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Manila Bulletin devider devider With proprietary technology in their back pocket, the PFL has opportunities to enter gaming of all kinds

With proprietary technology in their back pocket, the PFL has opportunities to enter gaming of all kinds

Published Nov 9, 2020 09:50 am

With the advancement of technology, anything is possible and that is what the Professional Fighters League has been aiming – to do an excellent job in making use of the latest advancements in technology to further enhance the viewing experience for fans. 

Thanks to their proprietary SmartCage technology, fans have been able to keep track of their favorite fighters as well those fighters’ statistics inside the cage in real time. This, along with the PFL’s unique regular season-like league format has helped fans get that major sporting event feel to go with exciting MMA action. 

These, among many other things, is why the PFL is being considered as the most innovative league in sports today, and why they’ve catapulted into the number two MMA organization in the world, just behind the UFC. 

Enhancing the viewing experience for fans, however, is just the tip of the iceberg for the PFL in terms of putting their tech to good use. 

With the SmartCage allowing viewers to track specific statistics like punch and kick speed, power rate, and more, it also opens the door for the possibility of various betting opportunities. 

Sure, betting on fights and its outcomes has been around probably as long as combat sports has existed. Now however, the PFL’s real-time statistics tracking allows bets to be made on different variables of the fight, such as average punch speed, or power ratings per round. The possibilities are endless, to be honest. 

Not much of a betting person and more of a console consumer, fear not, as the PFL is reportedly getting ready to develop their own video game franchise. 

According to co-founder and chairman Donn Davis, the PFL’s league format makes it a perfect candidate for a video game. 

“The PFL league format behaves much like the league format in FIFA and in Madden. The console opportunity with the PFL is very intriguing. Now that PFL has established itself, I believe you’ll see us in conversation with those kinds of people,” Davis said in an interview with Forbes. 

Davis has had experience in the gaming world before as one of the co-owners of Team Liquid, the most decorated franchise in eSports today. 

Davis added that while a console-based title is a goal, another avenue that’s waiting to be tapped is the mobile free-to-play market, which has enjoyed a significant boom in the past few years.

With mobile devices becoming more and more powerful in terms of tech specs, people have gravitated towards free-to-play titles due mainly to the convenience of being able to enjoy a video game on the go. 

Davis sees that as an opportunity. 

“The free-to-play mobile game opportunity has not been developed by others in combat sports. The WWE has a very successful mobile FTP mobile game. I think the WWE is a great example of what can be done with PFL, from an FTP mobile standpoint,” Davis said. 

“That’s a different experience, to a different customer. With 5G coming to 5 billion people around the world on mobile phones? I think that is a different and interesting market that can also be tapped into for PFL,” he added. 

With the tech inside and outside the cage, the PFL is indeed making good on their identity as the most innovative league in sports.

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