More than 250
top male and female MMA fighters from India and abroad will slug it out across
11 weight categories
Bollywood
starSanjay Dutt and top fighters will be seen in a star studded campaign across
the STAR network
New Delhi, March
12, 2013 -ESPN STAR Sports,
Asia’s leading sports broadcaster, today announced a 5 year broadcast deal with
Super Fight League (SFL), Asia’s leading Mixed Martial Arts property which is
the brain child of Raj Kundra, owner of Rajasthan Royals and Sanjay Dutt, the
Bollywood action superstar. The network will cover 23 SFL Fight Nights live on a
fortnightly basis from the 2013-14 season which kicks off in Mumbai on March 29,
2013 and will continue all year round till March end 2014.
Ever since its launch in 2012, SFL has gained a lot
of traction amongst MMA enthusiasts in the country. This year a total of around
250 fighters, male and female, from India and abroad will fight it out for the
coveted Championship
Title Beltand the right to be crowned SFL World Champion. This
season will see participants from top notch MMA playing countries like Japan,
Brazil and USA. A lot of NRI MMA fighters from countries like Australia, UK,
Canada, Germany and USA will also be in seen in action and add a lot of flavor
in this high octane contact sport.
Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Rajput, Chief
Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd, said, “We believe in offering
the best of sporting content to the Indian sports fans across genres and this
acquisition firmly reiterates our constant endeavor in this direction. This
acquisition enables us to expand our content in MMA fighting and we think this
property will get a lot of traction with fight fans across the country. We will
soon start a high decibel marketing campaign across our entire network
leveraging top fighters of the league and Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt to build up
to the season launch.”
Raj Kundra, Founder Chairman, Super Fight League,
said, “The broadcast tie-up with ESPN STAR Sports will providea major boost to
our efforts to promote this property across South Asia. We are very enthused
with the response that SFL has been able to generate in its very first year of
operation.The league is today ranked amongst the top 5 MMA leagues in the world.
As a result, we have seen a lot of interest from
leading MMA fighters to compete in SFL season 2. Good quality fighters from
India and abroad will help the league reach new highs. We are also expanding in
a big way. The new season will see 11 title belts on offer, up from 5 title
belts in the first edition. Male participants will fight it out across 8 weight
categories from bantamweight to heavyweight while the ladies’ section will see
action in 3 weight categories from flyweight to featherweight.”
Sanjay Dutt, Co-Founder, Super Fight League,
commented,“SFL is about real heroes, real fight, real action. SFL fights are
also intense where one good move can help an underdog come up triumphant over an
established champion. One has to be alert as there are no second chances here. I
get inspired when I see these fighters prepare for action. The broadcast deal
with ESPN STAR Sports will give SFL a big boost especially riding on the success
of the first year.”
M C Mary Kom, Brand Ambassador, SFL, added, “People
need to understand that it is very difficult to be an MMA fighter. It is a full
contact sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques,
standing as well as when you are on the ground. MMA includes Boxing, Wrestling,
Brazilian Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Judo and other styles.I get
dazzled every time I see actual MMA action in front of my eyes.”
In the Bantamweight category for males, current
title holder Anup Kumar has been given the top ranking. In the Featherweight
category, Bharat Khandare (current title holder) tops the ranking. In
Lightweight, Rajinder Singh (current title holder) is ranked No.1. In
Welterweight, Shyam Prasad (current title holder) is at the top. In the new
categories introduced this year, John Troyer has been ranked highest in the
Middleweight category. Goran Reljic is ranked second in the Light heavyweight
category. Daniel Amar Singh has been ranked highest in the Heavyweight category.
In the female section, Sanja Sucevic has been ranked highest in the Flyweight
category. In Bantamweight, Hanna Sillen has been given the highest billing. In
Featherweight, Puja Kadian is the favourite for the title.
SFL season 2is set to kick-off in Mumbai on March
29this year and will take place every fortnight till March end 2014. For more
information on all the action, please logontowww.superfightleague.
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