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Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports.

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Speaker 2: Sports is business, and whenever you are procuring talent, you

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Speaker 2: must start with the criteria.

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Speaker 3: Being owners of this league and wanting ourly to be

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Speaker 3: the best in the world.

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Speaker 4: How do we make it better?

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Speaker 5: The valuations are getting so high, to list of people

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Speaker 5: who could purchase a teams getting really short.

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Speaker 4: We have eight strategic investment areas.

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Speaker 1: When you look at the world of sports, the NBA's

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Speaker 1: already in two hundred and ten countries around the world.

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Speaker 3: NFL is an amazing thing for the sports betting industry.

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Speaker 4: We have the World's upcoming in twenty twenty six in

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Speaker 4: North America.

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Speaker 1: Hey, if I get a million dollars, We're going to

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Speaker 1: a school testing. How be you there? Bloomberg Business of

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Speaker 1: Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of

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Speaker 1: Sports Show. Will we explore the big money issues in

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Speaker 1: the world of sports.

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Speaker 6: I'm Micha Lebar, I'm Scarlett Filth and I me mean

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Speaker 6: sas Hoar.

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Speaker 1: Coming up on the show, we talk boxing with the

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Speaker 1: president of Top Rank Boxing, Todd to Buff and we'll

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Speaker 1: talk to him about how he's trying to build more

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Speaker 1: interest in boxing and what he's doing to bring the

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Speaker 1: sport to the next generation of fans.

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Speaker 2: As you know the Super Bowl, everybody comes to the

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Speaker 2: town of the Super Bowl, all the media is there,

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Speaker 2: and we're going to activate with our media partner, ESPN

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Speaker 2: and everybody to bring them a high level prize fight.

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Speaker 1: Then we shift to MMA and talk with Don Davis.

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Speaker 1: He's the founder, chairman, and co owner of the Professional

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Speaker 1: Fighters League, which bills itself as the world's fastest growing

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Speaker 1: sports league.

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Speaker 4: Yes, people are fans of other sports like the NBA

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Speaker 4: or the NFL, the Professional Fighters League is just the same.

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Speaker 4: By that, I mean we have a regular season, playoffs

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Speaker 4: and championship. It's win and advance, lose and go home.

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Speaker 1: All that is straight ahead on the Bloomberg business of sports.

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Speaker 1: But first Scarlett had the opportunity to have a unique conversation.

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Speaker 1: She spoke with Jeff Hall. He's Senior Associate Director of

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Speaker 1: Athletics for Sports Marketing at Cornell University and they're looking

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Speaker 1: ahead to the annual Red Hot Hockey event. Let's take

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Speaker 1: a listen to a bit of that conversation.

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Speaker 3: Who's ready for college hockey in the world's most famous

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Speaker 3: arena Thanksgiving weekend? The upcoming game between Cornell University's Big

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Speaker 3: Red and Boston University's Terriers at Madison Square Garden has

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Speaker 3: become a tradition for the alumni of both schools. It's

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Speaker 3: called Red Hot Hockey, and it's thanks in large part

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Speaker 3: to the efforts of Jeff Hall, Deputy Athletic Director for

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Speaker 3: External Relations at Cornell University and full disclosure everyone, I

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Speaker 3: am a Cornell alum and have been to I believe

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Speaker 3: almost every game. Jeff, so good to speak with you.

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Speaker 5: Well, thank you, appreciate the time.

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Speaker 3: So when Cornell faces off against BU on the Saturday

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Speaker 3: after Thanksgiving, this will mark the ninth time that Madison

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Speaker 3: Square Garden has hosted this game. Give us the origin story,

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Speaker 3: because I know you've been a driving force behind this series.

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Speaker 5: Well, I appreciate you saying that I don't know about

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Speaker 5: a driving force. I'm just kind of hanging on and

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Speaker 5: trying to help navigate the whole event, certainly from Cornell's perspective,

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Speaker 5: but it actually originated back into two thousand, prior to

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Speaker 5: two thousand and seven from Boston University's previous athletic director,

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Speaker 5: Mike Lynch, when he had reached out with the idea

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Speaker 5: in concept of having a game at Madison Square Garden.

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Speaker 5: And we've had some history with Boston University from a

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Speaker 5: hockey standpoint, you know, going back to nineteen twenty five

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Speaker 5: when we originally in met and no, I wasn't around

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Speaker 5: at that time, but we've had a lot of a

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Speaker 5: lot of history with hockey with them, and so we

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Speaker 5: started having some conversations about the logistics and that potentially

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Speaker 5: coming to fruition and certainly, you know, with two storied

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Speaker 5: hockey programs, and at the time Madison Square Garden was

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Speaker 5: also looking to get more involved with college hockey. So

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Speaker 5: it really kind of all came together. The timing of

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Speaker 5: it was very good, so I had we both also

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Speaker 5: have a very strong alumni basis, which made it, you know,

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Speaker 5: that much more of interest.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, if anyone's ever gone to the game, I mean

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Speaker 3: it is packed in there, and the school team colors

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Speaker 3: are red and white for both, so it can get

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Speaker 3: really confusing in trying to figure out which fans are

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Speaker 3: rooting for which teams. So I had not realized that

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Speaker 3: b You kind of made the initial overture. Why Madison

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Speaker 3: Square Garden. If it was b You that made the

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Speaker 3: initial overture, why not have the game say in Boston.

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Speaker 5: Well, I think it wanted to be a kind of

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Speaker 5: concept was having a neutral site, and certainly, you know

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Speaker 5: Madison Square Garden, right the most iconic arena in the world.

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Speaker 5: And again, the alumni bases that we both have in

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Speaker 5: New York City and the surrounding New York City area,

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Speaker 5: those are all reasons and factors of putting the whole

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Speaker 5: game together.

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Speaker 3: Basically, what's been the feedback from these alumni bases, because

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Speaker 3: as I mentioned, many of these games I've attended have

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Speaker 3: been sold out and it is loud in there. I

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Speaker 3: mean it's loud for a New York Rangers hockey game

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Speaker 3: or a New York Knicks game, but you get to

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Speaker 3: college hockey team crowds in there, and there's chance, there's

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Speaker 3: cheering for everything.

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Speaker 1: It is.

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Speaker 5: It is a scene, Oh it is. It's it's a

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Speaker 5: tremendous a tremendous event for for our young alumni or

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Speaker 5: old alumni and in current student base. And I think

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Speaker 5: that's kind of what makes it a little bit unique,

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Speaker 5: is uh, you have people from all different eras attending

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Speaker 5: the game. You mentioned the fact that it's all red

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Speaker 5: and white, and it's really kind of interesting. You don't

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Speaker 5: know who's rooting for who until a goal is scored

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Speaker 5: by one of the schools and they all stand up

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Speaker 5: in cheers. So yeah, the the attendance of it has

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Speaker 5: been phenomenal. The first five years we did this, we

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Speaker 5: were over eight teen thousand, and we're certainly in the

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Speaker 5: you know, challenging for that every year and right in

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Speaker 5: that that ballpark. So as you mentioned, it's also been

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Speaker 5: pretty balanced. This is the will be the upcoming UH

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Speaker 5: ninth game that we've played, and out of the eight,

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Speaker 5: it's been UH three and three and two ties, so

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Speaker 5: very balanced from a competitive standpoint as well.

