New PARTNERship - PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE (PFL) until 2025
NEW YORK
The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, has announced a multi-year partnership with Century Martial Arts, the world leader in combat sports, as the official equipment partner of the PFL.
The agreement begins in February with the 2022 PFL Challenger Series, which will be streamed on fubo Sports Network, and runs through December 2025. Century Martial Arts will supply its trademark PFL fighting gloves for all PFL events.
Century Martial Arts will provide PFL athletes with access to Century-branded training facilities during each PFL event week, beginning with the regular season. "The Professional Fighters League is proud to partner with Century Martial Arts, which will debut at our first PFL Challenger Series event in February and stream exclusively on fubo Sports Network," said PFL CRO Jon Tuck. "After a successful year for the PFL, we look forward to continuing the momentum and taking the sport of MMA to new heights in 2022." "As a company of martial artists, we see firsthand the transformative power of combat sports. We are deeply committed to growing the industry," said Century founder and CEO L. Michael Dillard. "Growth starts with supporting gyms, coaches, athletes and promoters who make dreams come true. We look forward to bringing our martial arts heritage and innovation to PFL by integrating their combat measurement tools into fighting gloves."
In 2021, the PFL completed a successful third season, with six fighters capturing world titles and $1 million in prize money each at the PFL World Championship, MMA's biggest night, on Oct. 27. The league saw a 100 percent increase in viewership in 2021 and has added leading brands to its premier sponsorship portfolio, so MMA fans around the world will get to see even more world-class talent and events this year.
The Professional Fighters League is ranked No. 2 in MMA worldwide and boasts an elite talent roster with 25 percent of its fighters independently ranked in the top-25 in the world, including 2021 PFL champions Kayla Harrison, Ray Cooper III and Movlid Khaybulaev. With live event broadcasts in 160 countries on leading distribution platforms, a portfolio of premier brand partners and the support of major institutional and high-profile individual investors, the PFL is accelerating its global expansion to bring a unique, innovative product to more than 600 million MMA fans worldwide.
About Professional Fighters League (PFL)
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league. PFL is the #2 MMA company in the world and the only one with a sports season format where individual fighters compete in the regular season, playoffs and championship. The PFL airs in primetime on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S. and was streamed live in 160 countries worldwide last year with partners including RMC Sport, FPT, Globo, Sky Sport, Eleven Sport and others. The PFL squad is world-class, with 25% of PFL fighters independently ranked among the top 25 in the world. PFL's proprietary SmartCage data and analytics platform enables real-time betting and delivers a next-generation viewing experience. The PFL has more than two dozen premier brand sponsors including Anheuser-Busch, IBM, GEICO, DraftKings, Bose, Socios.com, Air Force Reserve, US Marine Corps and many more. PFL is backed by major investors such as Ares Capital, Luxor Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Swan Ventures, Knighthead, Legends and several NBA, MLB and NHL team owners. MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with 600 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience of any sport and true global revenue streams.
About Century MMA
Founded in 1976, Century Martial Arts is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, where it maintains its manufacturing and distribution facility to support martial artists around the world. As a manufacturer and distributor of thousands of unique items for martial arts schools, instructors and enthusiasts, Century Martial Arts is best known for its authentic and innovative martial arts roots that have also enabled the development of striking equipment for the modern combat and fitness athlete - products such as the iconic Body Opponent Bag "BOB," the free-standing Wavemaster punching bags and the Versys line of training bags. Century's commitment to the industry is also evident in its continued investment in wholly owned subsidiaries BlackBelt Magazine, Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) and Gameness Sports.
