Mark Your Calendar: February 18, 2022
#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/fQ2Il7FqPR— PFL (@PFLMMA)
December 9, 2021
Editor’s note: The article has been updated at 12:30 p.m. ET on
Dec. 9 to reflect additional information on the official capacity
of the celebrity judges.
Professional Fighters League has announced a multi-year
partnership with fuboTV
to stream the new PFL Challenger Series next year.
The PFL Challenger Series is designed to allow the winners to earn
a spot on the upcoming PFL season, making it somewhat similar to
the format utilized by
Dana White’s Contender Series. The PFL Challenger Series will
debut on Feb. 18 next year and will stream on consecutive Friday
nights in February, March and April on fuboTV and its linear
network, Fubo Sports Network.
However, the PFL will apparently differ from the Contender Series
in the way that fighters are selected to compete in the season.
“PFL Challenger Series is not your father’s contender series,” said
PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis. “Winners of the PFL Challenger
Series can become a real-world Rocky story, going from an unknown
pro to World Champion holding a $1 million check in the same
year.”
A celebrity judging panel including “combat sports champions, major
celebrities from music and entertainment, and global influencers”
will help determine winners, along with interactive fan voting,
according to a release. Thus far, former NFL stars Ray Lewis, Todd
Gurley and Ray Lewis have been confirmed as celebrity judges for
the PFL Challenger Series. These judges will not actually score the
fights themselves, as this will be handled by commission-appointed
officials, but they will aid in the selection process of who
receives contracts.
FuboTV launched in in 2015 and has gained traction as a
sports-first streaming service that also offers other channels. It
became available in the United States in 2018 and offers a few
different pricing options with different channel lineups.
“fuboTV believes the future of sports television will be
interactive,” said fuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler. “This
partnership will give our audience unprecedented ways to interact
and engage with the PFL. We are looking forward to bringing an
interactive sports and entertainment television experience to
consumers next year through this very unique partnership.”