PFL Partners with fuboTV to Air Promotion’s New Challenger Series Events

Mark Your Calendar: February 18, 2022 #PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/fQ2Il7FqPR

— PFL (@PFLMMA) December 9, 2021

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 12:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 9 to reflect additional information on the official capacity of the celebrity judges.

Professional Fighters League has announced a multi-year partnership with fuboTV to stream the new PFL Challenger Series next year.

The PFL Challenger Series is designed to allow the winners to earn a spot on the upcoming PFL season, making it somewhat similar to the format utilized by Dana White’s Contender Series. The PFL Challenger Series will debut on Feb. 18 next year and will stream on consecutive Friday nights in February, March and April on fuboTV and its linear network, Fubo Sports Network.

However, the PFL will apparently differ from the Contender Series in the way that fighters are selected to compete in the season.

“PFL Challenger Series is not your father’s contender series,” said PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis. “Winners of the PFL Challenger Series can become a real-world Rocky story, going from an unknown pro to World Champion holding a $1 million check in the same year.”

A celebrity judging panel including “combat sports champions, major celebrities from music and entertainment, and global influencers” will help determine winners, along with interactive fan voting, according to a release. Thus far, former NFL stars Ray Lewis, Todd Gurley and Ray Lewis have been confirmed as celebrity judges for the PFL Challenger Series. These judges will not actually score the fights themselves, as this will be handled by commission-appointed officials, but they will aid in the selection process of who receives contracts.

FuboTV launched in in 2015 and has gained traction as a sports-first streaming service that also offers other channels. It became available in the United States in 2018 and offers a few different pricing options with different channel lineups.

“fuboTV believes the future of sports television will be interactive,” said fuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler. “This partnership will give our audience unprecedented ways to interact and engage with the PFL. We are looking forward to bringing an interactive sports and entertainment television experience to consumers next year through this very unique partnership.”