The Professional Fighters League continues to add to its resume ahead of Friday’s 2021 debut, announcing a partnership to make DraftKings the first official sportsbook of the MMA promotion.
PFL 1 takes place this Friday night from Atlantic City, airing live on ESPN2 and ESPN+. In the main event, Anthony Pettis squares off with Clay Collard in the lightweight tournament regular season.
The multi-year partnership between the two will make wagering on PFL fights available for fans across the country, pending regulatory approvals.
“We’re thrilled to partner with DraftKings as we look to advance the sport by delivering a premium and unique betting and gaming experience to the millions of passionate MMA fans in the US,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “The PFL’s win and advance season format combined with our proprietary SmartCage fight data and analytics offer unmatched prop bets and gaming opportunities. MMA’s league is back with our season debut this Friday, April 23 in primetime on ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.”
The multi-faceted partnership will give MMA, daily fantasy and sports betting fans a truly unique viewing and gaming experience utilizing PFL’s proprietary SmartCage technology. PFL is the first in combat sports to capture and distribute real-time fighter data and analytics, which are integrated into each broadcast and across the league’s digital and social channels and include metrics like punch speed, fighter tracking, kick speed, heart rate and caloric burn.
This data will eventually allow for innovative and distinctive prop bets. For example, fans will be able to place a wager on whether or not a fighter will land a strike exceeding 25 MPH.
Live fight-night odds will be integrated into each event broadcast on the ESPN family of networks and other streaming platforms. PFL’s pre-fight show will be presented by DraftKings with Jonathan Coachman serving as the host. Coachman will be joined by Ian Parker.
“We are excited to further our relationship with the Professional Fighters League as their first official betting and daily fantasy partner,” said Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer of DraftKings. “MMA is mainstream. The fan is young, loyal, passionate, and engaged, and PFL delivers an innovative product. We look forward to bringing a premium betting and fantasy experience to this growing audience in what is a monumental partnership for combat sports and the gaming industry.”