Thursday, June 22, 2023

COMBAT SPORTS VETERANS CHRIS AVILA AND JEREMY STEPHENS TO FACE OFF ON JAKE PAUL VS. NATE DIAZ UNDERCARD

Press Release: By DAZN And Most Valuable Promotions - DALLAS – June 21, 2023 – Today, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Real Fight Inc. (Real Fight) announced the dynamic matchup between two combat sports mainstays Chris Avila (3-1) vs. Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens (0-0-1). The bout is set to take place on the Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz pay-per-view card live from the American Airlines Center on August 5th in Dallas, TX. 

 

Avila, fresh off a dominating unanimous decision victory over 5-2 professional boxer Paul Bamba will look to keep it going against Stephens, an exciting fighter with knockout power, who is coming off an impressive majority draw against Hall of Famer Jose Aldo in his boxing debut. The seasoned combat sports veterans will take the ring in an eight-round matchup contested at 168 lbs. The Paul vs. Diaz pay-per-view will be distributed globally by DAZN PPV. In the US and Canada in addition to DAZN PPV, Paul vs. Diaz will be available on all major cable and satellite pay-per-view providers. 

 


 

A veteran of both the UFC and Bellator, Chris Avila (3-1) has made the walk for 18 professional fights and has never been stopped or hurt during his time in the cage and ring. Fighting under the Real Fight, Inc. banner, Avila is a staple at the iconic Nick Diaz Academy in Stockton, CA and a regular training partner of Ready4War headliner, Nate Diaz. After making the full time transition to boxing, Avila beat Anthony Taylor in a super middleweight boxing match in December 2021 and boasted clean sweeps against “Dr. Mike” Varshavski last October and Paul Bamba this past April. With a reputation as an aggressive fighter, Avila’s calling card is an overhand right, which landed him two first round KOs in 2021 in MMA fights as part of his five fight winning streak in combat sports.

 

“My last three fights I have settled the score with Taylor, and beat up a doctor and a dork,” said Avila. “I'm looking for the best fights and the toughest fights. Jeremy has been around a long time and fought everyone in MMA. But he hasn’t fought me so let’s see what's up over 8-rounds on August 5th in Dallas."

 

“Chris is the first fighter signed under the Real Fight, Inc. banner and his career in combat sports speaks to what the brand represents,” said Zach Rosenfield, President of Real Fight, Inc. “Jeremy has built a career on explosive fights that the fans love and matches up with Chris’s desire to fight an accomplished opponent who is willing to stand in the center of the ring and fight him.” 

 

Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer who has competed in the UFC and PFL’s lightweight division and recently made his professional boxing debut against UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo. Known as an exciting fighter with an “out of the box” style, Stephens is a 3x UFC Knockout of the Night, 6x Fight of the Night, and 1x Performance of the Night winner and has the second most knockdowns in UFC history.

 

“I am super excited to be in these times of MMA mixing with boxing - it is a huge opportunity,” said Jeremy Stephens. “And to have all the eyes in the world on this card, I plan on stealing the fucking show and giving the fans the ‘too hot for TV’ type performance that I always bring. I have a game opponent, and I’m going to highlight and leave people in memory of my performance. Knowing the world is watching me being my authentic self gets me pumped and I love it!!! This is life right now, LFG. War!”

 

Most Valuable Promotions, founded by Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, and Real Fight, Inc., founded by Diaz, are partnering to bring Paul vs. Diaz to global audiences. The strategic partnership will combine the star power and international reach of both fighters to promote the year’s biggest fight. The event will be distributed globally by DAZN PPV. In the US and Canada in addition to DAZN PPV, Paul vs. Diaz will be available on all major cable and satellite pay-per-view providers.

 

For more information, follow on Twitter via @MostVPromotions, @LilHeathenMMA, @chrisavila209, and @DAZNBoxing or on Instagram via @LilHeathenMMA, @chrisavila209, @MostValuablePromotions, and @DAZNBoxing.

 

 

About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)

Most Valuable Promotions was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. MVP has produced Jake Paul’s last four global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Fury match, which surpassed 800,000 Pay-per-view buys worldwide. The promotion company also signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head-to-head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, recently earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.

 

About Real Fight, Inc.

Founded by mixed martial arts legend Nate Diaz, in 2022, Real Fight Inc. promotes exactly what the name suggests — the fights people want to see, featuring the realest fighters from all over the world. Since his departure from the UFC, Diaz is extending his business empire with a true all-around combat experience that will focus on boxing, MMA, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The inaugural event under the Real Fight, Inc. banner is set to take place on August 5, 2023, when Diaz makes his long-awaited professional boxing debut against Jake Paul at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The card will also feature RFI fighters, Chris Avila, Alan Sanchez, Jose Aguayo and Luciano Ramos

 

About DAZN:

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, La Liga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

 

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match through the NFL Game Pass International add-on subscription. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League, and a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans. 


DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialize, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN. 

 

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to a ground-breaking rights catalog and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including PlayStation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and can find the app on their iPhone, iPad, and android mobile devices. DAZN is available as an Amazon Channel on Amazon Prime TV and can be viewed on Channel 429 on Sky in the UK and Ireland.   

 

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit www.dazngroup.com.  

 

About American Airlines Center: 

Designed by architectural wizard David M. Schwarz and Dallas based HKS, Inc., American Airlines Center is considered one of the nation's top arenas. Since opening its doors in 2001, the Center has been setting the precedent for sporting and live entertainment events. Bringing in a wide variety of big name shows as well as being home of both the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, American Airlines Center consistently displays its unique versatility. Billboard Magazine named American Airlines Center the 6th busiest arena in the world in 2022.

Material Courtesy of DAZN And Most Valuable Promotions Used with permission.

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: please visit: www.DAZN.com

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

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