Late Sunday night, Legend Fighting Championship (Legend) announced its new partnership with ESPN International, signing an exclusive distribution and syndication agreement with the worldwide leader of sports’ overseas division.
Under the terms of the deal, ESPN will become the sole distribution agent of all of the Hong Kong-based promotion’s broadcast content in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East as well as the Indian sub-continent.
“Since our first tournament in January 2010, Legend has been bringing the best of Asia-Pacific MMA to a large and growing television audience,” said Legend co-founder and managing director Chris Pollak in a press release. “This agreement with ESPN will give our broadcast efforts a big boost, and we look forward to working with them.”
Legend is currently available to viewers in 10 countries across Asia-Pacific and North America. The new agreement will enable the promotion to enter into new markets, expanding its broadcast footprint at home and abroad.
News of this partnership comes off the heels of controversy within the sport for ESPN. An Outside the Lines report on fighters’ pay was met with harsh criticism by the MMA community, prompting UFC President Dana White to post a rebuttal video as a response to the promotion’s portrayal in the piece.
Despite criticism of ESPN’s coverage of MMA, the broadcasting giant has previously brought the UFC and other promotions to viewers overseas.
ESPN International’s vice president of programming Mike Walter expressed excitement over the agreement, saying, “Legend’s combination of a roster filled with elite fighters from the Asia-Pacific region with high-quality production values makes us excited to work with them to continue to develop their audience around the world.”
Legend, founded in 2009, is furthering its reach within the Asia-Pacific region, having recently signed an agreement with Macau mega-resort and casino City of Dreams to produce an ongoing series of MMA tournaments, the first of which took place last July.
The promotion’s next tournament, Legend 7, is scheduled for February 11. There is no word yet as to whether this event will be the first under the new deal.
Matt Juul is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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