Carbazel on π
I'm a writer and podcaster who writes a lot about combat sports, martial arts culture, and entertainment. Subscribe and join over 1,000+ newsletter readers every week!
Oct 03Β β’Β 2 min read
Paramount pugilism
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Paramount+ will be the home for combat sports in 2026. Not just the UFC, but for boxing as well. But it won't be the boxing we've grown used to. It's boxing, with something else they're going to try. And by "they're" I mean Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation.
This is clearly being funded by the Saudi money that seems to be flooding the sport since the post-pandemic era in sports, and since Riyadh Season began in 2019. The thing about dealing with Alalshikh is, if he's your backer, you're dealing with a kid who will take his toys and go home. He doesn't care if you sue him; the contracts don't matter. Why? Because he's never operating at a loss. This is all just fun for him. A lot of questions come up about the TKO/Alalshikh entity coming to Paramount and combat sports next year. If this partnership has shown us anything, it's that we'll know when they let us know. If that's not something you like hearing, I have to quote the 1983 film, "Wargames," when WOPR/Joshua realizes the only way to win a global nuclear wargame is not to play. A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. The fight business is a strange game. If it's starting to frustrate you, maybe it's time to play something else. Maybe check out a new book (shameless plug) like mine. However...But if you are going to stick around, there's a lot going on this weekend. Like UFC 320, BKFC 82, and plenty of action on Spectation Sports. There's a featherweight title fight where I spoke with both champion (Ray Hayes) and challenger (Jose Hernandez) that should be good, check out those interviews and read my piece on them here. You can check out my picks for UFC and BKFC here. And if you're getting this because you use the Fight Night Card Companion, grab a hard copy here, pay whatever you like. What're you looking forward to this weekend? β‘Follow me on π: @Carbazelβ β π My books: Bow and Arrow Mysteries (my fiction writing) β π© Mixed Martial Answers on Substackβ β π Fight Night Card Companion: on Gumroadβ β π₯ My YouTube channel: The Blogboard Jungleβ β πΈ IG: @Carbeerzelβ β β β β β |
I'm a writer and podcaster who writes a lot about combat sports, martial arts culture, and entertainment. Subscribe and join over 1,000+ newsletter readers every week!