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Speaker 3: Okay, so maybe this year will break the tie. And

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Speaker 3: by the way, full disclosure, we did reach out to BU,

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Speaker 3: but their athletic director was not available, so we'll get

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Speaker 3: them into years time to balance things out as well. Jeff,

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Speaker 3: I always thought that, and I appreciate your your bringing

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Speaker 3: up that Cornell played BU back in nineteen twenty five,

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Speaker 3: but I thought the big rivalry with Cornell hockey was

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Speaker 3: Harvard because of that movie Love Story.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, no, that certainly is another rivalry that we have,

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Speaker 5: certainly within the Ivy League and ECAC. But again going

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Speaker 5: back to you, know, twenty five is when that or

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Speaker 5: we would be you started, So again that was one

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Speaker 5: of the other reasons to kind of reconnect and and

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Speaker 5: since that we've we've also played them in uh, you know,

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Speaker 5: other other sports as well, you know, basketball and other events.

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Speaker 5: So it's great just to reconnect them. There's such a great, uh,

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Speaker 5: wonderful institution and just wonderful people to work with.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely what kind of effect has Red Hot Hockey had

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Speaker 3: on fundraising? Obviously the alumni, young alumni, older alumni are

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Speaker 3: very engaged in this series. I'm curious as to whether

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Speaker 3: you've started keeping track on this, whether there's a lot

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Speaker 3: of cooperation with the fundraising departments.

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Speaker 7: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: I don't have you know, exact numbers in terms of

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Speaker 5: how how it's impacted from a financial standpoint, but I

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Speaker 5: can say just from a support standpoint, Uh, this is

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Speaker 5: one of our biggest annual annual FUNDI fundraising events, you know,

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Speaker 5: from the university. From an athletics perspective, it's just it's

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Speaker 5: been tremendous. We have alumni that are coming up from

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Speaker 5: all over, certainly the Northeast corridor, and it's just really

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Speaker 5: kind of even some of the alumni. I think that

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Speaker 5: maybe weren't necessarily as close to athletics have become closer

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Speaker 5: to athletics. It's really brought everybody together and and that

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Speaker 5: goes not only for for our alumni, but even for

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Speaker 5: the people within Cornell and the institution and being able

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Speaker 5: to work together with the UH you know, our our

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Speaker 5: our our co workers with and alumni affairs and and

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Speaker 5: I must say they are the huge driving force of

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Speaker 5: this and all their communications and all they do to

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Speaker 5: help support this uh you know, for us coming down

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Speaker 5: to New York City. So they're they're just tremendous UH

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Speaker 5: supporters of this event, and that wouldn't be nearly as successful.

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Speaker 3: Without them, And it's notable to that. Of course. Of

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Speaker 3: course Cornell University has a large presence in New York City,

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Speaker 3: obviously the alumni base, but Cornell Med School and Cornell

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Speaker 3: Tech on Roosevelt Island, you know, it has a big presence.

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Speaker 3: So I'm curious, does someone from Cornell's administration always attend

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Speaker 3: the game. I've seen Cornell alum who have gone on

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Speaker 3: to play in the NHL UH come to the games.

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Speaker 3: But talk a little bit about the support institutionally.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, institutionally, absolutely, there are there are senior leadership from

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Speaker 5: from the university in all the different areas that you

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Speaker 5: just mentioned, whether it's the medical school or Cornell Tech

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Speaker 5: Central Campus. Throughout the university, senior senior administrators have attended this.

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Speaker 5: Martha Pollock has has dropped the puck at at one

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Speaker 5: of the games. You know it's been it's just from

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Speaker 5: a senior leadership standpoint, Yes, tremendous support. I also mentioned,

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Speaker 5: you know, Andrew tish Uh, an alum for a trustee

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Speaker 5: of the university. He's in attendance every year with his family.

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Speaker 5: They've made this kind of part of their Thanksgiving weekend

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Speaker 5: and terms of being there available and he actually was

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Speaker 5: one of the originators of coming up with the idea

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Speaker 5: of the Kelly Harkness Cup. He had a friend on

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Speaker 5: the there was a trustee of Boston University, and they

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Speaker 5: got together and kind of developed that idea. And that's

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Speaker 5: kind of a neat little piece to this as well.

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Speaker 3: Right, one, you mentioned the Kelly Harkness Cup. One of

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Speaker 3: the names is tied to be you. One of the

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Speaker 3: names is tied to Cornell.

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Speaker 5: Right, correct, Yes, they're both former coaches from Cornell and

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Speaker 5: Boston Union.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 3: Jack Kelly of bu and Ned Harkness of Cornell. This

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Speaker 3: was introduced ten years ago. Can you give us a

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Speaker 3: sense of how the players prepare for the game, because

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Speaker 3: for I mean, obviously for the upperclassmen, they've done this

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Speaker 3: a couple of times, but for uh first year players,

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Speaker 3: whether you're a freshman, sophomore, or junior, this is a

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Speaker 3: big deal to step foot onto the ice of a

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Speaker 3: professional hockey team in New York City in front of

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Speaker 3: a sellout audience as opposed to playing at Line of

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Speaker 3: Rink or any of the other college rinks.

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Speaker 5: Sure well, I certainly can't speak, you know, from a

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Speaker 5: coaching perspective, but what I can say is I know

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Speaker 5: that this is also a recruiting tool for our program.

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Speaker 5: Knowing that they're going to be playing a yearly game

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Speaker 5: at Madison Square Gardens certainly you know comes into play.

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Speaker 5: And yeah, it'd be a freshman at either either school

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Speaker 5: and to know you're going to be on the ice

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Speaker 5: at Madison Square Garden with close to sellout capacity, UH

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Speaker 5: just has to be just a thrill and something. I'm

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Speaker 5: sure you know them growing up dreamed of beam to play.

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Speaker 3: So you mentioned for Cornell Big Red players they would

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Speaker 3: get the opportunity to get on the ice at Madison

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Speaker 3: Square Garden every year, but for BEU it's only every

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Speaker 3: other year. Why is that? Why is the setup where

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Speaker 3: Red Hot Hockey is every other year and on the

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Speaker 3: off year Cornell plays another team that's not be you.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, So it started off again with Boston University, and

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Speaker 5: the thought was, Okay, we'll have a game and then

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Speaker 5: we'll we'll kind of see how it goes and maybe

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Speaker 5: do it every other year to start, just to see

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Speaker 5: what the enthusiasm is and to see if it's something

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Speaker 5: that works out. And we found from a Cornell's perspective

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Speaker 5: with our alumni and fans that there wasn't a need

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Speaker 5: to necessarily wait every other year. So we continued that

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Speaker 5: effort and we play another opponent on the off year

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Speaker 5: of Boston University, So we've continued to do that. We

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Speaker 5: do it on a yearly basis in Boston University again

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Speaker 5: every other year. So that's that's kind of what we

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Speaker 5: decided from a Cornow's perspective. But certainly the match up

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Speaker 5: against Boston University is the truly the Red Hot Hockey

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Speaker 5: rival and has the game that it's just a huge,

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Speaker 5: huge guy.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not quite the same when Cornell plays, say

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Speaker 3: Michigan or another team. It's it's fun, it's exciting, but

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Speaker 3: it's not quite the same level of enthusiasm as when

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Speaker 3: you've got Cornell versus BU Jeff, can you give us

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Speaker 3: a can you can you help fix something for me?

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Speaker 3: One thing I get it really really irritated about is

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Speaker 3: when you're at MSG and the organist starts playing the

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Speaker 3: songs as opposed to letting the big red band do

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Speaker 3: their thing. How How did how does that all come together?

