On Sports Marketing: LVSportsBiz Holds Q and A With Professional Fighters League CEO On PFL In Vegas For April
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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com MMA and Combat Sports Writer
Sports promoters and organizations are infatuated with Las Vegas. It’s hard to keep up with it all.
One week the NCAA is here with March Madness at the men’s college basketball West Regional at T-Mobile Arena or even having its first NCAA sports championship in Las Vegas with the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships at South Point Bowling Plaza April 14-15.
The next week the Professional Fighters League has set up shop in Las Vegas.
MMA and boxing have made Las Vegas the combat sports hub of the planet and the Professional Fighters League has taken notice. The PFL, created in 2018 when it bought the former World Series of Fighting and turned it into a seasonal MMA league, is staging fight shows in Las Vegas on April 1, 7 and 17.
LVSportsBiz.com caught up with Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray to find out why PFL is spending April in Las Vegas.
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LVSportsBiz.com: PFL last held an event in Las Vegas in 2019. Why did the promotion chose to revisit the city this season?
Professional Fighters League CEO Peter Murray: Since the Professional Fighters League was last in Las Vegas we have expanded globally at an exponential rate; it was most certainly time to return to the ‘fight capital of the world’. Our league, the only MMA company with a true season format, has an exceptional partner in the reimagined The Theater at Virgin Hotels and Las Vegas is a city as vibrant as our organization and athletes. Las Vegas like the PFL has something for everyone, and are both destinations for the best in sports, entertainment, and pageantry. Our return was inevitable, and we believe the time was right to take up residency from both an event and business standpoint.
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LVSB: You have a mix of PFL homegrown talent, and recognizable names from across the MMA landscape on the roster. What are some of the more recent reasons you feel athletes are signing with the promotion?
PM: The success of any league begins and ends with the athletes. Through tireless scouting, to launching regional leagues such as PFL Europe or giving up and coming fighters a chance to earn a life changing contract through The PFL through our Challenger Series, the Professional Fighters League has looked for and found the best talent in the world. The PFL’s meritocracy, has made the league attractive to MMA fighters across the globe. We believe in the fair treatment of our athletes, giving athletes the opportunity, through merit, to chart their own course in a PFL Season while pursuing a World Championship and $1million prize. The PFL’s homegrown talent have blazed a path in MMA and that patch has led to some of the most recognizable names joining our brand.
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LVSB: Alex Rodriguez came on board as an investor last year as the global growth of MMA saw a significant climb. What do you believe is the point of differentiation PFL offers to the MMA fan base?
PM: Obviously we were thrilled to welcome Alex and Waverly Capital to our robust investor group; they saw what the PFL has done in such a short period of time and aligned with our vision of what this great sport can be. The biggest point of differentiation between the PFL and other MMA companies is quite simple, we are a meritocracy. We are athlete and fan first. The PFL puts the power firmly in the hands of the athlete, our incredibly talented and diverse roster of athletes start a season with the same chance of moving on to the PFL Playoffs and PFL World Championship. There is no ambiguity when it comes to who advances and why, as the only MMA organization with a true season format, fighters know exactly where they are in the standings and what they need to do to advance. We believe this system gives fighters clarity and fans must watch MMA action.
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LVSB: Biaggio Ali Walsh makes his Las Vegas debut this week. Of course, people are intrigued by his grandfather’s legacy. What have you observed in him that is uniquely Biaggio that you wish people knew more about?
PM: Muhammad Ali transcended sports to become a global icon. We are all intrigued by Ali’s legacy, quite frankly there will never be another. Biaggio embraces his grandfather’s legacy but does not allow it to define him. Biaggio is a remarkable young man, humble and hard working. He is determined to carve out his own legacy in combat sports, we saw something special in Biaggio and could not be more pleased and excited to have him on the PFL roster. I think people will find out in short order that Biaggio is not here because of his name but based on merit. We all see a bright future for Biaggio and as he begins his own legacy.
