Professional Fighters League Nabs $30M

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced it has closed a new $30 million Series C financing, bringing its total to $82 million of capital raised since inception, from major leaders in sports, media, entertainment, and business.

"PFL aims to bring to MMA what the other sports have, transparency and meritocracy in the season, and to join the big five leagues of NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and EPL," stated PFL Co-Founder and Chairman Donn Davis. "The combination of the ESPN distribution platform and the PFL sport-season format is the ideal match to bring MMA to mainstream sports fans."

"PFL is leading with innovation that is changing the game in combat-sports," said Peter Murray, PFL CEO. "Fans will love the PFL SmartCage and PFL Cagenomics debuting on ESPN that will take viewers inside the cage like never before with real-time data and analytics."

"In its very first season PFL became a breakout success in sports, and with its ESPN distribution on Thursday nights prime-time, PFL is poised to become a major company," said Ted Leonsis, owner of the NHL Washington Capitals and NBA Washington Wizards and PFL investor. "The large global combat-sports audience is eager for a different and exciting MMA product, and PFL is the unique and interesting alternative to what's out there."

PFL investor group includes:
Mark Burnett: Chairman TV Group MGM; Pioneer unscripted TV.
Elysian Park Ventures: Venture investment group of Los Angeles Dodgers.
SWaN Ventures: DC-based venture firm led by Fred Schaufeld and Tony Nader.
Ted Segal: Segal Family, founders of LS Power.
Debra Cafaro: Chairman/CEO, Ventas Inc.; Minority Owner Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL).
Brandon Beck: Co-founder Riot Games and Co-creator League of Legends.
Mark Leschly: Managing Partner, Iconica Ventures; Co-Owner and Partner, Rho Ventures.
Donn Davis: PFL Co-Founder; Founding Partner of Revolution and Revolution Growth.
Ted Leonsis: Majority Owner NHL 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals and NBA Washington Wizards; Recognized sports and technology investor and entrepreneur.

Thursday night is PFL MMA night and every event for the PFL 2019 Season airs on ESPN2 live in primetime on Thursday night, in addition to ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. PFL will also be viewed around the world in 130 countries with leading local broadcasters.

About Professional Fighters League
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) presents MMA for the first time in the sport-season format where individual fighters control their own destiny, competing in a regular season, playoffs, and championship. PFL's differentiated format and exciting fights sparked breakout growth for the league. PFL events are Thursday nights primetime live on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The PFL 2019 Season features elite MMA athletes across six weight classes, including the first-ever 155-pound women's division, with each fighter having two fights during the PFL Regular Season in May, June, July, and August. The top eight fighters in each weight class advance to the single-elimination PFL Playoffs in October, where fighters must fight twice and win twice in the same night to advance to the finals. PFL Championship is New Year's Eve with the winners of each title bout being crowned PFL World Champion of their respective weight class and earning $1 million. Viewers will be delivered next-gen stats never before seen in MMA through the PFL's proprietary SmartCage™ platform and Cagenomics™ technology.

PFL is backed by an investor group of sports, media, entertainment, and business titans. Watch PFL live Thursday nights in the U.S. on ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes. PFL is also available in 130 countries around the world with leading local broadcasters.