O’Melveny Worldwide

O’Melveny Represents Combate Americas in Multiyear Rights Deal with DAZN

September 14, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—September 14, 2018—O’Melveny represented Combate Americas, the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, in securing a landmark, multiyear rights agreement with DAZN, the live and on-demand sports streaming platform. The deal will bring a minimum of 13 fight nights per year to DAZN.

The parties announced the deal on September 13, 2018; financial terms were not disclosed.

Combate Americas is a fast-rising MMA organization known for its action-packed fights and growing audience within the sport. This monumental deal will bring Combate Americas to English-language viewers for the first time.

Beginning with this weekend’s card headlined by Levy Marroquin vs. Jose “Pochito” Alday, DAZN will be the exclusive home of Combate Americas’ English-language broadcasts in the United States and Canada.

The O’Melveny team was led by Sports Industry Group co-chair Irwin Raij (based in New York) and included Entertainment, Sports & Media counsel Jimmy Fanelly (based in Los Angeles).

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Contact:

Christopher Rieck
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 212 326 2218
crieck@omm.com


The full text of Cobate’s press release follows:

Dazn And Combate Americas (Mma) Sign Landmark Multiyear Distribution Deal In U.S. And Canada

First Fight: Marroquin vs. Alday Bantamweight World Championship Bout on Friday, Sept. 14

Gilbert Melendez, Julianna Peña and Max Bretos to Call the Action on DAZN

NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2018 – DAZN, the live and on-demand sports streaming platform, today announced a landmark, multiyear rights agreement with Combate Americas, the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise. The deal will bring a minimum of 13 fight nights per year to DAZN.

Beginning with this weekend’s card headlined by Levy Marroquin vs. Jose “Pochito” Alday, DAZN will be the exclusive home of Combate Americas’ English-language broadcasts in the United States and Canada. The Marroquin vs. Alday bout will stream live from Phoenix on DAZN at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 14.

Calling the action inside “La Jaula” – the Combate Americas cage – will be MMA superstars Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez and Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña, alongside play-by-play announcer Max Bretos.

Combate Americas is a fast-rising MMA organization known for its action-packed fights and growing audience within the sport. This monumental deal will bring Combate Americas to English-language viewers for the first time.

“We are thrilled to be in partnership with an innovative and global entertainment leader like DAZN, and to be able to showcase the fast-paced, aggressive and in-your-face style of fighting that Combate Americas offers and that, 25 years after I launched the UFC, has re-defined MMA as ‘Mucha Mas Accion,'” said Campbell McLaren, Combate Americas CEO. “We continue to break new ground in this sports industry, and this deal speaks directly to our pursuit of reaching new heights.”

“Chapter one of DAZN’s entrance into the U.S. market is focused on combat sports,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN SVP, North America. “And with 80 percent of Combate Americas’ fights ending in a stoppage, we are excited to bring that type of action to fight fans.”

Following the announcement of deals across Matchroom Boxing, Bellator MMA, and the World Boxing Super Series, the Combate Americas deal puts the number of fight nights per year on DAZN at 80+.

The winner of the bantamweight (135 lbs.) matchup between Marroquin, who hails from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico and Alday of Tucson, Ariz. by way of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, will be crowned the first Mexican MMA world champion in history as well as the first world champion in Combate Americas’ history.

Fans can sign up for DAZN for only $9.99 per month by registering at DAZN.com or by downloading the DAZN app on a wide range of connected devices, including smart TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. For more information, fans can follow DAZN’s U.S. social channels: @DAZNUSA on Facebook, @DAZN_USA for Twitter, and DAZN_USA for Instagram.

*Cards subject to change.