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MANILA, Philippines – Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) forged a lucrative partnership with broadcast giant ABS-CBN to bring the Filipino brand of mixed martial arts (MMA) to a wider audience.
URCC president Alvin Aguilar and ABS-CBN head for integrated sports Dino Laurena formalized the two companies’ joint venture on Friday, April 1, making the network the official television carrier of the first Philippine-based MMA organization.
However, the exact terms and length of the agreement between URCC and ABS-CBN were not publicly disclosed.
ABS-CBN is no stranger to MMA as it broadcasted the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s fight cards and newsmagazine shows on its now-defunct cable sports channel Balls from 2007 to 2015.
When the Manuel V. Pangilinan-bankrolled TV5 acquired the broadcast rights of the UFC in late 2015, ABS-CBN saw an opening to offer a television deal with URCC, which aired its last two shows on GMA 7.
As the official broadcast partner, ABS-CBN will air URCC events through its “Sports and Action” outfit, starting with the “Rebellion” card on April 23.
URCC 27: Rebellion is headlined by mainstay Reydon “Red” Romero, who defends the featherweight belt for the second time against South Korea’s Do Gyeom Lee.
Meanwhile, CJ De Tomas aims to dethrone Japan’s Hideo Morikawa for the URCC flyweight championship.
American journeyman Will Chope faces Richie Redman for the vacant lightweight strap, while veteran Caloy Baduria battles Swiss standout Chris Hofmann for the available light heavyweight title.
The vacant URCC pinweight belt is likewise up for grabs as Fritz Biagtan goes head-to-head with Eddie Estrada.
URCC 27: Rebellion is set to take place at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. – Rappler.com
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