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Speaker 5: Well, it's it's kind of a blend of the the

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Speaker 5: Madison Square Garden overall event right there, their game script

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Speaker 5: of of what they typically do, and there's there's nobody, uh,

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Speaker 5: you know or in the UH in the market putting

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Speaker 5: on an event and the folks at Madison Square Garden.

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Speaker 5: So what we try to do is is keep that experience,

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Speaker 5: that professional, you know, big time experience, yet interjecting you know,

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Speaker 5: our bands and in the college athletics to it. So

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Speaker 5: it's a little bit of a blend our bands, both

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Speaker 5: our university bands there are huge supporters and UH part

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Speaker 5: of the game experience, UH for our home games and

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Speaker 5: in away games. Actually so it's a little bit of

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Speaker 5: a blend. We try to keep that that overall Madison

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Speaker 5: Square Garden type atmosphere, yet incorporating our bands. So when

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Speaker 5: we score, uh, each of the uh, the band of

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Speaker 5: the scoring team will will play. So that's kind of

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Speaker 5: the bounce, a little bit of balance.

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Speaker 3: Well, and that's from the band. Then you have the

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Speaker 3: fan base shouting at the opposition goalie all your fault

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Speaker 3: and calling him a sieve, which you know is another

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Speaker 3: special brand of fandom.

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Speaker 5: Be great. Yeah, Yeah, we've been able, which is a

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Speaker 5: lot of those type traditions just kind of naturally come out,

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Speaker 5: which is nice to see. And again from alumni that

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Speaker 5: are you know, we're in school thirty years ago and

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Speaker 5: they they remember some of those chants, so that's uh,

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Speaker 5: that's always exciting to see, uh, you know.

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Speaker 3: Be part of the And of course MSG has built

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Speaker 3: on this. They now host Harvard versus Yale hockey games too,

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Speaker 3: but Cornell versus BU was really the first. Jeff, as

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Speaker 3: we wrap this up, what have you been surprised by? What? What?

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Speaker 3: What are you kind of secretly thrilled about when it

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Speaker 3: comes to red hot hockey Again.

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Speaker 5: I think it's probably just the the audience itself from

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Speaker 5: this the U, the different support that we get again,

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Speaker 5: it's a tremendous amount of support. Support we get from

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Speaker 5: our alumni, but even the present students in general. It's

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Speaker 5: it's nice to see that that whole blend of current

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Speaker 5: students to alumni within the university. And I think that's

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Speaker 5: what makes it so special. It's not just a kind

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Speaker 5: of a college home game or campus home games. It's

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Speaker 5: truly a neutral site that has such a broad range

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Speaker 5: of audience from both universities.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, both schools have some pretty college hockey craze fan

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Speaker 3: bases and absolutely you really see it in full bloom

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Speaker 3: at MSG every other year Thanksgiving weekend. Jeff, I really

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Speaker 3: appreciate your joining us today. Thank you so much.

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Speaker 5: Oh, thank you. Appreciate appreciate the time.

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Speaker 3: It's been a pleasure. Jeff Hall, Deputy Athletic Director for

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Speaker 3: External Relations at Cornell University, on the upcoming Red Hot

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Speaker 3: Hockey game between Cornell's Big Red and Bought Bu's Terriers

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Speaker 3: at Madison Square Garden.

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Speaker 5: Thank you, thank you.

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Speaker 1: That's Jeff Hall. He's the Senior Associate Director of Athletics

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Speaker 1: for Sports Marketing at Cornell University and a special sation

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Speaker 1: with Scarlett Coming up, we turn to the world of

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Speaker 1: boxing with the president of Top Rank Boxing. That is

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Speaker 1: straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

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Speaker 1: Around the world, You're listening to Bloomberg Business of Sports

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Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports

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Speaker 1: show where we explore the big money issues of the

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Speaker 1: world of sports on Michael Barr along with Scarlet Fu

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Speaker 1: and Damian Sasaur. Top Ranked Boxing has been involved with

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Speaker 1: some of the world's greatest fighters and some of the

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Speaker 1: biggest fights of all time, and now it's looking to

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Speaker 1: bring the sport to a new generation of fans. Here

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Speaker 1: to take us through how Top Ranked Boxing is working

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Speaker 1: to capture a new audience, we welcome Top Ranked Boxing's

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Speaker 1: president Todd to Buff Todd, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business

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Speaker 1: of Sports.

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Speaker 2: I'm so happy to be here by Benham, big fan

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Speaker 2: listening to your shows, So I want to help clear

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Speaker 2: the air some of the interpretation that I hear out

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Speaker 2: there too.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, can I still ask are you related in

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Speaker 1: a way to Bob Arim? Am I right about that?

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Speaker 2: Yes, I am, yes, yeah, yes, and yeah yes he's

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Speaker 2: married to my mother, all.

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Speaker 1: Right, all right, which which brings us to old school

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Speaker 1: action here with Bob Aram because he founded this promotional

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Speaker 1: company way back in nineteen seventy three, which I need

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Speaker 1: to stop that because I was still alive back then.

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Speaker 1: Can you can you tell us what has changed from

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Speaker 1: the Bob Aram era to boxing today?

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I think, you know, I think the

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Speaker 2: Bob Aram era is really a back in the seventies.

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Speaker 2: But you know, to keep in mind, I mean, he

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Speaker 2: was involved with Muhammad Ali in nineteen sixty six, and

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Speaker 2: that's how he got into the business. So you're talking

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Speaker 2: about a man that was at the you know, at

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Speaker 2: the forefront of social change. She was his lawyer and

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Speaker 2: his u in, his promoter with the late Jim Brown,

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Speaker 2: who introduced him to the Nation of Islam, as Ali

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Speaker 2: was supposedly not getting his fair share. So you're really

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Speaker 2: talking about an iconic figure in history when you talk

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Speaker 2: about Bob Aaron. But when you talk about the sport

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Speaker 2: of boxing and you go back to the seventies, you know,

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Speaker 2: you're talking about one of the highest rated shows ever

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Speaker 2: on on ABC and the you know was Ali and Spinx.

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Speaker 2: You know, you talk about three and a half you know,

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Speaker 2: over the air networks. You know, you barely had a

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Speaker 2: fourth channel at the time, and boxing was a mainstay.

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Speaker 2: It was one of the big sports there, and people

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Speaker 2: glued to the televisions just like they glued to the

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Speaker 2: radios to hear to listen to Joe Lewis and and

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Speaker 2: Sutar Ray Robinson and boxing has been a wonderful platform

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Speaker 2: to grow media. So when you look at the sport

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Speaker 2: of boxing and then you look at technology and media today,

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Speaker 2: it keeps growing and Bob Aaron was at the forefront

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Speaker 2: of that, taking it from over the air network to

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Speaker 2: premium cable to basic cable to close circuit and everything.

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Speaker 6: Well, Todd, one of the ways that the sport is

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Speaker 6: really changing and it's forcing change is the rise of

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Speaker 6: mixed mutual you know, is MMA really and and the

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Speaker 6: UFC and the PFL and and all that's going on there,

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Speaker 6: and now you have these crossover bouts, right Tyson, Fury

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Speaker 6: Francis and Gnaway. I'm just curious to hear your thoughts

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Speaker 6: on all that. Should we, as you know, as viewers,

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Speaker 6: as boxing fans, expect to see more you know, mixed

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Speaker 6: martial arts versus boxing. I mean, how does that all

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Speaker 6: work out.

