The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a new broadcast agreement with cable channel Vice TV to bring its international mixed martial arts (MMA) events to US audiences.
The deal will see Vice TV provide exclusive coverage of 10 international PFL MENA and Africa events, including both the MENA Championships on December 5 from Saudi Arabia and the Africa Championships on December 20 from Benin, West Africa.
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The channel will air eight more events from MENA and Africa throughout 2026.
Along with live broadcasts, subscribers to Vice’s distributors will gain free and on-demand access to 50 hours of PFL MENA and Africa archived fights.
PFL chief executive, John Martin, said: “Vice’s unique storytelling voice, passionate sports audience, and broad linear reach make them the ideal partner to showcase the next generation of global MMA.
“Together, we’re bringing the action, culture, and energy of PFL MENA and PFL Africa to millions of fans across the U.S., while continuing to build the sport’s worldwide momentum through live events and exclusive programming.”
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By GlobalDataThe rights add to Vice’s live sports programming, which includes BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, United Fight League, and Arena Football One. The channel also premiered a six-episode series, NFL Classics: After Further Review, which revisited six iconic NFL games with commentary from league legends and celebrity fans.
Vice TV president, Peter Gaffney, said: “Vice TV audiences come to us for the high-octane, provocative and compelling content they can’t find anywhere else, and as we continue enhance our live sports slate, we’re proud to welcome Professional Fighter’s League to our line-up and give our viewers and PFL fans across the US access to these international fights for the first time on television.”
The agreement comes as PFL looks to secure a new rights deal in the US, with its current contract with international sports broadcaster ESPN due to expire next year.
ESPN has agreed several renewals with PFL since initially acquiring rights in 2019, with the most recent extension – a multi-year agreement – struck in 2023.
ESPN recently lost rights to UFC, with media giant Paramount securing a blockbuster seven-year, $7.7 billion agreement, putting ESPN in danger of potentially losing two MMA properties if a renewal with PFL isn’t reached.
With UFC off the table for the long term, PFL believes it can present an attractive proposition for any broadcaster seeking to get into the MMA business as the second biggest promotion in the world, with plans to introduce a new format and more major global events.
Speaking to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) last month, Martin said: “The biggest prize at this moment in time is the United States. Over the next 12 months, that's [securing a new US media rights deal] my biggest priority.
“I accepted the role to join PFL, and then the UFC deal was announced. For us, it's a terrific validation that mixed martial arts is now mainstream.
“Our partner is ESPN; they've spent most of their time focused on UFC in the past, but won’t be in business with UFC going forward. We have one more year with them, so we’re going to shift the format and focus and move away from the world tournament to one champion per weight class, one belt defendable, more of a traditional format to simplify the structure and showcase the elite fighters that PFL already has in its roster, and figure out who might want to be in the MMA category.
“If you're a media rights buyer and want to be in MMA, you don't have any ability to be with UFC anytime over the next seven years. PFL is a strong number two. Our proposition is, if you don't want to be closed out for the next seven years, come work with PFL and help us.”
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