Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez has joined up with MMA promotion PFL as an investor during a $30million round of funding.
Rodriguez, a former New York Yankee who won the World Series in 2009, has joined the MMA league's board of directors after they secured a new $30m funding deal as part of their worldwide expansion. The ex-third baseman will be joined on the board by Daniel Leff of Waverley Capital, who led the investment round.
He joins the likes of rapper Wiz Khalifa and a host of other major names in the business world to join PFL as an investor. The league is currently home to Brendan Loughnane as well as Olympic gold medalist and unbeaten star Kayla Harrison and former UFC champion Anthony Pettis.
"I love the global reach of MMA," Rodriguez said in a statement. "The PFL continues to build and innovate for fans, media and fighters, and there is massive demand in the marketplace."
“PFL is a global platform company that is at the intersection of all key media and consumer trends,” Leff added. “PFL fights are high action with global athletes, ideal for the age of streaming and mobile, and have the youngest demographic across all sports, a perfect fit for sponsors.
"The PFL SmartCage is data-rich, propelling engagement and gaming, and the company centrally owns all its intellectual property, allowing it to facilitate new revenue ranging from NFTs to licensing.”
Rodriguez retired from baseball in 2016 as one of the most beloved stars of the Yankees, and has since leaned into business heavily. He is a minority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, as well as the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.
He has previous history in MMA, having previously invested in the UFC Gym, which is a health and fitness arm of the top MMA promotion. It is believed that Bellator are the No.2 promotion in the world behind UFC, although PFL and ONE FC in Asia also lay claim to that distinction.
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PFL Founder and Chairman Donn Davis said: “While it is clear that sports is the most valuable content and intellectual property in the world, what is also becoming increasingly clear is that MMA is the growth sports business of this decade.
“The MMA category is on fire, and while UFC is the first winner in this market, several major valuable companies will be built, and PFL has secured the No.2 market position and is the fastest growing and most innovative company in MMA.”
The promotion recently staged a number of events in Texas that featured Harrison as well as Pettis, who both picked up major wins. They will return to action next month in Atlanta, with the anticipated returns of both as well as a host of other talented fighers.
PFL fights are generally broadcast on ESPN in the United States and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom after major television deals were announced earlier this year.
