April 22, 2021

    WIZ KHALIFA JOINS PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE WORLD CLASS OWNERSHIP GROUP

    Peter Knox 22/04/2021

    The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league in the world, announced today that multi-platinum GRAMMY® & Golden Globe-nominated artist Wiz Khalifa has invested in the league and will play an active role in continuing to shape the PFL brand for this generation’s sports fan. In his advisory role, Khalifa will collaborate with the league on integrating various elements of pop culture – from music integration and content creation to MMA lifestyle apparel. PFL will incorporate Khalifa’s music throughout its regular season, playoff and championship events and will co-produce original MMA content for fans. Khalifa joins PFL’s best-in-class ownership group which includes Ted Leonsis, Kevin Hart, Brandon Beck and Mark Burnett. “I’m so proud to join forces with the Professional Fighters League,” said Khalifa. “I’ve been doing MMA training for years now, and am also the biggest MMA fan – to be able to bring my expertise and vision to the sport is super exciting and I can’t wait for the action to get started on April 23.” “I’m excited to welcome Wiz Khalifa to the PFL’s ownership group and partner with such a gifted global music and cultural icon,” said PFL CEO, Peter Murray. “Wiz will play an active role in shaping and amplifying the voice of the PFL brand and how it resonates with the 550 million fans around the world.” The 2021 PFL Season will begin April 23 on ESPN2, ESPN3 (Spanish) and ESPN+ in primetime. The remaining Regular Season events will take place on April 29, May 6, June 10, June 17, and June 25. Professional Fighters League has quickly established itself as the No. 2 MMA company in the world. With the addition of world-class talent – from elite fighters to established business executives – and partnering with industry-leading brands such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, GEICO, CarParts.com and Socios, the PFL continues to accelerate its global expansion. Sports fans across more than 160 countries around the world will be able to tune in to the league’s highly anticipated return on April 23 in Atlantic City, NJ.

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    Brits can watch PFL on MMA TV UK

    Peter Knox 22/04/2021

    Mixed Martial Arts fans in the UK will be able to watch elite international athletes competing for the Professional Fighter’s League $6 million prizes on MMA TV in a multi-year deal. Now in its third season, the keenly anticipated PFL contest gets underway in Atlantic City on 23rd April across six weight classes, including the pioneering 155-pound women’s division. British athlete Brendan Loughnane will be making his PFL tournament debut and will be in good company; former UFC Champions Anthony Pettis and Fabricio Werdum will be competing, along with ex Bellator World Champion Rory MacDonald and Kamaru Usman’s brother Mohammed. They’ll be joined by previous PFL Champions Lance Palmer, Natan Schulte, Emiliano Sordi, Ali Isaev and double Olympic Gold Medallist Kayla Harrison. Each of the 48 fighters will be in the cage at least twice during the regular season’s six events during April, May and June, which start at 2230 BST. Those with the most points will then progress to the PFL Playoffs in August, culminating in the Championship finale. The six PFL World Champions in each weight division will each receive $1 million. MMA TV founder Siju Roseje commented: “Fans of UFC and MMA will love the PFL because the high profile fighters are in their prime and it’s about performing on the night rather than talking the talk, unlike other MMA promotions. It has the thrill of the FA Cup because you can never count out the underdog as everyone’s hungry for the cash prize, you only need four wins. You can never predict the outcome in PFL, that’s what makes it so exciting to watch. I’ve spent the last five years building the sport here in the UK and sealing the PFL deal shows we are serious about bringing British fans the highest level of live entertainment. I hope Manchester and the rest of the UK get behind Brendan Loughnane in his quest to become the first homegrown PFL Champion.” Fans can watch PFL fights for free as part of a 7 day trial on the MMA TV App and thereafter each fight can be purchased on a PPV basis with the events streaming on-demand on MMA TV after they’ve taken place, along with build up and previous PFL seasons. It’ll be the first time that MMA fans will be able to view next-gen stats via the SmartCage™ platform and Cagenomics™ technology. More than 30 million people have been streaming world-class fights across MMA TV’s pay per view, subscription, YouTube and social media channels. The channel secured exclusive rights to stream ONE Championship in the UK, and a groundbreaking deal was recently reached with Mobile Billing meaning fans can access and pay for MMA TV fights by pushing a single button on their phone. The channel’s surge in popularity has also resulted in an agreement with Samsung TV whereby those who own recent Samsung sets can view MMA TV content at their leisure. Siju Roseje launched MMA TV to provide a platform for the top MMA talent to showcase their skills and attract investment and promotional partners to themselves and the industry. For more information please visit www.mmatv.com 