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Speaker 2: You know, the evolution of combat sports and you know,

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Speaker 2: the whiteboard of what UFC did to create MMA was unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: They did a great job doing it. It is a

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Speaker 2: different you know. It's like I say to everybody, it's like, hey,

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Speaker 2: Roger Fetters is the you know, or or Djokovic may

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Speaker 2: be the greatest tennis player of all times, but you know,

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Speaker 2: put them on a ping pong table just because.

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Speaker 1: They have racket doesn't.

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Speaker 2: Make them the greatest ping pong table. Or put them

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Speaker 2: in a squash court doesn't make them the best one,

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Speaker 2: you know, squash player of all time. They are different sports,

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Speaker 2: there are different techniques and there are different disciplines. I

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Speaker 2: think having the overall awareness of you know, people aware

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Speaker 2: of combat sports is good for both categories. I think

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Speaker 2: you look at the demographics, we're very multiculturally young, and

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Speaker 2: that the overlap is not that big between the two.

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Speaker 2: So when you look at the size of it, it's

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Speaker 2: becomes globally very very big.

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Speaker 6: Well, Todd, you know, I'm sure you're aware. I mean,

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Speaker 6: you know, one of the things that is just taking over,

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Speaker 6: not just not just boxing, not just MMA, is Middle

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Speaker 6: Eastern money and how it's finding its way into a

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Speaker 6: lot of these sports. How it's disrupting these sports, and

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Speaker 6: I'm just curious to hear your thoughts and how that

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Speaker 6: might or might not be impacting boxing.

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Speaker 2: Well, so we're you know, you know, at the end

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Speaker 2: of a excuse me. And at the end of October,

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Speaker 2: we did the Fury and Ghanu fight from Saudi Arabia

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Speaker 2: and it was a wonderful experience for us. And when

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Speaker 2: I went there, I you know, didn't know much about it.

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Speaker 2: I had been to parts of the Middle East. I

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Speaker 2: had been to Qatar for the World Cup, I had

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Speaker 2: been to UAE, you know a number of times, but

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Speaker 2: I hadn't been to Saudi Arabia. What I saw and

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Speaker 2: I'm going to give you a little bit of my history.

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Speaker 2: I was born in Las Vegas and in nineteen sixty seven,

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Speaker 2: and as a kid, Las Vegas had a petina about

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Speaker 2: it that was just sin city. It was a gambling hound,

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Speaker 2: it was it was a place where people, you know,

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Speaker 2: went and did bad things, and nobody really gave it

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Speaker 2: that much credibility, but it used entertainment as a place

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Speaker 2: to you know, bring people there, and boxing was one

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Speaker 2: of those. And from my experience. That is what I

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Speaker 2: experienced those things as I saw the World Cup of

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Speaker 2: Guitar they used the sport to bring popularity to Quitar

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Speaker 2: and how the Saudis had their READD season and they

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Speaker 2: wanted to put on a really big event for people

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Speaker 2: in the region to go to. So I equate that

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Speaker 2: the other piece, which is the investment in sports that

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Speaker 2: is different that I haven't had to look into or

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Speaker 2: haven't had. You know, what they're thinking is only as

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Speaker 2: basically them bringing in big events to drive awareness as

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Speaker 2: they grow their markets and have big Western appeal.

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Speaker 6: And Michael, as you're aware, I mean Tyson Fury's I

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Speaker 6: think facing off against Alexander Us in read in February

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Speaker 6: go figure.

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Speaker 1: That's right. And speaking of title fights, a title fight

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Speaker 1: for you guys in Las Vegas to coin sign with

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Speaker 1: the F one race is something that you enjoy. You're

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Speaker 1: converging sporting events, big sporting events to capture new audiences.

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Speaker 2: Yes, And you know, I think what we're all seeing is,

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Speaker 2: you know, we're seeing that there's a lot of headwinds

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Speaker 2: with a lot of content out there, a lot of distractions.

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Speaker 2: People have impulses to, you know, get distracted to do

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Speaker 2: whatever it is, and there's so much content out there today,

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Speaker 2: and so, you know, we felt that putting up a

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Speaker 2: big event when there's this big week of anticipation in

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Speaker 2: Las Vegas for Formula One where they got a three

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Speaker 2: and a half mile track going through the strip, I

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Speaker 2: could never believe this. Right and simultaneously, you know, we

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Speaker 2: you know, like I said, being in Las Vegas and

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Speaker 2: now thinking that there's going to a super Bowl there.

436
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,120
Speaker 2: I mean, I was a run and rebel. Oh boy,

437
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 2: you know back in the eighties. I mean to think

438
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 2: of super Bowl and Formula One, this makes no sense.

439
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 2: I don't get it. I'm like, what's going on? People

440
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 2: are loving us, so I think it's I think it's great.

441
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 1: You know.

442
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,639
Speaker 2: So we're going to be doing a Thursday night as

443
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,360
Speaker 2: well for the super Bowl. As you know, the super Bowl,

444
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,880
Speaker 2: everybody comes to the town of the Super Bowl, all

445
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 2: the media is there, and we're going to activate with

446
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:32,359
Speaker 2: our media partner ESPN and everybody to bring them a

447
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:33,920
Speaker 2: high level price fight.

448
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're right. The days of the Silver Slipper Hotel

449
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:38,159
Speaker 1: are gone, Damien.

450
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know, you know, tell me Tod about

451
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:42,639
Speaker 2: that one.

452
00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 1: Todd.

453
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 6: It's interesting you mentioned ESPN there, and I have to

454
00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 6: hitch on that because you know, when I think of

455
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:48,399
Speaker 6: boxing back in the good days, I think a pay

456
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 6: per view, you know, And you know you're I mean you,

457
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,480
Speaker 6: I mean Top Rank. I mean you are the guys

458
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 6: who launched you know, really back in twenty seventeen. If

459
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 6: I'm not mistaken, that partnership with ESPN and Disney. Talk

460
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,440
Speaker 6: to us a little bit about that and how that's

461
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,360
Speaker 6: going for you and how that's going for Top Rank.

462
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:06,040
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, the partnership is amazing. It has

463
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,359
Speaker 2: been terrific, and it's been a real big pivot. I think,

464
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:12,159
Speaker 2: you know, if we go back in history kind of

465
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,840
Speaker 2: we talked about when you mentioned Bob in nineteen seventy three.

466
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,200
Speaker 2: You know, Premium cable were smart, they all, I mean,

467
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,880
Speaker 2: we're talking about it right now. Everybody's talking about what

468
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,119
Speaker 2: are the subs at? What is everybody subs is their

469
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,120
Speaker 2: cord cutting whatever? Premium cable HBO came in and said,

470
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,000
Speaker 2: let's go grab this sport that's been doing great ratings

471
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 2: on wide ring, you know, on over the air network.

