Ramping up: Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray on honing new talent and growing regional fanbases

PFL Europe season to launch on 25 March in Newcastle

Two-time US Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison (left) has seamlessly transitioned from Judo to MMA and had become one of the best women’s fighters in the world. Her unblemished run to the 2019 PFL lightweight title ran her pro record to 7-0

Professional Fighters League (PFL) is kicking off its brand new European league – PFL Europe – on 25 March in Newcastle, UK.

In October 2022, the PFL and DAZN announced they were teaming up in bringing the first of the league’s plans for six regional championships to the world, starting with the creation of PFL Europe.

The joint venture is the first regional league to come from a global provider of MMA, and the winners will have the opportunity to move up the international PFL ladder to compete ultimately for $1 million in the PFL World Championship.

Peter Murray, CEO at PFL, spoke to SVG Europe about the launch of PFL Europe and where the league is going. On why PFL Europe has been created, how it will work and how it will bring new fighters to the sport, Murray says: “We’re very excited about the launch PFL Europe. It is the first international regional league that the PFL has launched, and it’ll be one of six that we launch over the next three years.

“We’ll have six regional leagues up and running within three years,” states Murrey. Europe is the first regional PFL Championship to launch, with the Middle East, Africa, Brazil, Latin America and Asia to follow. “We’re excited about Asia,” adds Murray. “It’s a massive geography and [has challenges on] how we segment that, but more to come on those details.”

Behind the vision

The first PFL Europe fight night is taking place in Newcastle at the end of this month. Murray comments on the overall vision for the European league and the next five to come: “Our vision is to have some of the best fighters in the world at different stages of their careers, and throughout the world to create opportunities for them to compete on major media platforms against top competition. [They will compete] under the PFL banner and our format, with a regular season playoff in a championship, enabling fighters an opportunity to become regional champion. Then we’ll activate not only in-region competition, but pan-regional competition amongst those leagues and fighters.

“The top talent in those championships will then have a path to PFL Global and get into the Global League season where fighters compete for the championship and a million dollars.” Murray continues: “Our vision is to advance and grow the sport and really do that in a constructive way, but also to ensure that that fighters have more opportunity.

“Candidly, hope has been the fighters’ strategy [up till now]; there aren’t many regional opportunities in the world with companies who are well positioned, capitalised, and have the capability to put major events together in an organised fashion for these fighters to develop and grow and excel in the sports. So that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Strategic European plan

DAZN is the strategic and media partner in PFL Europe, with equity in the league. PFL and DAZN also announced a multiyear media rights agreement to bring all PFL global events exclusively to DAZN in select major international markets, with a focus on Europe, in October 2022, with the strategic media rights distribution partner in the region for all PFL fight franchises: the PFL Global League, PFL Challenger Series, PFL Europe and PFL PPV Super Fight Division.

Adds Murray: “We’re very excited about pay-per-view, and more to come on those details.”

He goes on: “We’re really excited about DAZN being part of this. They share our vision of MMA and of the PFL and its growth as a sport. They have one of the fastest growing sports platforms throughout Europe and the world, catering to this fan, as well as other mainstream sports beyond MMA. We’ll have additional media partners distribute beyond DAZN, [to get] PFL Europe throughout the rest of the world.”

PFL is producing all the events in Europe itself. Says Murray: “In line with our global product standards and the experience that we pull together, it’s a PFL production in partnership with DAZN.”

Newcomer with ambition

The PFL is growing rapidly despite being a relative newcomer to the MMA arena, having only launched in 2018. Murray says on where it sits right now in terms of the audience, “we’re growing 40% year over year in terms of our audience on average globally”. He goes on: “We’re fast growing, but every market has its own set of goals and metrics. Europe [is a] massive opportunity, and the targeted markets [that we’ll be expanding to], that’s where we’ll be putting a lot of resource both from the PFL as well as DAZN.”

Murray is excited to tap into (not out of) the European market. He explains: “You’ve got some real quality fighters, you really do. And they’re looking to take their game to the next level and that’s our goal; to advance the sport, do it with distinction, really further professionalising the sport. It’s mainstream, so there’s much more growth ahead. But we’re really there to solve for issues with fighters to give them more opportunity.

“Obviously Europe is a massive footprint and region, but we have priority countries who are aligned with DAZN on that, where we believe there’s high demand for MMA,” continues Murray. “The UK being at the top of the list, is a massive, massive growth market with huge demand. And then outside of that, we selected the markets that we’re staging events in because they’re priority growth markets: Germany, big opportunity; France, obviously the sport’s now legal and there’s real demand there and quality athletes; then Italy is a growth market; of course the Netherlands; and then I would say Spain.”

Growing fanbase

“We’re here to provide the top media companies in the world, including DAZN, with premium MMA. This is an underserved fan base who wants access to more. So I think fighters win, media companies win, and fans win ultimately.”

As to why viewers should tune into PFL Europe rather than other rival MMA competitions, Murray states: “Our view is we’re the number two MMA company in the world. We’re fast growing, poised to be co-leader – there’ll be more than one winner in this sport as a global organisation – we’re not asking the fan to choose Coke or Pepsi. This fan base wants access to more quality competition and fights; premium content. And that’s what we’re providing, but it’s differentiated.

“The format is everything. Some of the best fighters in Europe will be coming together across four week classes, three men’s one woman’s, and it’s a sport format where the athletes compete and they have to get through the regular season.

“Those top performers who win get into the playoff, and then it’s a win and advance, lose and go home playoff as a semi-final. Then there’s a championship where there’s six figures on the line for all four champions. So fans have the opportunity now in Europe to follow some of Europe’s greatest fighters, and a format that’s no different than the English Premier League (EPL) or other major traditional sports season type formats where they can really invest in a season experience from beginning, middle, and end, and also invest in their favourite fighters and see how they perform throughout this unique journey,” he concludes.

PFL Europe begins in Newcastle on 25 March, “and we’re really excited about September in Paris for the playoff,” says Murray. “We’ll bring all the production value that the PFL brings to its other events and gamify that experience as well.”

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.

Watch PFL Europe on DAZN for the first regular season match of the inaugural season on 25 March at the Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle. Next up is Berlin, Germany on 8 July at the Verti Music Hall. The playoffs take place on 3 September in Paris, France at the Zenith Paris La Villette, then finally the championship will be decided on 8 December in Dublin, Ireland, at 3Arena.