ATLANTA – Like it or not, Triller Fight Club is making noise in the combat sports world.
The video streaming and social-networking service-turned fight promotion returns with another boxing and entertainment pay-per-view event Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, headlined by an eight-round bout between YouTuber Jake Paul and former MMA champion Ben Askren.
In addition, the four-fight main card features the professional boxing debut of former UFC champ Frank Mir, as well as musical performances from the likes of Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, and more.
In terms of combat sports events trending this week, it’s hard to deny the interest in Paul vs. Askren and all that comes with it. That’s all the more impressive considering this is a weekend in which Bellator 257 goes down on Friday, UFC on ESPN 22 takes place Saturday, as well as other boxing matches on the schedule.
Triller Fight Club is taking a different approach to combat sports promotion, and Paul, who carries an eight-figure social media following between all platforms and has an ongoing NFT bit for his viral knockout of Nate Robinson that’s climbed over $1 million, thinks it’s the new wave.
“This is head and shoulders (above the other events),” Paul told MMA Junkie. “I wasn’t aware of any other events going on. Not to be a d*ck, but this is one of the biggest events of the decade, not just this weekend. I’ve never been one to focus on a weekend. I do sh*t that resonates for decades and years. .. This is more exciting, and I think what people will see on Saturday will be an unprecedented event. The amount of entertainment and the celebrities, special guests and performances – there’s never been an event like this.”
According to Triller majority owner Ryan Kavanaugh, the reason his promotion stands out is because of the stark contrast between what combat sports fans are used to. He said the investment in story telling runs deeper due to a larger lead-up time to the show, as opposed to the biggest MMA promotions that run multiple fight cards per month.
The build to Paul vs. Askren has been going on since even before it was officially booked on Jan. 26, and Kavanaugh said the noticeable fight-week interest is a product of successful hype.
According to Kavanaugh, the event is trending to surpass last November’s card featuring Mike Tyson’s boxing comeback against Roy Jones Jr., which reportedly sold north of 1.6 million pay-per-view buys.
“We have very little that we do the same,” Kavanaugh said. “We don’t promote it the same, we don’t shoot it the same, we don’t produce it the same, we don’t even interact with our fighters the same. We treat them more like a movie star than a fighter because we want them to do their persona right and create a story leading up to the event. It really is a movie. And a movie ends at the event. It doesn’t it start at the event.”
Mir, who made his UFC debut in 2001 and held the promotion’s undisputed and interim heavyweight titles, was one of the notable names drawn to Triller. He’s seen and done it all trhough more than two decades in the fight game, but it’s his belief this type of promotion is the future.
There almost certainly will be a portion of viewers who purchase Saturday’s card that are solely compelled by either the fighting or musical side. However, in the big picture, Mir said a wider net is cast by providing appeal to more than one end of the spectrum.
“If you look back, PRIDE (Fighting Championship) used to have 90,000 people show up over in Japan to the arenas, and the format was much more similar to this,” Mir said. “You had comedy acts, you had musical acts – you had a lot of things going on. It was a whole night of entertainment besides just fighting. I think that format is pretty much what Triller is doing here. Fight, act, fight, act. It makes it a full spectacle. Not everyone is just into fighting.”
Peter Kahn, the Chief Boxing Officer for Triller Fight Club, concurs with Mir’s sentiment. The UFC’s success is undeniable. It puts on a product that has solidified a position as the top dog in the MMA space, but an argument can be made that the rinse-and-repeat style of presentation leaves much to be desired for those who crave to see something different.
It’s indisputable that the UFC dominates the 18-34 male demographic. However, Kahn sees an opportunity for Triller to control an audience that goes well beyond a specific demographic purely chasing the fights.
“This is a true entertainment event,” Kahn said. “With the music, the celebrity commentators, of course with the boxing, with the influencers, it’s just grabbing such a wide demographic that there’s something for everyone. You would always hear Johnson & Johnson say they have everyone from the cradle to the grave. It’s the same thing. We have tweens to teens to millennials, all the way to the hardcore boxing purists that skew older. We’re not operating in that traditional 18-34 demo. We’re attractive to everyone from 12 years old to knocking on death’s door. It spans such a large demographic.”
Askren, who has headlined cards for both the UFC and Bellator, said the fact that his bout with Paul is overshadowing opposing combat sports events this weekend is something that simply can’t be argued.
A simple YouTube search of Askren’s name in correlation to the fight with Paul reveals astronomical numbers. How that ultimately translates to pay-per-view buys remains to be seen, but he thinks the UFC and Bellator are upset his fight with Paul is taking center stage on a packed weekend of events.
“They’re so pissed that no one cares,” Askren said. “Those guys are so mad that no one cares.”
‘Those guys are so mad’: Is Triller Fight Club overshadowing UFC, Bellator on busy weekend?
