Under the agreement the EFC has created an EFC profile on Discover Sport™, where all EFC fights are streamed free to fans outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, along with select undercard and prelim bouts available globally. The partnership also includes EFC's supporting content: pre-fight promotional videos, weigh-ins, press conferences, athlete profiles, post-fight highlights, archives and short-form social content, says the duo.

This partnership marks the end of EFC's previous international pay-per-view strategy, with Africa's premier fighting championship pivoting to a free global streaming model designed with the aim to increase international fan access to its world-class content. The moveaims to expand EFC's global audience reach while enhancing the value and visibility for its sponsors and commercial partners, says the duo.

"Discover Sport™ and EFC share a common vision — to expand the reach and accessibility of great sporting competitions and content to fans worldwide, and to shine a spotlight on talented athletes while unlocking new opportunities for partner brands to activate within passionate sports communities," says Stephen Watson, Founder of Discover Sport™.

"Our exclusive, free social sports platform fosters authentic and meaningful fan connections without the distraction of non-sport-related content. Athletes and fighters can also join the Discover Sport™ community with independent athlete profiles, sharing their own user-generated content and sporting resume via our digital athlete cards. Fans can engage by sharing their own clips and experiences, and earn ByteBucks™ rewards for their interaction," adds Watson.

"Our two organisations are a perfect match in terms of our respective passion, ambition and evolution, and we are extremely proud and excited to be able to showcase some of the greatest warriors in the world to a global audience of passionate and loyal fans. Fighters like Dricus du Plessis have already proven the calibre of talent emerging from the EFC and there are many more future stars waiting to be discovered," Watson continues.

"We are excited to partner with Discover Sport™, making it even easier for more fans around the world to watch the best of African MMA. EFC already has a global fan base, with the majority of its digital audience from top MMA markets like the US and Brazil. These fans can now watch the best EFC action — live, highlights and more — on Discover Sport™," says Cairo Howarth, President of EFC.

The partnership launched on Thursday, 6 November with EFC #129, the penultimate live event of EFC's 10-event season, staged at the World Sports Betting EFC Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa. The first of six prelim bouts get underway at 15:00 CAT, with the five-bout Main Card kicking off at 19:00 CAT, concludes the duo.

For more information, visit www.discoversport.com. You can also follow Discover Sport™ on Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

*Image courtesy of contributor