Dubai: The top brass of Physique TV and One FC are eyeing a wider challenge of breaking into the Middle East following an exclusive agreement between the two on Wednesday.
Physique TV signed an initial two-year agreement to exclusively broadcast One FC fights live in the UAE.
One FC, the biggest MMA organisation in Asia with headquarters in Singapore, will broadcast live at least one fight a month starting off with this Friday’s ‘Reign of Champions’ at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
“Modern-day sport is all about engagement between people and the sport and from the onset we foresee this need to build a relationship between the fans and the sport. Eventually, we will be looking at the wider region starting off with the Gulf and then the Middle East,” Hamid Dizji, CEO, SGT Group, the owners of Physique TV, told Gulf News.
“MMA is the fastest-growing sport today and One FC has got a very good footprint in Asia. We could start with the Gulf region and then move on to Lebanon, Jordan and beyond. For us the challenge at the moment would be to engage people here,” he added.
Vincent Ciu, CEO, One FC was excited at the partnership with Physique TV. “Dubai is the furthest we have reached out in Asia, but that does not mean we will stop here. Coming here at least twice a year would be very exciting, but for the time being at least, once a month is a good start,” Cui said.
The ‘Reign of Champions’ at DWTC will witness three world championship bouts along with six undercard fights. American-Filipino sensation Ana Julatong will get the night going as she takes on Ann Osman, after which three Japanese champions — Shinya Aoki, Nobutatsu Suzuki and Koji Oishi — defend their lightweight, welterweight and featherweight world championship belts.
