Streaming service to offer first live event from new package on Friday

Upstart premium OTT combat sports service DAZN has secured English language rights to the Combate Americas Hispanic-targeted, mixed martial arts franchise, the company said Thursday.

The $9.99 per month DAZN streaming service, which launched on Sept. 10, will offer a minimum of 13 fights per year from the MMA outfit, beginning with tomorrow night’s live fight card from Phoenix, according to Joseph Markowski, DAZN’s senior VP of North America.

“A significant portion of the combat sports fanbase in the US culturally identifies as Hispanic, so Combate Americas naturally appeals to that fanbase,” Markowski told Multichannel News. “For the non-Hispanic fan, this is high quality, exciting content with a high percentage of fights ending in stoppage."

Combate Americas will join a DAZN lineup of combat sports events that includes marquee boxing matches such as the Sept. 22 Anthony Joshua-Alexander Povetkin heavyweight championship bout and the World Boxing Super Series, as well as Bellator MMA events.

“This is another addition to our phase one portfolio of combat sports rights,” said Markowski.