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    Across The Pond Profile: Bellator MMA fighter Nainoa Dung

    Myles Painter 22/04/2021

    As the globe shifts focus towards the healing hand of recovery, the MMA world continues to forge ahead. In today’s episode of Across The Pond, you will meet a messager of molten destruction ready to supply Bellator MMA with their own brand of island justice. A professional mixed martial artist since August 2018 and representing Sanford MMA, Nainoa Dung holds a 4-2 record through six professional bouts comprised of two decisions, one knockout, and one submission. Dung has spent the bulk of his tenure as a pro-MMA fighter with Bellator MMA and has finished two out of his four victories so far. He has gone to the scorecards twice during his time in the professional ranks, winning via decision across the board on both occasions. The one and only finish during Dung’s time with Bellator MMA has come before the close of the final round. He has a single first-round finish under his belt. In his MMA debut at X1 World Events 50 day 1, he submitted Kris Barberich in the first round. Dung defeated Kona Olivera via TKO in the third round in his promotional debut with Bellator MMA at Bellator 213 to earn his sole knockout victory as a professional thus far. Then in his second outing with Bellator MMA at Bellator 224, he defeated Brad Robinson via unanimous decision to secure back-to-back wins with Bellator MMA. At Bellator 256, Dung defeated Isaiah William via unanimous decision. The victory earned Dung the second decision win of his professional career. He also picked up victory number three under the banner of Bellator MMA in the process. With youth and island heat in his emerging arsenal at just 22 years of age, Dung’s burn or be burned approach has opponents hanging at the volcano’s dome of fire with explosive repercussions for those who dare go over the edge!

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    Official Results for “ONE on TNT III”- John Lineker Delivers Devastating First-Round Knockout

    Peter Knox 22/04/2021

    ONE Championship™ (ONE), Asia’s largest global sports media property, returned with “ONE on TNT III,” a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The action-packed card featured a series of exciting mixed martial arts contests and a “dream match” between striking legends. In the main event, #1-ranked bantamweight contender John “Hands of Stone” Lineker destroyed a game but overmatched Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen to win by knockout in the first round. Lineker came out of the gates firing powerful boxing combinations without caution. He went on to land a torrent of thudding punches to the head and body throughout the fight. Showing tremendous conditioning and durability, Worthen somehow stayed on his feet despite absorbing Lineker’s best shots. But inside the final minute of the first round, the powerful Brazilian connected with a straight right hand that marked the end for his foe. “Hands of Stone” quickly followed up with another right hand on the ground to seal the finish. In the co-main event, #4-ranked flyweight contender Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu took care of business against dangerous grappler and #5-ranked contender Reece “Lightning” McLaren in an entertaining three-round affair. Wakamatsu made his intentions known early on, winging wild haymakers from range while McLaren constantly threatened with submissions in intense mat exchanges. As the bout wore on, Wakamatsu began to establish his dominance, tagging McLaren with crisp boxing combinations. In the end, all three judges scored the fight in favour of the Japanese star to win by unanimous decision. On the Bleacher Report lead card, Ok Rae Yoon stunned former ONE Featherweight World Champion and current #5-ranked lightweight contender Marat “Cobra” Gafurov, winning by unanimous decision after three closely contested rounds of action. With his victory, Ok will face American legend Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez at “ONE on TNT IV” next week. In a highly anticipated rematch, Miao Li Tao authored a fantastic performance against Ryuto “Dragon Boy” Sawada to come away with a unanimous decision after a gruelling three-round fight. And in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai showdown, kickboxing icon Nieky “The Natural” Holzken put together a tremendous performance to stop legendary striker John Wayne “The Gunslinger” Parr in the second round. Official Results for “ONE on TNT III” Mixed Martial Arts – Bantamweight: John Lineker defeats Troy Worthen via Knockout (KO) at 4:35 of Round 1 Mixed Martial Arts – Flyweight: Yuya Wakamatsu defeats Reece McLaren via Unanimous Decision Mixed Martial Arts – Lightweight: Ok Rae Yoon defeats Marat Gafurov via Unanimous Decision Mixed Martial Arts – Strawweight: Miao Li Tao defeats Ryuto Sawada via Unanimous Decision Muay Thai – Catchweight (80.8 KG): Nieky Holzken defeats John Wayne Parr via Technical Knockout (TKO) at 1:23 of Round 2 ONE Championship returns with “ONE on TNT IV,” which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, on Wednesday, April 28 (Thursday, April 29 in Asia). In the main event, reigning ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang defends his belt in a trilogy fight against rival Vitaly Bigdash. 

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