DAZN has signed a multi-year broadcast deal with Extreme Fighting Championship, giving the African MMA promotion a global free-to-view route through DAZN Combat. The agreement expands DAZN’s combat sports lineup while giving EFC wider reach outside its core African markets.
The deal covers EFC events worldwide, excluding Sub-Saharan Africa and Poland. It begins with EFC 134 in Johannesburg, bringing live fight cards to a broader international audience without a paywall.
EFC gets wider global reach
EFC is one of Africa’s best-known MMA promotions and has built its base around events in South Africa. The organization has developed fighters across the continent and uses Johannesburg as a regular home for major cards.
The DAZN deal gives EFC a larger platform while combat sports rights remain valuable to streaming services. MMA audiences are global, and free-to-view access can help smaller promotions build awareness beyond domestic television markets.
For EFC, the key change is distribution. The promotion can now place its events in front of DAZN users across multiple markets, giving fighters more visibility and sponsors a wider audience.
Free-to-view model lowers the barrier
The free-to-view structure is a central part of the agreement. Viewers in covered markets can watch EFC events on DAZN without the same subscription barrier attached to many premium sports rights.
That approach can help EFC reach casual fans who may not already follow African MMA. It also gives DAZN more combat sports content alongside boxing, MMA and crossover fight programming. The exclusions are also important. Sub-Saharan Africa and Poland are outside the DAZN arrangement, which means existing or separate rights arrangements remain in place for those territories.
DAZN adds another fight property
DAZN has spent years building its combat sports position through boxing rights, fight events and dedicated combat programming. Adding EFC gives the platform another regular fight property and a stronger link to African MMA talent.
The deal also fits DAZN’s wider use of free-to-view sports to increase platform traffic. Free events can bring new users into the app, even if they later move toward paid content or other sports products.
EFC 134 starts the partnership
The partnership starts with EFC 134 in Johannesburg. That event gives DAZN its first live test of the new rights deal and gives EFC an immediate global showcase.
For fighters, the agreement could make international exposure easier without waiting for a move to larger overseas promotions. For DAZN, it adds more live combat content at a time when fight sports remain valuable for streaming engagement.
