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| (Image Source: COMBATE GLOBAL) |
COMBATE GLOBAL and world renowned content creator Shane Fazen recently announced an unprecedented licensing agreement to distribute the Hispanic-focused franchise’s first three live 2026 Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events on Fazen’s wildly popular YouTube channel FIGHTTIPS. The live distribution on FIGHTTIPS, which has racked up over 490 million YouTube views over its lifespan, begins with COMBATE GLOBAL’s season premiere show in Burbank, California on February 26, 2026 headlined by the return of Mexican television star turned MMA competitor Jawy “The Mexican Jake Paul” Mendez (1-1) slated to compete against former Underground Combat League (UCL) competitor John “The Hitman” Padron (2-1) at 175-pound catchweight.
The live YouTube broadcast will stream in English, complementing COMBATE GLOBAL’s live Spanish television broadcasts in the U.S. on EstrellaTV and Samsung TV Plus. With this deal, Shane Fazen of FIGHTTIPS becomes the first creator in history to license live combat sports content. The partnership underscores the growing global media trend of YouTube creators morphing into self-owned distribution channels by licensing third-party content, particularly in competitive sports. The partnership also marks COMBATE GLOBAL’s commitment to the organization’s previously announced, overarching strategy to deepen its position as a YouTube live event content machine to engage new, young, digital-first viewers. “YouTube is not the future of TV viewership – It is the present. Through our agreement with Shane and FIGHTTIPS, we are at the edge of the tsunami of change in the media world,” said COMBATE GLOBAL CEO Campbell McLaren. YouTube echoed that sentiment, highlighting the promotion’s proven success on the platform. “We have had a front row seat to COMBATE GLOBAL’s success with live events streaming on our platform, so I think this licensing deal the company has done will just continue to fast track its growth and position as appointment television on YouTube,” said YouTube Sports Content Partnerships Manager Josh Carroll.
For Fazen who is a Taekwondo black belt and veteran competitor with 16 fights across Muay Thai, boxing and MMA, the partnership represents both a professional milestone and a personal passion project. He said, “COMBATE GLOBAL fights produce some of the most exciting action in combat sports, with many of the best new Hispanic fighters in the world and, as an educator and enthusiast in the space, I have fallen in love with the content.” Now retired from combat sports competition, Fazen serves as a trainer to more than a dozen fighters. Fazen has become a familiar face to COMBATE GLOBAL fight fans. In 2025, he served as a color commentator for four events that streamed live in English on COMBATE GLOBAL’s YouTube channel. COMBATE GLOBAL’s emphasis on digital-first distribution has already produced measurable success with its YouTube-focused strategy paid dividends last year, leading to an impressive average viewer watch time of 80 percent above YouTube’s average viewing time for content, and the live YouTube streams of 2025 COMBATE GLOBAL events producing a 41 percent increase in the channel’s subscribers and views. In 2026, COMBATE GLOBAL plans to produce a total of 20 live television events, emanating from EstrellaTV’s studios in Burbank, California, U.S.A.