472
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:37,840
Speaker 2: Put it behind a small put it on a paywall,

473
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:43,160
Speaker 2: behind a paywall, on a small distributed network, no commercials

474
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,760
Speaker 2: and make everybody pay for it and then we'll hold

475
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,320
Speaker 2: on to our subs. That was the model. NFL didn't

476
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,000
Speaker 2: go for it, MBA didn't go for it, but Boxing

477
00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 2: went for it. So what we saw back in about

478
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:59,399
Speaker 2: two fifteen two sixteen was, wait, a second premium cable

479
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,000
Speaker 2: is an entertain and channel. It has no thirty second commercials,

480
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,000
Speaker 2: it has no commercial partnership appeal. It really is not

481
00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 2: a sports platform. And they may do stuff like real

482
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,439
Speaker 2: sports and things like that, but it really didn't feel

483
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:18,360
Speaker 2: like that's what where major sports were going. ESPN obviously

484
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 2: was the mother ship, and we felt, let's put Boxing

485
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 2: next to the NFL, college football, NBA, you know, NHL

486
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,720
Speaker 2: wasn't there, but all the other big franchises they had

487
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,520
Speaker 2: and properties and bring it from out of a paywall

488
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 2: and into the basic cable universe. And it's been incredibly

489
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 2: successful for all of us.

490
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:47,200
Speaker 1: Old man bar here and I want to go back. First.

491
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,880
Speaker 1: First of all, I'm going to bring back an old

492
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,119
Speaker 1: memory you mentioned about a tennis player going on the

493
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,840
Speaker 1: ping pong table. Damien Todd. Do you guys remember an

494
00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: old series called The Superstars that first aired on ABC,

495
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,920
Speaker 1: there was a competition and Rod Labor was in this

496
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,200
Speaker 1: competition and they had him playing ping pong and everybody

497
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,119
Speaker 1: else was like, what the hell is this? He's going

498
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 1: to beat the living daylights out of us. Well, he

499
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,240
Speaker 1: beat the living daylights out of him. And it's something

500
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 1: that I think of in the seventies, especially something you

501
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,919
Speaker 1: guys were connected with back in nineteen seventy four. And

502
00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 1: I saw this. Top Rank promoted the Snake River Canyon

503
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,880
Speaker 1: jump with Evil Knievel. I saw it and as he's

504
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,879
Speaker 1: coming off the chuote, all of a sudden, the parachute

505
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 1: opens and I'm like, uh oh, this ain't good. See

506
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,960
Speaker 1: the parachute's not supposed to open off on the launch pad,

507
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:48,360
Speaker 1: and that's what happened. But with that and ABC's wide

508
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 1: world of sports, do you think top Rank would have

509
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:53,200
Speaker 1: been where it is today?

510
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 2: Well? I think, I mean I don't. I think a

511
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:02,320
Speaker 2: lot of in business and specifically in sports is always

512
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:07,480
Speaker 2: looking forward, right, and always being able to adjust, and always,

513
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 2: you know, being able to think about what's next, right,

514
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,480
Speaker 2: where are we going, and how do we keep the

515
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:18,120
Speaker 2: sport as relevant as possible? And I think when you

516
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,560
Speaker 2: look at the NFL and you see them doing, you know,

517
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 2: games in Europe, and when you saw Adam Silver jump

518
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,200
Speaker 2: in in Asia early on, and even when we talked

519
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,800
Speaker 2: about like when YouTube came out there and everyone used

520
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 2: to give everybody takedown notices, right because you're stealing our content,

521
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,680
Speaker 2: but it actually worked for them, and in the NBA

522
00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 2: did a great job in doing that. I think that

523
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,640
Speaker 2: you always have to be moving forward. And I'm not

524
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,920
Speaker 2: necessarily sure that just one event, but I think the

525
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:55,760
Speaker 2: power of live sports being in today's world the only

526
00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:01,480
Speaker 2: thing that is appointment television today for people to watch,

527
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 2: to jump to their televisions if it's watching the Olympics,

528
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 2: the World Cup, the Super Bowl, Polige Football Championship. And

529
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 2: I think keep pushing forward. And I think Bob has

530
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 2: done a great job empowering a great team with us

531
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,320
Speaker 2: to keep looking forward and you know, having a great

532
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 2: young social department that's pushing content out there because it's

533
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:26,760
Speaker 2: it's evergreen, it just keeps going and going. So I

534
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,000
Speaker 2: think the ABC wide world of sports, I mean the

535
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,520
Speaker 2: thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. I remember that

536
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 2: watching you know, the skier going off the gym was amazing.

537
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 2: You can't ever forget that one, but that was like

538
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,360
Speaker 2: a main same for us. I remember the music right,

539
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:46,480
Speaker 2: the open of it, and I think that's the power

540
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,360
Speaker 2: of sports and the beauty of it and those properties

541
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 2: that have expanded on it. And like even the UFC,

542
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,440
Speaker 2: they've done a brilliant job whiteboarding a business and not

543
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,520
Speaker 2: only they created a whole category. And I think you

544
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 2: have to give a lot of people, you know, a

545
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,080
Speaker 2: lot of credit who are able to keep moving forward

546
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,000
Speaker 2: and looking at the industry different every day as it

547
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 2: moves quickly with technology.

548
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,800
Speaker 1: That's right, Damien. The human drama of broadcasting competition babe.

549
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,240
Speaker 6: You know, Todd before you, before we leave you, I

550
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:18,720
Speaker 6: just have to ask you this one question. You know,

551
00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 6: Frances and Ghana, you mention it. You know, he great

552
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,920
Speaker 6: fight against Tyson Fury, but for the WBC to announce

553
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,400
Speaker 6: him as a top ten heavyweight following the loss, I

554
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,920
Speaker 6: mean that is something special. No, I mean like and

555
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,320
Speaker 6: and to your point about kind of combat fighting in

556
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,760
Speaker 6: general and how you know it's getting really gray that

557
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:37,880
Speaker 6: the lines are not as black and white as delineated

558
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,000
Speaker 6: as they once were. You know, is this a good

559
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 6: thing for the sport?

560
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:41,640
Speaker 1: You know?

561
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 2: I was I was caught off guard a little bit

562
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,920
Speaker 2: when we did the when when Fury and in Ghana

563
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:54,720
Speaker 2: was announced, and I got absolute garage with disdain from

564
00:31:55,160 --> 00:32:00,360
Speaker 2: from traditional you know, sweet science, you know press people

565
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,800
Speaker 2: that were like, this is gross, this is terrible, and

566
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,360
Speaker 2: just started going off on it. And the one thing

567
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 2: I said was, this is a little bit different because

568
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:17,320
Speaker 2: heavyweights are heavyweights, and you have they're not putting four

569
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:22,120
Speaker 2: and five six combinations together. That's very uncharacteristic. Now, Tyson

570
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 2: Fury could put that because he has very very quick

571
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 2: hands and very agile, but most of them are just

572
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,800
Speaker 2: they thunderous punches one at a time, maybe a jab

573
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:37,560
Speaker 2: right hand too. So therefore the probability of landing one

574
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 2: of those thunderous punches is pretty high. We are opposed

575
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,840
Speaker 2: to when we saw Mayweather and McGregor fy that was

576
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 2: just poetry in motion against somebody that was trying to

577
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,480
Speaker 2: fight with him that couldn't match the speed, the IQ

578
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,680
Speaker 2: or the combination. So I say, in the heavy weights,

579
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,720
Speaker 2: anything can happen because of size and power, and you're

580
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:05,400
Speaker 2: gonna get touched up. And I think that's what we

581
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 2: saw in that fight. Do I think he did so

582
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,320
Speaker 2: much better than I thought he did he would do

583
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 2: in Ghanu. I do think that. You know, Pyson takes

584
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 2: a lot of responsibility for it, he says, I have

585
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,000
Speaker 2: felt I you know, I'm the one took him a

586
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,160
Speaker 2: little lightly. I overlooked it. But he he had a

587
00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 2: you know, dig deep on that one. And I think

588
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,680
Speaker 2: Francis did a great job. Where he goes in the rankings.

