NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Alliance MMA, Inc. ("Alliance MMA" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: AMMA), the only publicly-traded professional mixed martial arts (MMA) company that unifies elite regional promotions and aspiring MMA champions, announced today that five SuckerPunch Entertainment clients battled to victory during two separate Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events – two at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale on Friday night, December 1st, at the Park Theater in Las Vegas, NV, and three at UFC 218, which was held Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The main event on the UFC 218 pay-per-view broadcast showcased SuckerPunch fighter Max “Blessed” Holloway, who successfully defended his UFC World Featherweight Title against Jose Aldo. Holloway dominated in devastating fashion by delivering a third-round technical knockout (TKO) to Aldo, himself a former UFC Champion. The victory marked the twelfth straight win for Holloway.
Six-time UFC veteran and #9 ranked UFC Strawweight Division contender Felice “Little Bulldog” Herrig was featured in the opening bout on the Fox Sports 1 broadcast and earned a hard-fought decision victory. In the featured preliminary bout, Lightweight Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder entered the octagon for his tenth UFC appearance and did not disappoint with a second-round TKO victory that extended his current winning streak to three straight.
On Friday night, two SuckerPunch clients prevailed in the UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale event, including undefeated sensation Brett “The Pikey” Johns who stretched his unbeaten record to 15-0 when only thirty seconds into the first round, he unleashed an electrifying “calf slicer” submission, a move that has been delivered only once before in UFC history. His dominant athleticism earned Johns a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Earlier that evening, 26-year old UFC Flyweight prospect Rachael Ostovich appeared in her UFC debut, and won her bout via “armbar” submission in the first round.
“It was an incredibly successful weekend for our fighters, and we are extremely proud of their noteworthy performances,” said Brian Butler-Au, SuckerPunch Managing Partner. “At SuckerPunch, we constantly strive to negotiate the best possible matches and venues for all of our athletes, but to have seven competitors battle in two separate UFC events on the same weekend, and walk away with five hard-fought victories, is truly extraordinary. We were especially pleased with the expansive exposure our clients received during the UFC 218 live broadcast which included all three distribution platforms associated with the event – UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s digital streaming platform, Fox Sports 1, and pay-per-view.”
Alliance Continues to Penetrate Major Media Markets
Besides SuckerPunch Entertainment, and CageTix, the Company’s electronic ticketing platform, Alliance MMA currently operates in 13 of the top 30 Nielsen Designated Market Areas (DMA), including each of the top five. With the goal of unifying elite regional promotions and fostering the development of aspiring MMA champions, the Company produces professional MMA events through New Jersey-based Cage Fury Fighting Championship, Washington-based Combat Games MMA, Indiana-based Hoosier Fight Club, Tennessee-based V3Fights, Maryland-based Shogun Fights, Ohio-based Iron Tiger Fight Series, Florida-based Fight Time Promotions, Georgia-based National Fighting Championship, Southern California-based SoCa Fights, and Nebraska-based Victory Fighting Championship.
About Alliance MMA, Inc.
Alliance MMA (NASDAQ: AMMA) is a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) company that brings together the best regional productions. Alliance MMA's mission is to identify and cultivate the next generation of fighters and champions for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other premier MMA promotions.
With some of the world’s leading MMA promotions under the Alliance MMA umbrella, the organization aims eventually to host in excess of 125 events per year, showcasing more than 1,000 fighters. Alliance MMA is also dedicated to generating live original sports media content, attracting an international fan base, and securing major brand sponsorship revenue for live MMA events, digital media, and Alliance MMA fighters.
MMA is the world’s fastest-growing sport with worldwide fans of approximately 300 million according to sports marketing research firm Repucom. MMA is a full contact sport that allows a wide range of fighting techniques, including striking and grappling from various martial arts and disciplines including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu jitsu, karate, and Muay Thai. Professional MMA fights are legal and regulated by state athletic commissions in all 50 states.
Alliance MMA, Inc. was formed in 2015 for the purpose of acquiring businesses that engage in the promotion of MMA events. In 2016, the company completed an initial public offering that culminated in a listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Alliance MMA is the only MMA promotion company that is publicly-traded.
For more information, visit www.alliancemma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements relate to anticipated future events, future results of operations or future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “intends,” “expects,” “plans,” “goals,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Actual results may differ materially from historical results or those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17, 2017. Alliance MMA encourages you to review other factors that may affect its future results in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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