00:00Let's talk about the Sports Radar deal. I mean, that was announced last week, but obviously, I mean, this is
00:03part of the evolution.
00:04What exactly is the goal here with that partnership with Sports Radar?
00:08Well, sports betting in general, I think, is going to be an increasingly big and growing opportunity for us, the
00:15Professional Fighters League.
00:16And so Sports Radar is a way for us to really get more aligned with a terrific partner as we
00:21look to grow and scale that business.
00:23And we want our fans to be able to enjoy our sport the same way that they're enjoying all the
00:28other sports in terms of we've had a small sports betting business.
00:32But we think this is an area of really big growth for us. So really, really pleased to be with
00:35Sports Radar.
00:36They're a terrific company and we want to help their business.
00:39And we think likewise, we'll give our fans an incremental opportunity and a way to engage with our product.
00:45So you're integrating into their platform. Is that the idea? OK. All right. So that's good.
00:49So, I mean, you have several events coming up. I know a big one in Chicago next month.
00:52But you've got a couple of events coming up prior to that. Is this kind of the real start to
00:57your 2026 season?
00:58Yes. We had a successful event in Dubai in February, which at this point seems like a long time ago.
01:02But we'll be we'll be in Madrid this Friday night and then Pittsburgh the week after and then Chicago a
01:08couple of weeks after that.
01:09And then we start rolling. We've got a total of 23 more events to go for the remainder of this
01:15year.
01:15So I'm really excited and really excited to kick off.
01:19I mean, Madrid, big event for us, but really excited to kick off beginning in Pittsburgh in the United States.
01:24This will be a big year for us in the U.S.
01:26I want to talk a little bit more about that. But you did mention Dubai.
01:29And we have to point, obviously, one of your primary backers is the Saudi Arabia fund.
01:34And I am just curious, given some of the issues going on in the Middle East,
01:37is there going to be any sort of potential disruption of the events that you hold in Dubai or anywhere
01:42else in the Middle East?
01:42I certainly hope not. I was on the phone.
01:44We actually held a call with our partners in Saudi this morning and and so far we have an event
01:49scheduled there in April.
01:50And so far everything looks fine.
01:52And we're going to continue to to approach that as if it's going to happen with no disruption.
01:57But of course, we're we're keeping a close eye on the situation and very, very concerned about just that area
02:01of the world and the UAE in general.
02:03Because, I mean, I assume a lot of the fans who go to those fights in those areas are probably
02:08local or at least from the region.
02:10But you've got to bring your fighters in as well. Yes.
02:12And there's got to be a safety issue that you've got. Absolutely.
02:14And we take that very, very seriously. We're taking it very seriously, even in Madrid.
02:18But actually, in the Saudi region, most of those fighters can drive.
02:22They are mostly local in in in area fighters.
02:26But look, taking care of our fighters as well as our employees is a paramount concern to me as the
02:31CEO.
02:31So we're going to do whatever is the most prudent thing.
02:33Now, with regards to your fighters and just expanding, you know, who you have and who you're able to sign
02:38here.
02:38Have you seen a little bit more of an uptick of fighters that are interested in going to the PFL
02:43as opposed to going to the UFC?
02:45You know, we've always had an interesting relationship because it's it's an ecosystem where sometimes we'll sign fighters coming off
02:53of the UFC.
02:53They'll sign some fighters coming out of the PFL.
02:56I don't think that relationship has changed all that much.
02:59It's pretty vibrant. We're continuously looking to see if there's talent that can fill in our roster and will opportunistically
03:05try to sign them where we can and vice versa.
03:08So there hasn't been any meaningful or demonstrable change, I would say, since UFC went over and signed with Paramount.
03:14Well, speaking of UFC, I mean, obviously, they're they're leaving the SPN.
03:17They left. They're going over to the new Paramount and Paramount Plus.
03:20Does that open up an opportunity?
03:22You've had a relationship with ESPN for a while, basically since more or less since you started here.
03:26Is there an opportunity to maybe expand that relationship to maybe something a little bit more not just bigger, but
03:32maybe even more exclusive?
03:33I hope so. I think so. Like we're they're our partner this year.
03:36This is the last year of our multi-year relationship with them.
03:39And they've been terrific to work with as we're approaching the season for this year.
03:44But but this is our final year of our current deal.
03:47And we'll probably be talking to any U.S. media platform that might be interested in acquiring MMA rights in
03:55the U.S.
03:55We are the number two global promotion next to the UFC.
03:59And with the UFC now exclusively on Paramount for the next seven years, there's probably legitimately another seven or eight
04:07possible platforms that may be interested in securing the rights for the PFL.
04:10So we'll be in discussions with all of them. We'd love to have a partner that will really be interested
04:15in seeing us grow as we help try to grow their business, too.
04:18Have you had any discussions yet in the form of discussions, none that I could really talk about now.
04:23But these these discussions are complicated and complex.
04:26And my sense is we'll probably be exploring the market and talking to potential partners for a number of months
04:33now.
04:33OK, but you would still have to get that done by the end of the year.
04:36Yes, that's our full expectation. Absolutely.
04:38So you're going to be busy with that as well. Right. Is there a sense here when we talk about
04:42what you want PFL to be longer term in terms of the growth?
04:45Because I assume that's going to be part of the conversation as well. Yes.
04:48What do you want it to be? Well, the MMA market is massive.
04:51The third largest fan base in the world and the MMA fan community is underserved.
04:56There are a fraction of MMA events when you compare to other popular sports that have thousands of basketball games
05:02or football games or soccer games.
05:04And so the MMA community is starving for product.
05:09And so as long as you don't believe that the UFC is going to be a global monopoly, there ought
05:15to be room for a very, very successful number two.
05:17And that's where the PFL comes in.
05:19And our job is to present them with elite fighters because we have the second most elite fighter roster on
05:25the planet and to put on great shows.
05:27And the other thing that I'm really excited about, I have a media background, is, you know, there's 8,760
05:33hours in a year.
05:34An average fighter inside the cage across one year fights one hour.
05:40That's 8,759 other hours that we can try to engage our audience and fan base with what they're doing.
05:48Storytell about them, get them engaged, amplify them as brands and as athletes.
05:52And that's something that I'm really excited to do because I don't think anybody in the MMA space is really
05:56storytelling in a very compelling way.
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