Professional Fighters League and Bellator
MMA events will have a broadcast home in Brazil for the
foreseeable future.
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On Tuesday, PFL announced a multi-year media rights renewal with
Globo to serve as its exclusive broadcast partner in Brazil. This
includes both PFL and Bellator events as well as archival footage
and original content. Globo is the leading media rights company in
Brazil and one of the largest TV networks in the world.
According to a release, PFL and Bellator events will air on Combate
platforms — which includes a pay TV channel, website, app and
social networks — as well as being featured live on Globo’s
free-to-air platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. PFL
purchased Bellator in 2023 and will continue running the promotion
as a separate entity, with its first event under new ownership set
for March 22 in Belfast.
“The Professional Fighters League is thrilled to expand our
partnership with Globo, the premium media company in Brazil, as the
continued home of PFL,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray in a release.
“Brazil’s rich history in combat sports reigns supreme in the PFL,
with six fighters achieving PFL world champion status, and we are
excited to continue delivering Brazilian MMA fans with access to
the best action and fighters across the sport.”
Recent PFL champions from Brazil include Larissa
Pacheco, Antonio
Carlos Jr., Renan
Ferreira, Bruno
Cappelozza, Raush
Manfio and Natan
Schulte. Noteworthy Brazilians on the Bellator roster include
the likes of Patricio
Freire, Cristiane
Justino, Patricky
Freire, Douglas
Lima and Juliana
Velasquez.
“We are very happy with this new agreement. It represents not
only the maintenance of a partnership that has brought great
results for Combate but also the possibility of continuing to offer
our subscribers, the Brazilian audience who loves fighting, two of
the best MMA events currently,” said Combate channel product
manager Rafael Gruenbaum.