Warner Bros. Discovery Secures Exclusive U.S. Rights To Professional Fighters League's New Bellator Champions Series

All Eight 2024 Global Premium MMA Events Will Stream Exclusively Live On Max, With The First Event Kicking Off This Friday, March 22

Max Subscribers Gain Access To Two New Docuseries Along With The Best of Bellator's Fight Library

TNT Sports On truTV To Feature Bellator Content Throughout The Year

NEW YORK, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced an exclusive U.S. media rights agreement today for the new Bellator Champion Series, a highly anticipated mixed martial arts (MMA) championship, debuting this Friday, March 22. This new series will stream exclusively on Max and be available on all plans. The series includes eight mega events staged in cities across the globe, featuring world-ranked fighters and two title fights during each event.

Bellator Champions Series kicks off at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland this Friday, March 22 at 1pm ET and is followed by Bellator Champions Series Paris on Friday, May 17 at the Accor Arena. With World Championships on the line, each event will highlight the best fighters from each region with locally relevant matchups. The full slate of 2024 Bellator Champions Series events are as follows (timing will be announced closer to event dates):

• Friday, March 22, 1pm E.T. - Bellator Champions Series Belfast - The SSE Arena, Belfast
• Friday, May 17 - Bellator Champions Series Paris - Accor Arena
• Saturday, June 22 - Bellator Champions Series Dublin - 3Arena
• Saturday, September 7 - Bellator Champions Series San Diego - Pechanga Arena
• Saturday, September 14 - Bellator Champions Series London - OVO Wembley
• Saturday, October 12 - Bellator Champions Series Chicago - Wintrust Arena
• Saturday, November 16 - Bellator Champions Series Paris - ADIDAS Arena
• Tuesday, December 31 - Bellator Champions Series - TBD

Additionally, TNT Sports will televise a robust slate of Bellator content throughout the year on the "TNT Sports on truTV" programming block. Broadcast details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The first event includes a stacked fight card full of MMA action:

MAIN EVENT: COREY ANDERSON V KARL MOORE
Bellator Light Heavyweight Title Fight (205 lb)
Corey Anderson, one of the best light heavyweights of the last decade, gets his third crack at becoming a world champion as he takes on Belfast's very own Karl Moore. Anderson has won against five different MMA world champions. Moore is riding a four-fight win streak and is fighting to become Bellator's first Irish Champion in front of his home crowd.

CO-MAIN EVENT: PATRICIO PITBULL V JEREMY KENNEDY
Bellator Featherweight Title Fight (145 lb)
Bellator G.O.A.T. Patricio Pitbull defends his featherweight title against the division's #1 title contender, ferocious Jeremy Kennedy. Pitbull is the only Bellator 4X World Champion and holds the records for most fights (29), wins (23), and finishes (13) in Bellator history. Kennedy has won six of his last seven fights against top competition to earn this title shot.

MIDDLEWEIGHT #1 CONTENDER BOUT: FABIAN EDWARDS V AARON JEFFERY
Fabian "The Assassin" Edwards, the brother of UFC Welterweight Champ Leon Edwards, looks to rebound from a close Championship loss to undefeated Johnny Eblen last time out. Edwards will have to go through hard-hitting Canadian Aaron Jeffery to re-establish himself worthy of another shot at the Bellator Middleweight Championship Belt.

In addition to the eight high-octane global events, Max subscribers will also have access to two new all-access docuseries, both debuting Thursday, March 21 ahead of the first event this Friday, March 22. Fans can go behind-the-scenes and delve deeper into the fighter's lives as they push beyond their limits to mentally prepare and train for their match ups:

• Fight Camp Confidential: Witness a journey into the lives of Bellator's most elite fighters as the show travels to the camps of Bellator champions and title contenders, giving an up-close and personal look at their training regimes.
• Fight Week: An all-access look at the lives of championship fighters as they prepare to defend their belts. Experience the intensity of training mixed with lighthearted moments that make up fight week.

Additional programming available to stream on Max will include a robust selection from Bellator's full library featuring 300+ events with 3,000 fights, pre-fight, post-fight, and original programming, including legends from the sport like Kimbo Slice, "Rampage" Jackson, Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko, and the full fight history of Bellator homegrown talent like AJ McKee, Johnny Eblen, Aaron Pico, Michael Chandler, and Michael "Venom" Page.

"Following our historic acquisition of Bellator, Professional Fighters League is proud to partner with Warner Bros. Discovery for the highly anticipated Bellator Champions Series to stream exclusively on Max for fans across the United States, at no extra cost to subscribers, when the global franchise launches on March 22," said Peter Murray, CEO, Professional Fighters League. "We're excited for audiences to tune into Bellator's new home on Max for eight Bellator Champions Series events in 2024 taking place in iconic cities around the globe, featuring world title fights and the biggest stars in combat sports. There's an incredible demand for premium, year-round MMA content from major media platforms and this is the latest milestone in PFL's ambition to bring the sport's best to audiences around the world."

"We are thrilled to partner with Professional Fighters League to introduce a new live sport to the U.S. Warner Bros. Discovery content portfolio," said Josh Walker, Chief Financial & Strategy Officer, Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming. "The addition of Bellator Champions Series offers our viewers an opportunity to experience highly anticipated mixed martial arts, nicely complementing our robust slate of can't miss programming."

Max is the one to watch for iconic series, hit movies, fresh originals, family favorites and more. From leading brands like HBO, Warner Bros., DC, HGTV and Food Network, there is something for the entire household. In addition to live sports coverage, Max subscribers can also enjoy an exciting lineup this year, including the upcoming HBO Original espionage thriller "The Sympathizer (debuting April 14)," Max Original "The Penguin," starring Colin Ferrell and the HBO Original limited documentary series "The Jinx – Part Two," a six-episode continuation of the hit 2015 series. Returning favorites in 2024 include HBO Originals "House of the Dragon" (season 2 debuting this June), "We're Here" (season 4 debuting April 26), "My Brilliant Friend," and "Industry," plus Max Originals "Hacks (season 3 debuting May 2)," "The Sex Lives of College Girls," and "Sort Of."

PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the "Champions League of MMA" with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development.  PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next generation viewing experience. PFL is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.

About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the #2 MMA company worldwide and the #1 fastest-growing sports league. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator Champions Series. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.

About Max

Max^®, which launched May 23, 2023, is an enhanced streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, delivering unparalleled quality content for everyone in the household. With a personalized user experience that brings unique and unexpected stories ranging from the best of unscripted to the highest quality in scripted programming to live news to sports, Max is the destination for HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, CNN Max, Bleacher Report Sports Add-On, an expansive offering of kids and family content, and best-in-class programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle, and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more, all in one place. 

About TNT Sports

TNT Sports is a global leader in the delivery of premium sports content. The TNT Sports U.S. portfolio includes expansive, multi-platform partnerships with the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, National Hockey League, United States Soccer Federation, NASCAR (coming in 2025) and a premier golf franchise in The Match. Owned and operated platforms are highlighted by Bleacher Report, the #1 digital destination for young sports fans, along with House of Highlights, HighlightHER, Golf Digest, and a full suite of digital and social portfolio brands. Additionally, TNT Sports co-manages NBA Digital — comprised of NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE Pass, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com — as well as NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness Live. TNT Sports in Europe and the Republic of Ireland includes partnerships with the NBA, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UFC, WWE and more, as well as much-loved brands Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN), Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) and multi-sport programming and content on discovery+ and Discovery's free-to-air TV networks.

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SOURCE Professional Fighters League (PFL)