PFL live events and on-demand video content available year-round in
Middle East and North Africa

Coverage and streaming rights begin with inaugural PFL Challenger Series leading into
2022 PFL Regular Season

PFL MMA Regular Season kicks off on April 20 to more than 160 countries



NEW YORK (March 30, 2022) - The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, and MBC GROUP – the largest and leading media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – today announced an exclusive broadcast partnership for 2022. Under the agreement, MBC GROUP will become the exclusive PFL content provider in the MENA region, carrying the inaugural Challenger Series as well as the Regular Season, Playoffs and World Championship.

Additionally, MBC GROUP will carry exclusive PFL content including archival footage from previous seasons and original content from PFL Studios to MMA fans.

Former world champion and Jordanian MMA star Jarrah Al-Silawi earned a TKO victory in his PFL debut at the 2022 Challenger Series, earning a contract for the upcoming Regular Season where he’ll look to continue the momentum against the highly competitive welterweight division.

“The Professional Fighters League is excited to announce our exclusive broadcast partnership with MBC GROUP to deliver our premium MMA product to fans in the Middle East and North Africa,” said PFL CEO, Peter Murray. “The PFL has a world-class roster of talent and innovative format that we’re looking forward to showcasing in what will be our biggest season yet.”

Ashraf Younis, Director of MBC ACTION, added: “MBC GROUP is thrilled to partner with PFL to bring this exciting league to MMA fans and enthusiasts in the MENA region via MBC’s diverse portfolio, including MBC ACTION and our streaming service, Shahid VIP. This also forms part of our mission to build on and expand our sports offering in the region.”

The deal was developed in partnership with Athletic Sports Group and its subsidiary Fight Globe, the world’s largest combat sports distributor.

Through the agreement, fans in the MENA region will have access to the world’s best fighters and highly anticipated 2022 slate of action.

PFL is the first and only MMA league with a true sports-season format where elite fighters from around the world compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship. The four competitors in each division who earn the most points in the Regular Season advance to the win-or-go-home Playoffs, followed by the biggest night in MMA – the PFL World Championship – with each winner going home with the $1 million prize.

Following a breakthrough year that saw 100 percent audience growth, PFL has accelerated its momentum in the early part of 2022 with a multi-year renewal with ESPN, generating widespread buzz around the Challenger Series on fuboTV, and adding several leading brands to its blue-chip sponsorship portfolio.

Professional Fighters League is the No. 2 MMA company globally and features an elite talent roster with 25 percent of its fighters independently ranked in the top-25 of the world, including 2021 PFL champions Kayla Harrison and Ray Cooper III. PFL has live event coverage in 160 countries on leading distribution platforms and delivers a unique, innovative product to the more than 600 million MMA fans globally.

About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league.  PFL is the #2 MMA company worldwide and the only with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship.

PFL is primetime in the U.S on ESPN and ESPN+ and was broadcast and streamed live worldwide last year to 160 countries with partners including RMC Sport, FPT, Sky Sport, and more. The PFL roster is world-class, with 25% of PFL fighters independently ranked in the top 25 in the world. The PFL proprietary SmartCage data and analytics platform powers real-time betting and provides next-gen viewing experience.  

PFL has over two-dozen blue-chip brand sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, IBM, GEICO, DraftKings, Bose, Socios.com, Air Force Reserve, US Marine Corps, and more. PFL is backed by major investors including Ares Capital, Luxor Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Swan Ventures, Knighthead, Legends, and several NBA, MLB, and NHL team owners.

MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with 600 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demo of any sport, and true global revenue streams.

PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter (@PFLMMA); Facebook (/PFLmma)

About MBC Group
MBC GROUP is the largest and leading media company in the Middle East & North Africa region that enriches people’s lives through information, interaction and entertainment. In 2002, nearly a decade after the launch of MBC1 in London, in 1991, MBC GROUP moved its headquarters to Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates.

Today, MBC GROUP includes over 17 leading TV channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment); MBC2 & MBC MAX (24-hour western movies); MBC3(children’s edutainment with a mix of both local productions and western acquisitions); MBC4 (entertainment for young families with a female-focus); MBC ACTION (an indigenous adrenaline-packed channel targeting young males with local and homegrown productions); MBC VARIETY (Western films and general entertainment with uninterrupted broadcasting); MBC DRAMA(24/7 Arabic drama) & MBC+ DRAMA (a joint pay-TV channel between MBC and OSN); MBC PERSIA (general family entertainment dubbed and subtitled in Farsi); WANASAH (24-hour Arabic music channel); MBC MASR & MBC MASR2 (general family entertainment geared towards the Egyptian family); MBC BOLLYWOOD (delivering the freshest in Bollywood content geared towards the region via an Arabized interface); MBC USA (on “Dish Network” in the US); MBC IRAQ (a premium channel aimed at the entire Iraqi family), MBC5 (new satellite channel dedicated to the Maghreb); all of them benefit from MBC STUDIOS which produces the region’s most compelling premium content for cinema, television and on-demand platforms. MBC GROUP also includes two FM radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music) and Panorama FM(contemporary Arabic hit music).

Furthermore, part of MBC GROUP is Shahid and its premium subscription-based service Shahid VIP, the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform, home to highly rated original productions from the Arab world, a wide range of exclusive movies and premieres, as well as the top watched live Arab TV channels.