrestrial TV programming was added to U-NEXT's lineup, further solidifying the service's position in the market for strong local content.
