Professional Fighters League’s newest venture has found its streaming home.
The season-based MMA organization on Thursday morning announced a deal to bring its PFL Challenger Series to fuboTV. The eight events will stream on consecutive Friday nights beginning Feb. 18, 2022, and run through April. It will also air on its linear network, Fubo Sports Network.
“We have been doing a lot of work with MMA, and we think that the MMA space is far greater than just UFC,” David Gandler, fuboTV’s co-founder and CEO, told The Post via phone ahead of the announcement. “And that is visible in some of our viewership numbers.”
As previously reported by Awful Announcing, PFL Challenger Series will see fighters competing for the chance to earn either a spot in 2022’s main PFL season or a developmental deal. A panel of judges — a mix of celebrities, athletes, fighters and more along with a fan component that will be detailed at a later date — will decide which fighter on each night is awarded with a PFL contract. In a press release, already announced judges include boxing legend Mike Tyson, Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis — who in March joined PFL’s athlete advisory board — and former standout NFL running back Todd Gurley.
PFL CEO Peter Murray told The Post via phone ahead of Thursday’s announcement that the type of deal awarded on a particular night will be at the discretion of Ray Sefo, the organization’s president of fighter operations. If the fighters are “too inexperienced” but possesses potential to compete in a future PFL season, he or she is more likely to be given a developmental deal.
“These are pro athletes who are aspiring to get into the PFL season, so [these are] some exciting fighters from around the world, some of whom are in the earlier stages of their career, others who are looking for that shot, truly, to compete on a global level against some of the best talent in the world in the PFL season,” Murray said.
Details of the format for how the fighter judging panel — not to be confused with the judges scoring fights cageside — are still being formulated, but Murray said there will be a “format” for how each nighty selection is made.
Only one fighter will earn a contract each night. However, the final two PFL Challenger Series events will allow participants from earlier events to return for a second chance.
“If fighters are on the bubble, and Ray Sefo and our judging team want to see a fighter fight one more time, weeks seven and eight will be second-chance fights for a cross-section of those fighters so that we don’t miss an opportunity,” Murray said. “Sometimes, you need to see a fighter fight more than once.”
Real-time betting, through the new Fubo Sportsbook, and what Murray referred to as “gamification” that includes free-to-play games alongside the broadcast — such as what a news release referred to as “the opportunity to answer predictive questions about the action on screen” — are planned to be integrated into the PFL Challenger Series broadcasts. Fubo Sportsbook, which launched in November, is currently available in Iowa with market access agreements in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Arizona and plans to expand as it passes individual state regulatory approval.
“There are several leagues right now that are continuing to build share within the MMA space, and we thought PFL, in particular, has been innovative as well,” Gandler said, referring to the organization as “very scrappy” and “very creative.”
The fuboTV broadcast deal is separate from the primary PFL season broadcast rights, but Murray said it was “likely” the league would announce its plans for that broadcast deal before the start of the new year. The organization concluded its second ESPN network-aired season on Oct. 27. Wherever it lands, Murray confirmed the 2022 PFL season will stick with the same six weight classes as its third season this year: men’s featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, and women’s lightweight.
PFL Challenger Series is the first concrete expansion to the organization’s planned events for 2022, in addition to its previously reported decision to split its season-ending championship event into two separate events. Murray said there are plans for “at least six international qualifier series events.” That adds up to at least 25 events, with Murray previously noting there are plans to hit 30 live events.
PFL’s first pay-per-view offering also is coming, Murray has said and doubled down on this week. The PPV market often has been difficult for organizations beyond the UFC to tap into, which has led to wide skepticism from MMA media and on social media.
Murray said he would be able to elaborate more on what a PFL pay-per-view format will look like as its main broadcast deal is set.
“When we announced our primary distribution partnership, I think the answers to those questions will be much clearer,” he said.