Discover Sport™ and EFC sign landmark streaming partnership

The Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), Africa’s premier mixed-martial-arts promotion, and Discover Sport™ today launched a landmark global streaming partnership that will make EFC’s live events and supporting content freely available to fans worldwide outside of Sub-Saharan Africa. The agreement begins with EFC #129 on Thursday 6 November 2025, continues with EFC #130 on Thursday 4 December 2025, and covers all EFC fight nights across 2026.

Under the new commercial and distribution strategy, EFC has created an official EFC profile on Discover Sport™ where full fight cards (live) and select undercard/prelim bouts will be streamed free to viewers outside Sub-Saharan Africa via discoversport.com and the Discover Sport™ app. The partnership also provides global access to EFC’s ancillary content — pre-fight promos, weigh-ins, press conferences, athlete profiles, post-fight highlights, archives and short-form social content — expanding both reach and discoverability for fighters, sponsors and partners.

Why this matters

The arrangement represents a strategic pivot away from a pay-per-view approach for international audiences toward a free, platform-led model designed to broaden EFC’s global viewership. By removing the paywall for most international territories, EFC and Discover Sport™ aim to increase fan access, grow global engagement metrics and enhance commercial value for sponsors through larger, more measurable audiences. The move follows EFC’s steady international expansion in broadcast and digital distribution over recent years.

What fans will see

Beginning with EFC #129, staged at the World Sports Betting EFC Arena in Johannesburg, Discover Sport™ will stream:

• Live coverage of the fight night (full card) to viewers outside Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Select undercard/prelim fights available globally.

• Supporting content: weigh-ins, press conferences, athlete profiles, highlights and archives available on the Discover Sport™ platform and app.

EFC 129’s event schedule for 6 November lists prelims beginning at 15:00 CAT with the five-bout Main Card starting from 19:00 CAT; the event runs at the World Sports Betting Arena in Sandton.

Leadership perspectives (as provided in the announcement)

Stephen Watson, Founder of Discover Sport™, said the partnership reflects a shared mission to “expand the reach and accessibility of great sporting competitions and content to fans worldwide,” enabling athletes to showcase their work to a broader audience while unlocking new sponsor activation opportunities on a sports-first platform. Discover Sport™ also highlights features for athletes (independent profiles, digital athlete cards) and fan incentives such as ByteBucks™ rewards for engagement.

EFC President Cairo Howarth framed the partnership as an opportunity to make “it even easier for more fans around the world to watch the best of African MMA,” noting that a significant share of EFC’s digital audience already originates from major MMA markets such as the United States and Brazil.

What changes for international viewers

• No paywall (outside Sub-Saharan Africa): International fans can watch live EFC events and selected supporting content free on Discover Sport™ rather than buying international pay-per-view.

• More discoverability for fighters and partners: EFC athletes can create profiles and publish user-generated content on Discover Sport™, increasing direct fan engagement and measurement opportunities for commercial partners.