The Professional Fighters League is joining forces with Draft Kings to offer a fantasy sports component and eventually gaming according to a press release sent out on Friday. The announcement comes ahead of its first year of the promotion’s new format which will award $1 million to the winners of each of its weight divisions.
Via press release:
BOSTON (December 14, 2018) – DraftKings and the Professional Fighters League today announced a strategic partnership that will bring MMA fans a new way to immerse themselves in the sport starting with the PFL Championship on New Year’s Eve.
“The winners in this partnership are MMA fans, first with fantasy and eventually gaming,’” said Donn Davis, Co-Founder and Chairman of Professional Fighters League, “PFL is re-imagining MMA, and we look forward to collaborating with DraftKings to offer new engagement for fans while creating new revenue streams for our business.”
The PFL season started with 72 fighters and concludes with the best two fighters in each of the six weight classes competing in six final fights in one epic night. The 2018 PFL World Championship Pick ‘Em fantasy game is easy to play, as sports fans simply predict four outcomes for each of the six fights: Who will win the fight? What will the method of victory be? In what round will each fight end? At what time within that round will the fight end? The game will feature a live leaderboard for players to track their position in real time, and DraftKings will award $25K in guaranteed prizing.
“Our partnership with the Professional Fighters League is another example of our dedication to innovation and our never ending quest to expand our sports offerings” said Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer at DraftKings. “Like our customers, PFL fans are extremely engaged and passionate, and this collaboration is an excellent example of what DraftKings seeks in partners who can connect with our growing community of players.”
Payout Perspective:
We’ve seen Fantasy Sports in MMA before and Draft Kings dabbed its toe in the market and event announced partnership with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. But legislation forced it out of several key states which kept it off the radar for a couple years. However, with the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing states to decide on sports betting, we could see another run at it from companies like Draft Kings.
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