PFL PFL MENA

Danny Townsend of SRJ Talks MMA and Sports Growth in Saudi Arabia

 

Danny Townsend, the CEO of SRJ Sports Investments, is a key figure in Saudi Arabian sports and the Professional Fighters League (PFL). The MMA organization has partnered with SRJ Sports Investments to help grow combat sports in the region. It kicks off on Feb. 24 with the PFL vs. Bellator event live from Riyadh at the Kingdom Arena.

The PFL will grow beyond just Saudi Arabia as well. It has plans for additional countries in the Middle East, Australia, Latin America, and beyond. They already have had pillar events hosted all over Europe and the USA. In Saudi, it’s not just the event though, it is about promoting fitness and sport in the nation. Townsend, of SRJ Sports Investments, sits down with Tim Wheaton of Arabs MMA to discuss their investments in the future of sports in Saudi Arabia, working in partnership with the PFL.

Interview with Danny Townsend

On the Feb. 25 PFL vs. Bellator event, this first of its kind in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he said:

SRJ Sports Investment’s mandate is to invest in global sports for, for growth. But importantly, localize them and, and the PFL MENA (Middle East) partnership, with [Peter Murray] and the team at PFL is about doing that and providing those pathways for, for aspiring young MMA athletes to, to find a path to the top, but equally at the top end of the, the sport.

Having a world class event like this one here. For the first event was, was really important … So yeah, look, it’s gonna be a huge night, Saturday night, hopefully a sellout. I think it’s on, on a good path for that.

And, and that sets the tone for everything else we’re gonna do together with the PFL… SRJ Sports Investment is all about growing the sports sector in, in Saudi, Arabia and beyond in the MENA region. So, you know, we, we are looking at a multitude of different sports to do things in a similar way to, we are with Pete and the PFL.

It’s about bringing this sector to life, inspiring people in the kingdom to taste a world-class version of that sport, and then go out and try it, get out into a gym, and start learning the craft. That first and foremost, is obviously why we’ve been down this journey with the PFL, but we’re following that journey with a bunch of other sports that are aligned with the Ministry of Sports Strategy and we’ll continue to invest in those, to bring them to life in, in a similar way, but sort of talks to the importance of the PFL-Mena relationship.

We wanna make sure whatever we’re investing in internationally does have relevance here that does inspire and, and create those pathways for, for young Saudis to try sport for the first time, start learning a craft, start developing and one day potentially going on, and fighting for a belt like this, or running for a certain medal or doing various different things in whatever your sport of choice may be.

Peter Murray, the CEO of the PFL, added:

Tied to vision 2030. Our focus is, is developing a world-class ecosystem of MMA here in KSA with the specific goal of developing future of champions, whether it be at the regional level, and then ideally over time at the global level. And we’re proud also to be working with the Saudi MMA Federation, the Olympic Federation, as well as the broader combat sports federations to develop the grassroots of the sport, not just at the professional level.

On growing the sports sector in Saudi Arabia, Danny Townsend said:

The strategy and the conviction in which we are the path we are following to ensure that we are delivering opportunities for the Kingdom’s sports sector to grow as a whole. The MMA industry is a growing one and one we really believe in with other partners in the Kingdom, we’ll continue to push that.

But we see all sports as being important to, to the Kingdom and building a genuine sports economy here into 2030 and beyond. We have some amazing world-class events coming down the pipe, whether it be the AFC, Asian Cup, Asian games, various major events are coming here already, and we wanna build on that through the investments we’re making.

And what about possibly seeing world champions emerge from Saudi Arabia in the future?

That’s an opportunity that hasn’t been available to Saudi athletes till now. And, I think that’s something we are really proud of. We can’t wait to see them fight. We can’t wait to see more and more signs to the MENA League and hopefully make it to the big show.

The PFL, Saudi Arabia, and SRJ Sports Investments are set to kick off their plans and partnerships this weekend on Feb. 24 at the PFL vs. Bellator event live from Riyadh.

About the author

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Timothy Wheaton is a combat sports writer who covers MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. He has been an avid follower of these sports since 2005. Tim has also covered the UFC, Bellator and GLORY Kickboxing events live and in-person.

Tim also works with a host of other media sites such as Calf Kick Sports, Sportskeeda MMA, Low Kick MMA, Vecht Sport Info, Fighters First, and Beyond Kickboxing. Tim is is the authority on kickboxing and MMA journalist who has covered K-1, PRIDE FC, UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, Bellator, ONE Championship, and plenty more.

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