Inside the Fight League That’s Turning Creators Into Broadcasters

For GLORY CEO Marshall Zelaznik, creators aren’t simply ambassadors — they’re the lifeblood of his firm’s development technique.

“The Kai Cenats of the world have this unbelievable machine that generates curiosity and viewership,” he says. “They’re the brand new linear TV networks for rising a fan base.”

Because the world’s premier kickboxing group, GLORY embraces this evolution head-on, borrowing from the cultural playbook that made gaming, creator boxing and Twitch-style engagement explode, whereas anchoring it in elite competitors and high-end manufacturing.

The result’s a recent format that blends top-tier fight sports activities with platform-first storytelling, always-on content material and the community-driven vitality of the web’s favourite creator occasions.

“We are the first group that is taken our core merchandise to those platforms,” Zelaznik says.

One of many largest items of GLORY’s new push is a partnership with Betr, the sports activities media and gaming company co-founded by Jake Paul. Zelaznik’s background impressed the deal in eSports, the place he as soon as led enterprise growth and content material at Blizzard.

“Avid gamers, streamers and creators are at all times on the lookout for content material that’ll truly matter to their followers,” he says. “Our pitch to Betr was fairly easy: we have compelling stuff.”

Associated: ‘Smiling and Dialing’ to a Billion Dollars — How This Kevin Hart-Backed Energy Brand is Changing the Game

Creators’ experiences with their communities

His purpose is to make it as simple as attainable for creators to plug into the expertise and share it with their communities — what he calls “spoon-feeding” them content material.

“Whereas others would possibly invite a creator to take a look at what they’re doing, we’re bringing the entire thing on to them,” he says. “We’re actually embracing the creator neighborhood in a approach nobody else has.”

That concept manifests in GLORY Underground, a brand new creator-forward battle collection launched in Miami on Could 1st. The primary occasion was invite-only, with Welterweight champ Chico Kwasi defending his belt in a rematch in opposition to Light-weight champ Tyjani “The Wonderboy” Beztati.

“It’ll really feel very unique,” Zelaznik says. “Like battle membership meets the precise membership.”

To be clear, you will not see creators moving into the ring in Paul Brothers style. Whereas Zelaznik is open to leveraging the creator financial system to develop the game, he is dedicated to preserving the integrity of the core product — delivering high-quality fights that includes world-class skilled athletes.

“Between the bells originally and finish of the battle, this might be an actual battle. There might be no shenanigans,” he says. “Through the walkout, the choice, or between rounds — positive, we’ll have some leisure — however every part contained in the ropes might be pure.”

That stability might be evident within the occasion’s nightclub-style ambiance and modern production, designed extra for cell viewers than conventional TV audiences.

It is a daring transfer for a corporation trying to develop its viewers to launch an unique occasion collection, particularly in sports activities, the place ticket gross sales reign supreme. Airing that occasion without cost is much more daring. There was a time when an organization like GLORY would’ve jumped on the probability to provide away media rights to a community like ABC or ESPN — perhaps even paid for the airtime.

However Zelanzik is betting on a distinct mannequin. He is all-in on democratized distribution. GLORY’s main platform might be YouTube, and creators aren’t solely welcome however inspired to co-stream fights — a tactic pulled straight from the eSports playbook.

“As an alternative of claiming ‘here is the appointment viewing, go watch it on ESPN,’ we’re ensuring everybody with a telephone can watch,” he says.

Whereas this technique would possibly assist develop the viewers, it additionally leaves cash on the desk, as Zelaznik is nicely conscious.

“We’re not going to be operating round with our pockets overflowing after this occasion,” he admits.

However given time, he believes the collection will domesticate a devoted fandom, create a platform for fighters to boost their profile, and ultimately, generate income.

“We’re investing within the product proper now,” Zelaznik says, “however over time sponsorship will develop and that can make up for it.”

GLORY additionally advantages from a robust worldwide basis, giving the corporate extra flexibility to take monetary dangers.

“The success that now we have in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan — the income we generate there from tickets, sponsorships, media rights — all of that provides us the runway to make these sorts of investments,” Zelaznik says.

It is basically the inverse of his time on the UFC, the place the corporate had a dominant presence within the U.S. however confronted challenges increasing abroad. Whereas the UFC is now a world powerhouse, Zelaznik carries the expertise — and the scars — from when that wasn’t the case.

“The success within the U.S. gave Dana the boldness to speculate globally and begin constructing worldwide workplaces,” he says. “So whereas UFC went from the U.S. to worldwide, we’re going from Europe to the U.S.”

GLORY simply re-entered the US enviornment after a hiatus, however Zelaznik is assured within the firm’s modern strategy.

“The important thing for us on the enterprise facet — past simply constructing followers—is that we’re doing one thing distinctive by bridging conventional sports activities with new media and influencers,” he says. “We’re embracing the creator neighborhood in a approach nobody else has.”