589
00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:29,480
Speaker 2: I don't know, that's a whole different story.

590
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,440
Speaker 6: Well, Michael, I think the undercard is going to be

591
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 6: Rocky Bovoa versus that Ellipse the ultimate.

592
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 1: Now, I know we got a scoot, But can you

593
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:45,120
Speaker 1: imagine if Muhammad Ali at the top of his game today,

594
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 1: if he was alive. You think he made money back then?

595
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,360
Speaker 1: Can you imagine Todd how much money he would make? Now?

596
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:58,600
Speaker 2: I can't imagine it. I mean, I can't even think

597
00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,000
Speaker 2: of it. I mean, and and how about this, how

598
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,840
Speaker 2: about his just seamless connectivity to the world as it

599
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,040
Speaker 2: through having the power of the Internet. Yeah, right right.

600
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,520
Speaker 2: We talked about, like, you know, the influencers, right, we

601
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,320
Speaker 2: talked about mister Beast and all these great you know,

602
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,239
Speaker 2: and the Paul Brothers and Kylie Jenner and people that

603
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,960
Speaker 2: are influencing so much right. And it's like, imagine Muhammad

604
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:28,040
Speaker 2: Ali with an iPhone.

605
00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 7: Or video and he is just eloquent way of talking

606
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,759
Speaker 7: trash and having fun and engaging with people. He was

607
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:42,239
Speaker 7: the most popular athlete in the world. Imagine what he

608
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:46,480
Speaker 7: would have been with that mechanism of technology today.

609
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,399
Speaker 1: You thought we knew what ropodope was, then we would

610
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,040
Speaker 1: know that would be just part of the vernacular.

611
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 2: Now absolutely, And I think you know, that's the power

612
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,759
Speaker 2: of what we're seeing today in sports, and you know,

613
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,080
Speaker 2: and it's the power of what we can do as

614
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,880
Speaker 2: properties and athletes and entertainers. We can control our own destiny,

615
00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,719
Speaker 2: and we can connect to an audience and everybody can

616
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,840
Speaker 2: connect to an audience with having not having to go

617
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,960
Speaker 2: through the traditional pipeline of limited broadcasters. And that is

618
00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 2: where we're starting to see big changes, very big changes.

619
00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:27,520
Speaker 1: Todd de Buff, president of Top Rank Boxing. Thank you

620
00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 1: so much, sir for joining us on the Bloomberg Business

621
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 1: of Sports. We really do appreciate it and we know

622
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,440
Speaker 1: you got a busy schedule and thank you again.

623
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,120
Speaker 2: Thank you guys for having me, big fans.

624
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,600
Speaker 1: That's Todd the Buff, President of Top Rank Boxing. Now

625
00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,760
Speaker 1: up next on the show, we turn to mixed martial

626
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:49,120
Speaker 1: arts with Professional Fighters League Founder, chairman and co owner

627
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:52,560
Speaker 1: Don Davis. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports

628
00:35:52,680 --> 00:36:04,200
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. Around the world, you're listening to Bloomberg

629
00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:08,759
Speaker 1: Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. Thanks for joining us

630
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,320
Speaker 1: on the Bloomberg Business of Sports show, where we explore

631
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,719
Speaker 1: the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm

632
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:17,360
Speaker 1: Michael Barr, along with Scarlett Foo and Damian Sasaur. The

633
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:22,640
Speaker 1: Professional Fighters League or PFL, is the only mixed martial

634
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,240
Speaker 1: arts organization with a sports season format, with fighters competing

635
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:31,359
Speaker 1: in a regular season, playoffs, and then a championship each year.

636
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,120
Speaker 1: The sport is one of the fastest growing sports in

637
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,440
Speaker 1: the world and PFL is helping to lead the way.

638
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 1: And here to talk with us about the league is

639
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,840
Speaker 1: founder and chairman Don Davis. Don, Welcome to the Bloomberg

640
00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:44,680
Speaker 1: Business of Sports.

641
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 4: Great to be here talking fighting with you.

642
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:47,960
Speaker 5: Lord.

643
00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:51,400
Speaker 1: Let's talk some fighting. Let's talk now with the PFL.

644
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 1: You are the only organization in MMA with the sports

645
00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:00,360
Speaker 1: season format. Tell us about that, please, of.

646
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,320
Speaker 4: Other sports like the NBA or the NFL, the Professional

647
00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,759
Speaker 4: Fighters League is just the same. By that, I mean,

648
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,839
Speaker 4: we have a regular season, playoffs and championship. It's win

649
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:13,319
Speaker 4: and advance, lose and go home. So all fighters start

650
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 4: the season on an equal playing field, meritocracy and transparency.

651
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,120
Speaker 4: The PFL is not like the UFC. In the UFC,

652
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:24,960
Speaker 4: Dana White makes the matches, chooses who will fight, does

653
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,040
Speaker 4: the rankings. That's great entertainment, but that's not a sport.

654
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:31,319
Speaker 4: In the Professional Fighters League, all fighters start on an

655
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:34,080
Speaker 4: equal playing field. You win, you get the next fight.

656
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,399
Speaker 4: You win four times, you become the champion that year,

657
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:41,440
Speaker 4: you get a million dollar bonus. So pure meritocracy, just

658
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:45,320
Speaker 4: like the NBA. So for example, November twenty fourth Friday,

659
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,640
Speaker 4: Black Friday is our championship. Everybody's fought three times and

660
00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 4: they've won three times to make that final. So all

661
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:57,000
Speaker 4: six weight classes, six final belts, six million dollars on

662
00:37:57,080 --> 00:37:59,719
Speaker 4: the line. That is the culmination of the season in

663
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,520
Speaker 4: the just like other sports.

664
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,920
Speaker 3: Sounds pretty straightforward, and thank you for explaining that. One

665
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,239
Speaker 3: thing that separates you from the UFC as well is

666
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:11,840
Speaker 3: what you say about your leadership in technology and innovation.

667
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,239
Speaker 3: You come from the VC world, so this is a

668
00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 3: world you're familiar with. Can you tell us a little

669
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,040
Speaker 3: bit about what distinguishes PFL from the UFC when it

670
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,480
Speaker 3: comes to technology, when it comes to innovation.

671
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:26,160
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've spent thirty years building disruptive companies and innovative products.

672
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,839
Speaker 4: So we look at the MMA space through that lens.

673
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,560
Speaker 4: How do we make the viewing experience next gen and

674
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 4: how do we make it more interesting for fans, whether

675
00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:36,800
Speaker 4: you're new to the sport or a diehard. So we

676
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,000
Speaker 4: have the PFL Smartcage. It's a series of chips and

677
00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:45,279
Speaker 4: capture cameras. And what does that do for viewers? Punch impact, kickspeed,

678
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 4: real time gaming, refcam, artificial intelligence scoring. So think if

679
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,439
Speaker 4: you were watching football without the first down yellow line.

