Professional Fighters League Throws Punches at Competitors, Offers $1 Million Purse
*By Tracey Cheek*
There's a new mixed-martial arts league on the block.
The Professional Fighters League ー or PFL ー is wrapping up its inaugural season with a championship match on New Year's Eve.
According to Peter Murrary, the CEO of the league, the match's purse, $1 million, is a major draw for athletes ー money talks, and can mark achievement.
“There have only been under 10 athletes in the history of MMA that have earned that much money as a payout in a single fight," Murray told Cheddar. “That is our way to advance the sport, to recognize these athletes, and give an opportunity on a major stage.”
The PFL had achieved some noteworthy goals during its first season. The league recently partnered with fantasy and sports book platform DraftKings for a pick-em’-game, in which fans can choose who they think will win each fight ー and how and when the fight will end. Murray said a sports betting partnership helps PFL “game-ify” the experience.
“Fans can actually pick their favorite fighters, different outcomes, compete against one another, and also earn a payout,” he said.
“So, we’ll pay $25,000 in total to winning fans, and not only do they get a great experience watching at home or at the theater they can actually earn some money ーand maybe even some bragging rights.”
The PFL championship will be held at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/professional-fighters-league-holding-new-years-eve-showdown).
Stepping up a feud with Washington over technology and security, China's government on Sunday told users of computer equipment deemed sensitive to stop buying products from the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, Micron Technology Inc.
Stocks are moving tentatively Monday, as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting in the afternoon will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.
Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood's biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school's commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers' strike picketed outside.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking that a federal judge be disqualified from the First Amendment lawsuit filed by Disney against the Florida governor and his appointees, claiming the jurist's prior statements in other cases have raised questions about his impartiality on the state's efforts to take over Disney World's governing body.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company will stop competing in over-served market segments and instead will place big bets on connected vehicles and digital services. The days of Ford being all things to all people are over, Farley said at the company's capital markets day event Monday.
The European Union slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine Monday and ordered it to stop transferring users personal information across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears.
Joanne Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Mycocycle Inc., joined Cheddar News to discuss how her company uses mushrooms to decarbonize construction waste. "Mycocycle was started to address the waste mismanagement issue we have," she said. "Globally, we've got overflowing landfills that are creating human and environmental health issues."
