<
>

ONE Championship, Turner Sports reach U.S. broadcasting deal

ONE Championship is coming to America.

The Asia-based promotion has signed a three-year broadcast deal with Turner Sports, sources told ESPN.

The deal, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, calls for 24 events to air live on B/R Live, Turner's digital platform. The partnership is expected to be announced in the coming days.

In addition to the live events, Turner will air shoulder programming and taped events on TNT and there is also a reality show in the works, as well, according to sources.

The first event is scheduled for Jan. 19 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The broadcast deal caps what has turned into a memorable year for ONE, which was founded in 2011. In the past two months, the organization has signed established MMA stars Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson, Sage Northcutt and Yoshihiro Akiyama and hired Miesha Tate to serve as a vice president.

While their debuts haven't been announced, sources say Northcutt is expected to debut Feb. 22 in Singapore, while Johnson is slated for a March 31 debut in Tokyo. Alvarez is targeting a fight on either Feb. 22 or March 31, sources said.