First-Ever Live Sports Programming on Fuse Kicks Off with Fight on February 24, 2024 at 9:30 PM
ET/PT
In Addition to Live Events, Partnership Includes a Series of Special Shows and COMBATE GLOBAL Library Fights for El Rey Rebel FAST Channel
Latino-owned Fuse Media, the global leader of inclusive entertainment, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise COMBATE GLOBAL to be its exclusive English language broadcast partner beginning with a live television event on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 9:30 PM ET/PT from Miami, FL.
As part of the deal celebrating Latino sports, Fuse will broadcast a total of eight live events between the spring and summer that showcase the top male and female Hispanic MMA fighters in the world.
The agreement with COMBATE GLOBAL will also provide Fuse Media with the exclusive linear rights to 12 shows produced exclusively for the Fuse audience and featuring the biggest names and most exciting fights from COMBATE GLOBAL’s events, as well as celebrity guest athletes, movie stars and musicians who are passionate about combat sports. Over 500 hours of library content consisting of past COMBATE GLOBAL fights will also be distributed on Fuse Media’s El Rey Rebel FAST channel.
“Fuse Media is entering into an exciting new chapter by offering free, live, world-class professional MMA events to our viewers, and we couldn’t imagine a better partner to enter this space with than COMBATE GLOBAL," stated Miguel Roggero, Chairman and CEO of Fuse Media. “This is a perfect marriage of two minority-targeted companies. COMBATE’s dedication to entertaining and catering to a young, diverse audience integrates seamlessly with Fuse's own audience demographic."
COMBATE GLOBAL has the youngest U.S. television audience of any MMA sports franchise, with a viewership on Spanish-language television that is evenly split between male and female. The franchise is rapidly becoming the second most popular sport (after soccer) among Latino sports fans worldwide.
By partnering with COMBATE GLOBAL, Fuse Media is reaffirming its commitment to reach young diverse viewers with empowering programming while further solidifying Fuse's standing as one of the youngest and most multicultural English-language adult TV networks.
“COMBATE GLOBAL’s foundation and success has, to a great extent, been based on the growing Hispanic population in the U.S.” said Campbell McLaren, CEO, COMBATE GLOBAL. “In naming Fuse Media our official English-language broadcast partner, COMBATE GLOBAL will now reach the entire spectrum of the Latino audience, regardless of which language they consume their media. We are thrilled to be working with a partner that understands this audience and is as steadfast in their commitment to diversity as Fuse Media.”
On Saturday, February 24, COMBATE GLOBAL’s live main event will be a Mexico vs. USA welterweight (170 pounds) matchup between Javier Basurto (23-9) and Marcos Lloreda (13-8).
Lloreda, based in Miami, is looking for his third consecutive win in COMBATE GLOBAL action. Basurto hails from Ecuador and has earned 78 percent of his victories by (T)KO or submission.
Other matchups on the card include a women's flyweight (125 pounds) bout between undefeated Veronica Vargas (2-0) of San Jose, Costa Rica squaring and Blanca Medina (1-1) of Sevilla, Spain via Miami; and a bantamweight (135 pounds) contest between 23-year-old rising star Brandon "El Prendido" Gonzalez (3-1) of Zacatecas, Zac., Mexico and Erik Villasmil (2-2) of Maracaibo, Venezuela via Atlanta, GA.