Super Fight League to kick off on January 20

The league is aiming to get a valuation of $1 billion in five years

Mixed martial arts competition Super Fight League (SFL) is set to go live in India on January 20, with a total of eight teams fighting for the winner’s title. The league has found stakeholders in Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, and Randeep Hooda and music director duo Salim-Sulaiman along with brands like Hero, V-John and Dabur who all own different teams for the inaugural season.

Bill Dosanjh, SFL CEO and principal founder, said, “We are extremely excited to welcome our team owners for the inaugural season of the Super Fight League. The support we’ve received has been unprecedented and will surely help promote combat sports locally across India. We have witnessed Bollywood’s association across sports in India and are proud to partner with them for yet another thrilling chapter.”

The investment by the owners of each team will be in the range of Rs 6-7 crore a year. While Rs 2 crore will be dedicated to setting up a training gym in the home state, the rest will go towards acquisition of the franchise, player fees, team maintenance and promotions. The league aims to set up 100 gyms in the country in the next five years. Apart from being centres of fitness and training, the franchise led gyms will also operate as fan engagement bases. The team players will double as coaches at the said gyms, which will also provide a new revenue stream to the franchises. 

Dosanjh adds that the league is currently in talks with brands like Vivo, Gillette and Mountain Dew for sponsorship/brand associations. “Any brand that has the values of endurance and strength at its core will be a great fit for the league. While the current demonetisation drive has impeded the talks a bit, but we are in advance level discussions with multiple brands,” he says. While he did not put a revenue number to the inaugural season, he did reveal that the league is aiming to get a valuation of $1 billion by the end of five years from now. 

Amir Khan, SFL’s Co-Founder and two-time world boxing champion, says “Super Fight League has been a phenomenal success in the United States and in India we aim to create a platform for the youth to showcase their talent at the highest level. We are confident that Super Fight League will create a vibrant sporting ecosystem in India enabling the youth across the nation to aspire”.

There is a distinctive point scoring system that separates Super Fight League from all of the other leagues. Each SFL team will comprise of six players (five male fighters and one female fighter) who will be competing in six different weight categories and evaluated on the basis of a 5 point scoring system. 

The league will take place in Delhi from January 20 to February 25 and will be telecast on Sony Pictures Networks’ TV channels – Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD along with its online video streaming platform Sony LIV.