Shevchenko Pleased With Her Support, TKO Holdings And PFL Land Major Deals

In the MMA latest updates, Valentina Shevchenko has been pleased by the reaction to her split draw with Alexa Grasso.

During their rematch at UFC Noche on Mexican Independence Day, Mike Bell’s 10-8 scorecard in the final round for Grasso prevented Shevchenko from winning the flyweight belt.

Shevchenko’s Controversy

In the aftermath, there was a lot of controversy with many feeling that Shevchenko had done enough to win. Dana White was equally unhappy with the scorecards as the calls for a trilogy fight continue to occur.

Shevchenko did not rule out the possibility of appealing. However, there is more likely to see a rematch instead. And that has left Shevchenko feeling a whole lot more positive over what she had achieved in her performance. 

Shevchenko On The Support

"I’m happy that all the professionals around the world, all the people, they see the truth, they know what the result should be. Yeah, I still had my hand raised up, but she had the same, too, so kind of not the way it should be. It should be just one hand raised for me. Everyone knows the truth. Even though it wasn’t the decision I was hoping for, I still had my hand raised up and professionals who know this sport who watched the fight, they know who the winner is of this fight. I’m also happy about my performance," Shevchenko

In response, the Nevada State Athletic Commission did hold a meeting about giving guidance over what a 10-8 round should be. Although that will not soften the blow, it did show that the scoring was not on point with doubts over the criteria moving forward.

And in a sport that is ultimately defined by the smallest of margins, the scorecards do hold a lot of weight. So moving forward, perhaps this bout will lead to a better outcome. 

PFL’s Deal

Meanwhile, DirecTV has signed an agreement with ONE Championship to distribute their fight events across the US. 

According to reports, DirecTV will distribute the live fights across restaurants and bars. The fights are currently aired on Amazon’s Prime Video across Canada and the US.

The latest news, therefore, arrives following the huge success of One Championship’s US debut. DirecTV has secured commercial rights in other sports such as NFL’s Sunday Ticket games, Thursday Night Football, Major League Baseball’s Friday Night Baseball and Major League Soccer’s MLS Season. And now Tai Morshed (senior VP of US strategy and operations at ONE) had this to say. 

"ONE Championship has one of the most passionate fan bases in the world, and we always strive to make our programming as convenient and accessible as possible. This partnership with DirecTV allows us to work with another best-in-class partner while expanding ONE’s presence in the US by making our events available in the commercial marketplace."

"Mixed Martial Arts continues to grow in popularity across the country, so we’re excited to deliver ONE Championship events to bars and restaurants nationwide,” Mike Wittrock (chief sales and service officer at DirecTV)."

TKO Holdings’ Deal

In addition, TKO Group Holdings has confirmed their first ever broadcasting deal. This was in the aftermath of the merger between the UFC and WWE.

TKO Group Holdings’ merger became official on September 12th, 2023, as the company traded publicly on the New York Exchange.

Despite starting off with a 2.6 percent rise in their shares from the $102 starting position, the company’s shares have now fallen below $100.

And yet, it is important to bear in mind the following news. TKO Group Holdings has stated that WWE Smackdown will be broadcast on USA Network.

This replaces the previous network of FOX in a new five-year deal . The deal is expected to start in 2024 in October. The deal is allegedly worth more than $1.4 billion over the five years at around $287 million per year.

"Your goal is to maximize price. Let’s be clear about that. In any renegotiation that [WWE president] Nick Khan is doing in WWE, his goal is to maximize price. Our goal with UFC is to maximize price," Mark Shapiro (Endeavor President)

The same may be targeted when it comes to the UFC going forward. The UFC currently airs its events on ESPN, the current deal which is expected to last until 2025.

That deal was also a departure from FOX. The current deal allows for major pay-per-view fights to be aired on ESPN+. Therefore, moving ahead in the future, things are looking bright for MMA fans.

And ultimately, more exposure of the sport leads to greater finances which can be used to stage the biggest fights. And that can only be a good thing for the MMA fanbase.