GLORY kickboxing to air on ESPN3

GLORY has moved from SpikeTV to the Worldwide Leader in Sports. 

GLORY kickboxing has found its new home of ESPN.

Michael Stets of MMA Mania first reported the news on Thursday after the ESPN3 app listed GLORY 25 as an upcoming event. GLORY CEO Jon Franklin confirmed the new deal with MMA Mania and released the following statement:

"“We couldn’t be happier to be on multiple platforms of the most watched, most talked about sports network in the world,” said Franklin. “This Friday will be the first time our stacked card will be available live on both coasts – joining live international broadcasts already scheduled in more than 100 countries, with almost 80 more on delay – and we’re excited to be working with ESPN.”"

GLORY originally was broadcast on Spike TV for the last two years. That was until the October 27 announcement that the network would no longer host the events, leaving the promotion without a broadcast partner. Less than one week later the promotion would partner with the largest sports network, also known as The Worldwide Leader in Sports.

This will be ESPN’s first time broadcasting kickboxing. The organization currently airs boxing events and even ventured into the mixed martial arts space as the first network in which Bellator appeared during its initial phases of development.

This is a major move for GLORY and gives it access to one of the largest networks available in homes. Not only will this increase the reach of its featured events, but the opportunity to receive additional coverage on outlets such as SportsCenter and ESPN.com immediately improves their reach.

Based on the listings from ESPN3, GLORY will air live fight cards on ESPN3, and re-air at a later time on ESPN2.