Press Release: Singapore / Hong Kong, 22 October 2012 – Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia and Hong Kong-based Legend have sealed an agreement to broadcast Legend Fighting Championship (LFC), the Asia-Pacific Championship of Mixed Martial Arts, on AXN in 21 territories across the region.
The deal grants AXN the first and exclusive rights to broadcast all Legend Fighting Championship events from October 2012 through August 2013. In addition, four of the most recently concluded Legend Fighting Championship tournaments will premiere first and exclusively on AXN in the coming months.
“We are very excited to be partnering with Legend to showcase some of the best and most established Asian MMA fighters. Many of these fighters are already household names in Japan, Korea and China, where LFC has a huge following. We have no doubt that our broadcast of these thrilling fights on AXN will further enhance the popularity of LFC, especially amongst our viewers across South East Asia,” said Ricky Ow, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television.
“This partnership with AXN begins an exciting new chapter in the Legend story. Since Legend was established, we have dedicated ourselves to growing the sport of MMA here in the Asia-Pacific and giving fighters from this region the opportunity to compete in a world-class organization. AXN is Asia’s premiere platform for entertainment, and we are excited to bring the best in Asia-Pacific MMA to their audience, particularly since so many of Legend’s elite fighters hail from AXN’s key broadcast markets.” said Chris Pollak, Managing Director, Legend.
Founded in Hong Kong, Legend Fighting Championship invites exclusively the highest-level professional martial artists throughout China and Asia-Pacific to compete in a freestyle tournament using interdisciplinary martial arts skills including boxing, Brazilian jiujitsu, judo, Muay Thai, Sambo, Sanda, Taekwondo and wrestling in supervised matches under a strict set of rules designed to promote athlete safety.
The series focuses on the multi-faceted, tactical nature of mixed martial arts where athletes are armed with a well-rounded skill-set in striking, grappling, and submissions to compete. Since January 2010, 10 Legend Fighting Championship events have been completed. The most recent event included 20 fighters from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand, competing in six weight classes from Bantamweight through to Light Heavyweight.
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