Fans of boxing and mixed martial arts in the United States have a new go-to hub on fight night.
DAZN, the international sports streaming service, launched in the U.S. on Sept. 10 and will offer a stacked fall schedule, highlighted by a heavyweight clash between world champion Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin on Sept. 22 at Wembley Stadium in London. That helps kick off a lineup of more than 70 headliners and undercards, many shown exclusively to American viewers live and on-demand following agreements earlier this year through Matchroom Boxing and Bellator MMA.
DAZN is offering a one-month free trial that would cover the following scheduled events:
Sept. 21 — Bellator: A.J. McKee vs. John Macapa*
Sept. 22 — Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin
Sept. 29 — Bellator: Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
Oct. 6 — Card featuring Jessie Vargas, Thomas Dulorme
Oct. 12 — Bellator: Matt Mitrione vs. Ryan Bader*
Oct. 13 — Bellator: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Chael Sonnen*
Oct. 20 — Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade
* Simulcast with Paramount Network
Joshua (21-0-0) has become the biggest boxing ticket in the United Kingdom with wins against Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker in the last 12 months, along with his 11th-round knockout of Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in April 2017. The lone loss of Povetkin’s (34-1-0) career came at the hands of Klitschko in 2013.
In May, DAZN parent company Perform Group announced a $1 billion partnership with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and Matchroom Boxing — the biggest rights deal in boxing history.
The Oct. 6 fight card, in addition to featuring Vargas vs. Dulorme, has rising heavyweight contender Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller taking on former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion and former heavyweight title challenger Tomasz Adamek. The card will also have IBF light heavyweight titlist Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Johnson and WBA super bantamweight champ Daniel Roman defending his title against Gavin McDonnell.
DAZN also has a multiyear distribution agreement with Bellator MMA for seven exclusive fight cards per year, beginning Sept. 29 with the highly anticipated middleweight title fight pitting Mousasi (44-6-2) against MacDonald (20-4), along with the fourth fight in the rivalry between Jackson (37-13) and Silva (35-13).
On Oct. 20, DAZN will showcase Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade in Boston. WBO and IBF women’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor vs. Cindy Serrano will also be featured.
DAZN (pronounced DA-zone), billed as a more affordable and accessible alternative to pay-per-view packages, plans to carry combat sports programming regularly. The sports streaming service originally launched in Japan two years ago; it has since expanded to multi-sport offerings in markets around the world such as Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Depending on the locale, DAZN subscribers are able to watch games and original programming from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, EPL and UEFA Champions League, among others.
Access to all of DAZN’s programming is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles.
Combat sports are only the beginning for DAZN’s multisport plans in the U.S.
“We launched DAZN to disrupt the status quo and change the way the world sees sports,” DAZN CEO James Rushton said. “When you get DAZN, you’ll get all the fights; we won’t stash our best matchups for PPV, linear TV or a higher-tier package. And you’re going to get the entire card live, no matter the time zone and without constraints for one affordable price.”
