December 14, 2018

    ONE Championship Announce U.S. Broadcast Deal

    Peter Knox 14/12/2018

    ONE Championship has announced plans to broadcast in the U.S with Turner Sports in 2019. Ariel Helwani reported on ESPN: “The Asia-based promotion has signed a three-year broadcast deal with Turner Sports, sources told ESPN. The deal, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, calls for 24 events to air live on B/R Live, Turner’s digital platform. The partnership is expected to be announced in the coming days.” In addition to the live events, Turner will air shoulder programming and taped events on TNT and there is also a reality show in the works, as well, according to sources.”   The first event to be broadcast with Turner Sports in 2019 will be Jan. 19th in Jakarta, Indonesia which will be headlined by a strawweight title fight between Joshua Pacio (13-2-0) and Hayato Suzuki (20-1-2). ONE will be competing for viewers that night as the first UFC event of the year takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, featuring a flyweight title fight between Henry Cejudo (13-2-0) and current bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw (16-3-0). ONE Championship has been signing up ex-UFC talent over the past months – former flyweight champ Demtrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson (27-3-1), former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez (29-6-0, 1NC) and Sage Northcutt (11-2-0) have all moved to ONE. Now this new U.S. broadcast deal could be seen as a serious attempt from the organisation to gain ground in the western market. And could that ‘reality show in the works’ be the ONE version of The Ultimate Fighter? The UFC has held several events in Asia in the past few years and even announced plans to open a second Performance Institute in Shanghai. Despite being based in the U.S the UFC now has global appeal and presence – but ONE Championship is seen as the market leader in Asia and has to appeal globally in order to compete. They hope this new broadcast deal will introduce ONE to a new audience and will help the organisation grow.

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    Serpents of the Southwest featuring JR Coughran and Daryl Wilson

    Myles Painter 14/12/2018

    The state of Oklahoma is filled with prospects looking to strike it rich in the professional ranks of MMA. In today’s episode of Across The Pond, you will meet two Southwestern serpents who are rapidly slithering their way up the ranks. JR Coughran A professional since January 2016 and representing The Forge MMA, JR Coughran owns a 6-2 record in eight career bouts as a professional comprised of three knockouts, two decisions and one submission. Coughran appeared on week eight of season two of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in 2018 and has also fought for Legacy Fighting Alliance. In his MMA debut at Rage in the Cage 43, he defeated Ken Coulter via unanimous decision. Coughran defeated his next two opponents in Aaron Roberson and Arturo Espinosa.  Then in his lone appearance with Legacy Fighting Alliance at LFA 9, he defeated Daniel Carey via majority decision. At HD MMA 9 Rampage at Remmington Coughran defeated Billy Parvin via TKO in the first round. In the main event of HD MMA 10, he defeated Alex McGowan via TKO in round one to earn his third knockout victory as a professional. With eight professional fights in his back pocket and a hard-hitting arsenal to boot, this sooner scrapper is tearing through opponents like a powerful twister! Daryl Wilson A professional since September 2015 and representing Thunderkick Tulsa, Daryl Wilson owns a 8-2 record in 10 career bouts as a professional comprised of four knockouts, two submissions and two decisions. Wilson has fought for various promotions including Legacy Fighting Alliance. In his MMA debut at Legacy FC 45, he defeated Joe Blurton via TKO in the first round. Then at Rumble on the river 14 he defeated Rudy McGlothlin via unanimous decision. Wilson defeated Travonne Hobbs via split decision. He submitted Justin Overton via kimura in round one. Wilson also tapped out Marcus Penland in the third round at XFN 340 At XFN 342 Superfights, he defeated James Warren via TKO in the second round. In his debut outing with Legacy Fighting Alliance at LFA 18, he knocked out Jarrod Card in the first round. At XFN 348, Wilson defeated Marcio Navarro via TKO in round two. The victory also earned him his fourth knockout win as a professional. This heavy-handed Oklahoma Reaper can cleave opponents in two with a thunderous blow from his mighty fists!

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    It’s official! UFC signs new broadcast deal with BT Sport in UK & Ireland

    Peter Knox 14/12/2018

    UFC and BT Sport have today announced they will continue their broadcast partnership into 2019 and beyond. The channel will have exclusive rights to all live UFC main card events and over 100 hours of non-live programming as part of a multi-year agreement. With such an exciting roster of talent coming through from the UK & Ireland in the recent years, BT Sport customers can expect to see the likes of welterweight Darren Till, former two division champion Conor McGregor and bantamweight Nathaniel Wood competing in the world-famous Octagon in the coming years. David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President International and Content, commented, “BT Sport have proven to be an engaged, committed and passionate partner. We have worked closely together to grow the sport, brand and athletes in the UK and Ireland over the past 5 years. Our fans have made it clear how much they enjoy BT’s coverage of UFC and we are delighted to continue our partnership with them,” Andy Haworth, MD strategy and content, BT’s consumer division “BT Sport and UFC have been partners since our launch in 2013, and we’re delighted this will now continue. We’ve worked hard to offer fans high quality, fresh and innovative UFC coverage across all of our channels, and in particular on social media, which fans are responding really well to. This is great news for our viewers who can continue to enjoy UFC with BT Sport.” The first UFC event in 2019 will see a Super Fight between Olympic gold medalist and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. These two champions are sure to deliver fireworks in the Octagon on January 19. UFC will then make its highly anticipated return to London on March 16 at The O2 arena.

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