Mixed martial arts will be televised on Eurosport India for the first time. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, MMA promotion Professional Fighters League announced on September 10, 2020 its an international distribution partnership with the Indian sports channel.

PFL is the first organization to present MMA in a regular season, playoffs and championship format. It has a planned global expansion including a focus on growing the sport in India and its partnership with Eurosport India is part of it.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Eurosport India will broadcast live PFL regular season, playoffs and championship events. It will provide fight fans with original programming created by PFL Studios, a fully integrated global media division of the Professional Fighters League producing original MMA content for all platforms including television, digital and mobile.

Moreover, PFL programming on Eurosport India will feature classic fights from the MMA promotion’s vault. Fans will have the opportunity to relive the championship journeys of its stars such as Kayla Harrison, Ray Cooper III, Emiliano Sordi, Magomed Magomedkerimov and Nathan Schulte.

“As the second largest populated country in the world, there is tremendous growth opportunity in India for the Professional Fighters League and MMA,” PFL chief executive officer Peter Murray said. “We are actively evaluating talent in the region for opportunities to join the PFL roster and compete for a million-dollar prize. This exciting partnership with Eurosport India provides fans with access to premium MMA content. Combined with an increased presence in India, PFL can serve as a catalyst for extending the reach of this sport beyond the over 450 million MMA fans around the world.”

This is a historic partnership for Eurosport India, Discovery-South Asia affiliate sales senior vice president and sports business head Vijay Rajput said. He continued, “We’re proud to team with Professional Fighters League and provide our growing fan base with premium, innovative MMA action.”

“We are excited about PFL’s commitment to growing the sport in India,” Rajput added. “Not only will fans have access to PFL events and content for the first time, top local talent will have the opportunity to show the world what they can achieve in the cage. This will raise the profile of our athletes and the sport significantly.”

The partnership with Eurosport India is the latest example of PFL’s continued growth, following the launch of the MMA promotion’s first OTT platform, a broadcast partnership with Telesport Russia, and brand deals with the likes of Acronis, GEICO and AB InBev, among others. PFL is working with global distribution agency Fighting Spirit on the league’s international media rights distribution plan and partnerships.