MMA News: SmartCage Delivers As PFL Captures Mainstream Fanbase

Following a widely successful 2021 season that saw champions crowned and new stars born, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) is once again widening its reach, this time with the help of its innovations.

Apart from its rapid growth, the American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion also takes pride in being the most innovative outfit in the sport.

Apart from a star-studded roster and a season-style tournament format, perhaps one of the biggest things that makes PFL stand out is the league’s attention to innovation, and at the center of that is their proprietary SmartCage technology.

Launched during the league’s 2019 season, the SmartCage made use of biometric sensors to enable the league to measure and deliver real-time fighter performance data and analytics, also known as Cagenomics.

In simple terms, this gave fans at home access to stats and data as the fight was in progress.

Prior to the start of the 2021 season, the league partnered with IBM technologies to enhance the SmartCage, which allowed it to scour data points and uncover new insights for MMA fans.

This allowed PFL to partner with the likes of DraftKings and BetMGM, which opened new opportunities and experiences for followers of the sport.

The partnerships proved to be a success, as it helped bring in a new demographic of mainstream fans, contributing to what was a groundbreaking third season.

“Just as data drove the explosive growth in digital advertising, data could unlock massive new revenue streams in sports and esports. From third-party betting and fantasy platforms like FanDuel and Draft Kings to first-party data such as the PFL’s 'SmartCage' technology in MMA, data could help fans evaluate player performance as well as earn revenue from their fandom, increasing engagement and participation,” wrote Rolling Stone’s Jonathan Anastas.

With PFL’s steps towards innovating the sport of MMA coupled with the top-level product that the organization has managed to present, it’s no surprise that the league just continues to grow.