680
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,800
Speaker 4: Think if you're watching baseball without pitch speed or the

681
00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 4: strike zone. Those would be very hard sports to understand

682
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,919
Speaker 4: and they'd be less enjoyable. Well, the Professional Fighters League

683
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 4: with our smart Cage, has brought all that innovation to

684
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:11,200
Speaker 4: MMA for the very first time. So if you're watching

685
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:15,320
Speaker 4: a PFL fight, you can understand what these athletes do

686
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,000
Speaker 4: a lot more. You could see the hardest punch in

687
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 4: this round. You could see our AI scoring who is

688
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:23,719
Speaker 4: winning this round. You could see the knock up from

689
00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:27,000
Speaker 4: the ref's view close up, so that PFL smart caage

690
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:30,120
Speaker 4: makes it way more interesting if you've never watched MMA,

691
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,120
Speaker 4: way more data and analytics if you're diehard, but.

692
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,040
Speaker 6: Don it's also about the talent, right, And what you've

693
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 6: done successfully is you've gotten Francis and Don, you've gotten

694
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,879
Speaker 6: Jake Paul some of the others to come over there,

695
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:41,439
Speaker 6: and some of the things that you're doing a little

696
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:44,279
Speaker 6: bit differently than the UFC as you're allowing them to

697
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 6: actually box. Talk to us a little bit about that.

698
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 6: What are you allowing your talent to do that's so different?

699
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,319
Speaker 4: Yeah, I found it PFL to be a fighter first

700
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:54,839
Speaker 4: league that really has three elements to it. One is opportunity.

701
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:58,200
Speaker 4: Prior to PFL coming along, MMA was a one company

702
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 4: town and if you didn't like the terms that company

703
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,719
Speaker 4: too bad, you had to take it. So we've given

704
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:06,919
Speaker 4: you now two choices. You're a fighter two great organizations

705
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,200
Speaker 4: with global distribution. The sequel PFL or UFC. Number two

706
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,600
Speaker 4: is more flexibility. If there's something important to you, like boxing,

707
00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,280
Speaker 4: which was important to Francis, or boxing which is important

708
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:19,400
Speaker 4: to Clarissa's shields, or Jake Paul, you can do that

709
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,680
Speaker 4: also we think that elevates your brand and elevates PFL.

710
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:25,359
Speaker 4: And number three more money. We all want more money,

711
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,000
Speaker 4: whether you work at CBS or whether you box for

712
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:31,280
Speaker 4: the Heavyweight Championship of the World. And in the PFL,

713
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:34,279
Speaker 4: we pay the same per fight, but we give you

714
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,480
Speaker 4: bonus opportunity. So for terms of Francis mcgano, he makes

715
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:42,239
Speaker 4: more pay per view points and the opportunities for Jake Paul,

716
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,680
Speaker 4: he owns equity in our league. For fighters on the

717
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 4: championship in November twenty fourth, one million dollar bonus for

718
00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:52,640
Speaker 4: every one of them who wouldn't the bell, So you

719
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:57,480
Speaker 4: have more opportunity, more flexibility, more money. That's the fighter

720
00:40:57,560 --> 00:40:58,200
Speaker 4: first PFL.

721
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 1: See that's like with Garland and Damien because they do TV,

722
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,680
Speaker 1: they get more paper points than the radio guy over here.

723
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:08,160
Speaker 2: You got it, You got it.

724
00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,960
Speaker 1: Let me ask a question about the rumors the PFL.

725
00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:15,839
Speaker 1: Will they be purchasing bellatour there that's a smaller fight

726
00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:17,120
Speaker 1: promotion from Viacount.

727
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:17,520
Speaker 2: Yeah.

728
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,960
Speaker 4: I couldn't comment on specific things that may be happening,

729
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:24,359
Speaker 4: but what I would say in general is there are

730
00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:28,560
Speaker 4: great fighters everywhere. UFC wouldn't want you to know this,

731
00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 4: but it's true. There are about two thousand top fighters

732
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,359
Speaker 4: in the world. UFC has six hundred of them. Think

733
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 4: of this as like when Julius Serving was playing basketball,

734
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:42,680
Speaker 4: but he wasn't in the NBA. There weren't enough outlets.

735
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:47,040
Speaker 4: That's MMA today. So PFL already has top talent. Twenty

736
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:49,719
Speaker 4: five percent of our roster is top twenty five ranked

737
00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:52,719
Speaker 4: in the world. That's an insane stat that's independent. Fight

738
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,360
Speaker 4: Matrix is an only organization that ranks everybody regardless of

739
00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:00,080
Speaker 4: where you fight. But Bellatour, the organization you mentioned, they

740
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,680
Speaker 4: were the only other promotion before PFL came along, so

741
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:05,360
Speaker 4: they have great talent too. If we could put together

742
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:09,160
Speaker 4: and acquire all those fighters at Belatour, we would have

743
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:10,719
Speaker 4: superior fighter.

744
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:11,360
Speaker 2: Roster to UFC.

745
00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:13,920
Speaker 4: That would be interesting and that would be great for fans.

746
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,920
Speaker 3: I got to ask you don also about investments in

747
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:22,320
Speaker 3: the league. Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund has a sports

748
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,839
Speaker 3: fund that they created that has invested in your league.

749
00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:27,880
Speaker 3: Can you tell us a little bit more about the

750
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:32,000
Speaker 3: significance of getting a big Middle Eastern investor like the

751
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:36,240
Speaker 3: Saudis and how that opens the door to more investment

752
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:40,240
Speaker 3: from the region, and what you'll do with that extra funds.

753
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,920
Speaker 4: Yes, Scarlett, you're absolutely right. Surge is the new investment

754
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:48,680
Speaker 4: arm for sports for Saudi Arabia. Of their PIF fund.

755
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:54,040
Speaker 4: PFL was the very first investment. They saw the opportunity

756
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:57,040
Speaker 4: to have a co leader in MMA, not a number

757
00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,759
Speaker 4: two company, a co leader as big as UFC with

758
00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,439
Speaker 4: Professional Fighters League. They invested one hundred million and they're

759
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,520
Speaker 4: open for business to invest more with us. That money

760
00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:10,520
Speaker 4: will go into three areas. One more fighter talent. How

761
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:13,560
Speaker 4: do we attract, develop and retain more of the top

762
00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:17,560
Speaker 4: fighters around the world. Number two, more international expansion. The

763
00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:22,160
Speaker 4: PFL vision of MMA is more expansive, more global, and

764
00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:25,719
Speaker 4: more advanced. In UFC, there are six hundred and fifty

765
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,239
Speaker 4: million fans around the world in MMA. That's the third

766
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:31,359
Speaker 4: biggest fan base trails only soccer and basketball. Most people

767
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:33,359
Speaker 4: don't know that, but eighty percent are not in the US,

768
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:37,000
Speaker 4: so it's kind of like the soccer fan base. Very global,

769
00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:41,879
Speaker 4: very global. So we've launched PFL Europe. That's the own

770
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,440
Speaker 4: product for Europe. Fighters in Europe, all prime time in Europe,

771
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,239
Speaker 4: all events in Europe. We're launching PFL Mideast next year.

772
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:52,640
Speaker 4: We're launching PFL Africa in twenty twenty five. So we

773
00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:57,200
Speaker 4: are building at PFL, the Champions League of MMA, fights

774
00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:01,560
Speaker 4: for fans and fighters in real UFC has never done that.

775
00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:04,359
Speaker 4: They take one event per year to each region. We're

776
00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,560
Speaker 4: going to have these leagues in region year round. That's

777
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:11,640
Speaker 4: the second area that the surge money will go to.

