"This is an event we have been preparing for for more than 20 years," says the legendary fighter of this rapidly growing sport, trainer, associations Blade Fights (Blade Fights) founder Romualdas Klimavičius. Currently, together with his partners - Kūrybos namai ELITAZ and TV broadcasting experts Content Bakers - working on a spectacular new spectacle - the Mixed Martial Arts Tournament (MMA, English - mixed martial arts). Live streaming on 4 February 2023 BTV television and DELFI Plus platform, the passionate and fierce battles will be witnessed by believers around the world Blade Fights a tournament with an intriguing show. What we once could only dream of when watching UFC fights in the United States will happen on 4 February in Kaunas, Lithuania Zalgiris arenoye. - the largest and most professional MMA tournament in the history of the Baltic States.
"We are delighted to offer viewers another exciting competition on BTV, which has been known for many years for its motto 'Always Action'. In addition to the National Basketball League, the Dakar Rally, Davis Cup tennis, and the powerlifting championships, BTV viewers will also be able to watch a never-before-seen mixed martial arts tournament, which, together with the musical performances, promises to be a big show. We will broadcast it live", says Jurgis Jefremovas, Programme Director of LNK TV Group.
World-class stars invited
MMA is a relatively new, but rapidly growing sport, based on full-contact, low-rules, high-level fighting with a variety of styles. "In Lithuania, the sport has been around for several decades, and we have a lot of experience in both sport and training, but we have always dreamed of raising the bar for tournaments and making them prestigious. Therefore Blade Fights Only the fiercest fighters will compete - it's a long road of battles and victories for everyone who wants to get in. We hope that this will not only create a spectacular spectacle, but also help to raise the level of the sport in Lithuania," says Klimavičius, and his promise that the first tournament will feature a number of the sport's stars leaves a lot to be desired. And it's definitely worth it, with famous fighters from Myanmar, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, France and other countries expected to arrive.
Special event - special broadcast
According to the director of the upcoming broadcast, Tomas Skamaročius, everything is thought out in detail when preparing the broadcasts - the aim is to ensure that the quality of the event and the visual presentation is impeccable, dynamic, not lacking emotional fire, and at the same time - allowing a deeper understanding of the sport. "For example, we intend to use special Phantom cameras that can capture images up to 1000 times per second! This allows you to create the spectacular slow-motion effect that's so important for conveying emotions or analysing punch attacks. By the way, we will be using 16 cameras to capture the fights, so we will be filming from the best angles to show the technique and skill of the fighters and the scale of the event. We don't look at this project as just another broadcast of an ordinary competition, so everything is important to us, from the sound to the lights," says T. Skamaročius.
The athletes' performances will be accompanied by an immersive musical show
As mentioned above, the prestigious tournament will be distinguished not only by the performances of the sport's stars, but also by show "We want to create much more than a mixed martial arts tournament, so we'll try to involve as many different audiences as possible, not only with the athletes, but also with the musical performances, Flow music agencies organised by freestyle rap battles, acrobatic and other numbers, and before the main fight the audience will be treated to a special surprise - a special Blade Fights the performance of a guest star", - assured the House of Creativity ELITAZ Chief Producer Gediminas Jaunius.
It should be added that this project stands out from other similar entertainment events implemented in Lithuania by its educational engagement: its organisers are very concerned about spreading the word about MMA, raising the quality and prestige of this sport in our country, hoping that it will attract not only the attention of fight fans, but also of sports strategists. One of such educational examples is the seminar to be held in Kaunas on 25 November, which will be hosted by one of the most famous MMA fighters from the Netherlands, multiple world champion Andy Souwer.