In a major step toward the globalisation of African combat sports, Nigeria’s African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC) has inked a landmark broadcast partnership with DAZN, the sports streaming giant often dubbed the “Netflix of Sports.” The collaboration will debut with the launch of the Dambe World Series, taking place June 28 at Abuja’s Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
The move signals a significant evolution for Dambe, a centuries-old martial art that has grown from the streets of Northern Nigeria into a high-stakes sport with millions of fans online. It also marks DAZN’s first major foray into indigenous African sports, positioning Dambe alongside global sporting staples like boxing, the NFL, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Why this deal matters
DAZN’s involvement could prove transformational for AWFC, giving Dambe access to the platform’s vast global subscriber base across more than 200 countries. For DAZN, the move aligns with its strategy of expanding its content slate beyond mainstream Western sports into emerging markets and culturally resonant formats.
“This is about much more than broadcasting fights,” said Maxwell Kalu, the British-Nigerian founder of AWFC. “It’s about showing the world what African combat sports are capable of — not just as heritage, but as serious entertainment with commercial potential.”
DAZN has remained tight-lipped about the terms of the deal, but sources close to the company say it’s part of a broader push to capture underserved fan communities with deep digital engagement — something Dambe offers in abundance.
AWFC claims over 900 million views across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, fuelled by short-form fight content and raw, unfiltered storytelling from dusty arenas in Kano to Lagos street corners.
Meet the Dambe World Series
Saturday’s launch event will showcase fighters from Nigeria’s three traditional Dambe houses — Arewa (Jamus), Kudawa (Kudu), and Gurumada — competing for supremacy across nine bouts. The headline fight features Dogon Isiya (Gurumada) against Dogon Karkarna, a heavyweight clash that promises to anchor the spectacle.
But this is more than a one-off event. The Dambe World Series is designed as a recurring franchise, pitting Nigeria’s top warriors against international opponents in future editions. It’s a step toward standardising the sport for television, with weight classes, codified rules, and commercial partners in tow.
AWFC’s promotional flair extends beyond the ring. Saturday’s event includes a live performance from Kold AF, a Warner Music Africa-signed artist, in a nod to the league’s bid to blend pop culture and sport — a formula long proven by American franchises like the UFC and WWE.
Who’s backing it
The initiative is backed by Silverbacks Holdings, a private equity firm focused on high-growth, undercapitalised sectors in Africa. “This is where tradition meets tech-enabled global sport,” said Ibrahim Sagna, Silverbacks’ executive chairman. “We’re betting on Dambe’s cultural depth and modern appeal.”
Silverbacks’ support adds financial and strategic heft to the venture, giving AWFC the runway to build not just a league, but a media property. Other partners include ChopLife Gaming, Warner Music Africa, and Omniretail, as well as government bodies like the Nigerian National Council for Arts & Culture and the Traditional Sports Association.
“Dambe is more than just a sport — it’s a symbol of our cultural identity,” said Obi Asika, Director General of Nigeria’s arts council. “We’ve long needed a global stage to showcase it. This partnership delivers just that.”
The bigger picture: African sports meet digital scale
The AWFC-DAZN tie-up comes as a wave of African sports entrepreneurs seek to commercialise traditional formats for the digital age. Whether it’s Senegalese Laamb wrestling or Ethiopian distance running, the thesis is clear: local authenticity meets global streaming appetite.
In AWFC’s case, the bet seems to be paying off. The promotion has been profiled by the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and VICE, building a niche global following without traditional media support. DAZN’s infrastructure now gives it distribution muscle to match.
For DAZN, the play resembles a familiar pattern: acquire rights to culturally resonant but under-exposed sports, wrap them in slick production, and monetise them through subscriptions and advertising across regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and diaspora-heavy cities in Europe and North America.
The success of the Dambe World Series could open doors for other African sports formats — and challenge dominant narratives about what kinds of sports stories deserve global attention.
Can Dambe become a global product?
That’s the question now facing Kalu and his team. Codifying a sport rooted in ritual and rawness is no easy task. But AWFC has already begun to create structure — standardising fights, introducing medical protocols, and experimenting with digital fan engagement tools like live polls and interactive betting.
What remains to be seen is whether Dambe’s gritty aesthetic — often fought bare-knuckled with one wrapped arm — can translate into a mainstream product without losing its soul.
Still, with DAZN on board, AWFC is no longer just a niche cultural project. It’s now a test case for whether African heritage sports can compete for global attention — and dollars — in an increasingly crowded streaming world.