Local group signs `dream' streaming deal with UFC
Fight Pass to livestream Unified MMA events, cards to be shown starting Aug. 14
When it comes to itching for a fight, there is no group of people with more scratching to do right now than actual fighters.
Sidelined for almost two years by a pandemic that shut down their local industry, they can finally get back to earning a living now that COVID -19 is winding down in Alberta.
And the stage has never been bigger with Edmonton-based Unified MMA just signing on with the UFC Fight Pass streaming service.
All of Unified's cards, beginning with their Aug. 14 return to action at the River Cree Casino, will be livestreamed by the biggest combat sports organization on the planet.
“It's something we've been wanting for a long time because it puts the guys we have competing in the eyes of so many people around the world,” said Unified MMA president Sunny Sareen.
“Connecting with UFC Fight Pass is a dream for our promotion. We've never been happier. Anyone who's a fight fan has Fight Pass.”
The streaming service reaches around the world, offering subscribers a steady diet of fight cards and features that Edmonton will now be a part of. It's major exposure for the fighters and for the company.
“There's no better partner in the combat sports game that you can be connected with than UFC,” said Sareen. “It's a behemoth that has so many of the best fighters in the world. When they put on shows anywhere in the world, it even reaches the local economy — it takes over and fills up bars.
“For us to be connected with UFC Fight Pass makes us, in many eyes, the No.1 promotion in the country. It helps us as a promotion and it helps elevate the fighters. It's a big benefit for everyone.”
It's a massive development for Unified as it prepares to host the first professional mixed martial arts card in Canada since COVID-19 shut everything down. And it's a double blessing for all of the fighters who've been forced to stand down for almost two years — not only are they back, but they're suddenly standing in a very big spotlight.
“COVID decimated the regional circuit because we rely on ticket sales,” said Sareen. “You need fans to make money to pay these fighters. So if we're not doing shows, these guys aren't fighting.
“Guys in the pinnacle of their careers being unable to compete is tough. So for us to get going again gets their careers going again.”
Edmonton light heavyweight Graham Park is one of those fighters. He's been idle since September 2019, waiting for a chance to get back inside a cage and ply his trade (one of his trades, actually, since he's also a full-time firefighter).
He's never been so excited to punch someone in the face in his life.
“I had big plans for 2020,” said Park, who'll take on Neil Berry in Saturday's main event. “I wanted to fight a bunch and get the ball rolling more than I had in the past. Then COVID hit two days before my fight and they cancelled it.
“That was frustrating. To be sitting on the sidelines was getting me anxious. I want to fight. I'm always getting better and I want to put my skills to use and show the world what I can do.
“To come back to after two years and be on the main event, and now having the world watching on Fight Pass means a ton. I'm so excited.”
So are fight fans. Sareen was a little worried at first about how people would react to the return of live sporting events, but all that was put to rest when the
Aug. 14 show sold out in less than two weeks.
“It tells you how many people are into mixed martial arts in the province,” he said, adding it was pretty easy to stack the welcome back card, especially with the depth of local fighters available.
“Graham Park is probably the No.1 light heavyweight in the country who isn't signed with the UFC right now. Neal Anderson is one of the top featherweights in the country. K.B. Bhullar, who had a short stint in the UFC, is back and fighting in his hometown again.
“We have a lot of the top guys in the country fighting again. We're coming back with a bang.”
Now, with a backlog of fighters anxious to fight again and an army of fans who are just as anxious to see a little violence, Unified is stepping up the schedule. Instead of two shows between now and the end of the year, it is doubling it to four.
For Park, this could be the start of something huge.
“It's worldwide exposure; it's a big platform,” he said. “There have been guys fighting on promotions in the States who are signed on with Fight Pass, and if they do well they get pulled up to the bigger shows.
“We'll see what happens, but I'm only focused on what's in front of me on Aug. 14 because if I don't win that, nothing else matters.”