Polsat, the Polish terrestrial and satellite broadcaster, has extended its rights deal with mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Under the multi-year renewal, Polsat will broadcast more than 40 live UFC events each year, including the main cards of all numbered events and Fight Nights, as well as prelims where a Polish athlete is competing. 

In addition, the broadcaster will also provide hours of additional UFC content, such as preview shows and original programs, including UFC Countdown and UFC Connected.

UFC events will be shown on Polsat Sports’ TV channels, as well as via the Polsat Box Go online streaming platform. UFC updates, fight highlights, and interviews will be also widely published on Polsatsport.pl and Sport.Interia.pl, as well as on the social media accounts of these two outlets.

The popularity of MMA has grown in Poland over recent years. UFC has held two events in the market so far, Krakow in 2015 and Gdansk in 2017.

There have also been two champions from Poland over the years - Joanna Jedrzejczyk who became the strawweight champion in 2015, and Jan Blachowicz who won the light heavyweight title in 2020.

There are currently 11 Polish participants on the UFC roster.

David Shaw, UFC executive vice president and head of international and content, said: “We have had a long and successful relationship with Polsat Sport. They have worked hand in hand with us to build up the sport of MMA and create superstars in Poland. We’re looking forward to taking this partnership to the next level in the years to come.” 

Marian Kmita, head of sports department at Polsat Television, added: “During the past six years, Polsat’s sports TV channels aired more than 250 live UFC events.

“In the meantime, we have built solid relations with our partners at UFC and with the fans. A renewed agreement is beneficial to everybody - the MMA fans in Poland can continue to watch their favorite content and UFC secures an outpost in the fast-growing Polish TV market.”

Late last month, TKO Group, the combat sports giant formed out of the merger of the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotions, announced record revenue and sponsorship deals for 2023.

TKO announced annual results of $1.7 billion, which consists of UFC’s full year and WWE’s results from September 12 – the day WWE was merged with UFC to form TKO.