778
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 4: And the final area is just building more awareness. The

779
00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:22,760
Speaker 4: PFL product fantastic, more next gen, more interesting than even UFC,

780
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,799
Speaker 4: but our brand awareness is low. We're only five years old,

781
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,120
Speaker 4: they're thirty years old. We haven't had a marketing budget.

782
00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:30,080
Speaker 4: So that's the third place the money will go to.

783
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:34,120
Speaker 6: Don Whenever Michael complains about what he's getting paid here

784
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:37,080
Speaker 6: at Bloomberg, I can help, but I can't help but

785
00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:39,239
Speaker 6: think about the advent of sport gambling and how that

786
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,600
Speaker 6: can change, you know, Michael's life and his discretionary spend.

787
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:44,680
Speaker 6: Talk to us a little bit about you know, the

788
00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:47,920
Speaker 6: next gen viewing experience, about real time data, about intri

789
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:50,520
Speaker 6: game bets and how that's coming to the PFL, how

790
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:53,440
Speaker 6: that's coming to MMA, and what you're doing to welcome

791
00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:54,320
Speaker 6: that into the league.

792
00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:59,880
Speaker 4: Yeah, PFL is the only sport right now broadcast ones

793
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:04,920
Speaker 4: that you see real time odds change every minute, So

794
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:09,279
Speaker 4: one it's interesting if you're a gamer, but two it's

795
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:11,759
Speaker 4: interesting just if you're a fan. We all want to

796
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,719
Speaker 4: know who's winning that fight, and what you're seeing is

797
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:21,000
Speaker 4: ten betting odds put together on the screen. So minus

798
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:24,520
Speaker 4: two fifty minus two forty minus one eighty is happening

799
00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:27,600
Speaker 4: every minute. You're seeing what the world's gamblers and the

800
00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:31,040
Speaker 4: world's odds are saying about this fight in real time.

801
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:35,880
Speaker 4: Super interesting in fight because unlike sports, we know the

802
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:40,399
Speaker 4: score it's eighty two eighty in all game. We don't

803
00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:44,520
Speaker 4: know the score in fighting. So the gambling odds are

804
00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:46,960
Speaker 4: both interesting if you're betting on it or interesting if

805
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:50,160
Speaker 4: you're watching it. But next year it's going to get

806
00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:53,400
Speaker 4: more advanced prop bets. What's the hardest punch in this

807
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:57,040
Speaker 4: round is the over under of Francis nin Gano thirty

808
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:58,879
Speaker 4: miles an hour on that punch in the third round

809
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:02,239
Speaker 4: or not. So once you start to have more than

810
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:05,719
Speaker 4: winning and losing, and it's prop bets and it's by round,

811
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:08,840
Speaker 4: the PFL smart cage data allows that, and you're going

812
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:10,040
Speaker 4: to see that in twenty twenty four.

813
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:15,440
Speaker 1: You guys have some great major brand sponsors, about two dozen.

814
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:17,960
Speaker 1: You didn't do it with sorcery. You did it with

815
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:22,160
Speaker 1: good old hard work, including Geico and the US Marines.

816
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:25,560
Speaker 4: There's two things a PFL did. We've brought in more

817
00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:28,120
Speaker 4: blue chip sponsors in MMA that have never been there before.

818
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 4: Bos IBM, never been in combat before. And why we

819
00:46:32,719 --> 00:46:35,439
Speaker 4: have a season, and that's how they're used to buying.

820
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:38,440
Speaker 4: They buy the NBA for a season, you'll season one

821
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:42,360
Speaker 4: off events. And number two, we're advancing this sport to

822
00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:44,600
Speaker 4: be a blue chip major sport. Think of it the

823
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,479
Speaker 4: sixth major sports league. So we do things that way,

824
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:51,279
Speaker 4: not in the old combat way. And we've been very

825
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:53,920
Speaker 4: fortunate to have two dozen sponsors join us on this mission.

826
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:55,040
Speaker 4: And that's only year five.

827
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:56,160
Speaker 2: Hi.

828
00:46:56,239 --> 00:46:58,520
Speaker 1: Goodness man, you guys. You guys got it going on,

829
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:02,840
Speaker 1: and I wish you very well because as the future continues,

830
00:47:03,239 --> 00:47:06,800
Speaker 1: old geezer bar here. First of all, I got to

831
00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:10,600
Speaker 1: learn it's not a ring. It is a cage, you know,

832
00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:13,200
Speaker 1: and you know, you know, I see the old Gillette

833
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:15,880
Speaker 1: commercials and I'm like, no, that's not that's not it anymore.

834
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:16,120
Speaker 2: Man.

835
00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:19,279
Speaker 1: This is this is brand. This is what he really

836
00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:21,319
Speaker 1: isn't even brand new. That's how bad I am.

837
00:47:22,040 --> 00:47:24,160
Speaker 4: That's how bad. But you know what, November twenty fourth,

838
00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:27,200
Speaker 4: you're gonna watch the PFL Championship on ESPN pay per

839
00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:29,600
Speaker 4: view and you're gonna be honked and you're gonna be

840
00:47:29,719 --> 00:47:31,719
Speaker 4: educated and you're gonna be all in and it all

841
00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:32,640
Speaker 4: work out from there.

842
00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:35,279
Speaker 1: And one thing that won't change, I'll have a beer

843
00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:40,720
Speaker 1: in my hand watching it on ESPN. Don Davis, founder, chairman,

844
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:44,200
Speaker 1: Professional Fighters League, thank you so much first for joining

845
00:47:44,280 --> 00:47:46,440
Speaker 1: us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We really do

846
00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:47,080
Speaker 1: appreciate it.

847
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:48,040
Speaker 4: Thanks, guys, appreciate it.

848
00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:53,840
Speaker 1: That's Professional Fighters Leagues founder and chairman co owner Don Davis.

849
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,480
Speaker 1: If you missed any of that, it is on demand

850
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:59,560
Speaker 1: now on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. Find out

851
00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:03,000
Speaker 1: on Apple, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcast.

852
00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:06,600
Speaker 1: And another story that broke this week, we are keeping

853
00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:10,279
Speaker 1: our eye on the Oakland A's and it's pretty much

854
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:14,000
Speaker 1: official now the A's are moving to Las Vegas. He

855
00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:18,080
Speaker 1: was unanimously approved by Major League Baseball team owners, cementding

856
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:21,600
Speaker 1: the sports first relocation since two thousand and five. That's

857
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:25,680
Speaker 1: when the Montreal Expos moved and became the Washington Nationals.

858
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:29,600
Speaker 1: It comes after years of complaints about the Oakland Coliseum

859
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:32,759
Speaker 1: and an inability to gain government assistance for a new

860
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:36,080
Speaker 1: ballpark in the Bay Area. Of course, we're going to

861
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,480
Speaker 1: follow that story, but don't you worry. It's coming up

862
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:41,800
Speaker 1: soon and we're going to dive into it on the

863
00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:45,400
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business of Sports. This is the Bloomberg Business of

864
00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:47,360
Speaker 1: Sports show. We're here each and every week at the

865
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:50,239
Speaker 1: same time, plus online wherever you get your podcasts, and

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Speaker 1: you can follow on X at Big Bar.

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Speaker 3: Sports, and you can follow me on X at Scarlett

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Speaker 3: Food and.

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Speaker 6: I'm on xd sas hour.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us. Tune in again next week

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Speaker 1: week for the latest on the stories moving big money

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Speaker 1: in the world of sports. You're listening to Bloomberg Business

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Speaker 1: of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.