ARES Fighting Championship

What ARES Fighting Championship does

ARES Fighting Championship SAS is a French MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) promotion company headquartered in Paris at 72 rue de Lévis, 75017. Founded in December 2020 with its inaugural event ARES 1 held at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal, the company operates a numbered event series (ARES 1 through ARES 45+) featuring professional fighters across multiple weight classes for men and women. Events are staged at major French venues including Adidas Arena (Paris), Zénith Europe (Strasbourg), and Arkéa Arena (Bordeaux), with forward-dated shows scheduled in Marseille and additional Paris dates through early 2027. The business is led by Chairman and co-founder Fernand Lopez.

The company monetizes events through four revenue streams: individual ticket sales distributed exclusively via Ticketmaster; premium hospitality packages (Carré VIP, Ringside Platinum, Ringside Gold) targeted at corporate clients and high-net-worth attendees; official merchandise sold through the Fan Avenue e-commerce store and via the Venum X ARES co-branded retail line; and dedicated group/CSE (Comité Social et Économique) bookings for bulk ticket purchases. Distribution is amplified by Canal+ as official broadcaster, Instagram (@ares_fighting) and YouTube for fan engagement, and a sponsorship stack anchored by Unibet (betting), Venum (equipment), Région Île-de-France (institutional), and Armée de Terre.

Strategically, ARES occupies the position of a French-headquartered challenger MMA promotion leveraging premium venue access, institutional and broadcast partnerships, and an early Africa foothold (Dakar debut). The company is privately held under French SAS law with no disclosed external institutional investors, funding rounds, or headcount figures; its technology stack is centered on event production and live sports operations rather than software platforms.

Name

ARES Fighting Championship

Legal name

ARES Fighting Championship SAS

Website

https://aresfighting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARES Fighting Championship is a privately held French MMA promotion company that organizes live numbered MMA events (ARES 1 through 45+) at major French venues, monetizing ticket sales, VIP hospitality, merchandise, and group bookings for individual fans, corporate clients, and CSE employee committees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

MMA Event Promotion

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional MMA Promotions (MPAKAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Individual Sports Events (Tennis, Golf, Boxing/MMA, Athletics) (MPAGAMAC), Combat Sports Event Series & Tournament Operators (Grand Prix, leagues) (MPAKAHAI)

Keywords

• Live MMA events
• MMA promotion
• Combat sports
• Sports hospitality
• Live entertainment

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from individual ticket sales for live MMA events across France. Events are held at major venues including Adidas Arena (Paris), Arkéa Arena (Bordeaux), and Zénith Europe (Strasbourg). Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster platform.
2. Hospitality Packages: Premium VIP hospitality offerings including Carré VIP, Ringside Platinum, and Ringside Gold packages. These include premium seating, backstage access, cocktail dinatoire, official gifts, and post-fight cage photo opportunities. Targeted at corporate clients, groups, and high-net-worth individuals seeking exclusive experiences.
3. Merchandise: Official merchandise sold through Fan Avenue online store and retail partnerships. Includes Venum X ARES collaboration apparel and fight gear.
4. Group/CSE Bookings: Bulk ticket sales to groups and Comité Social et Économique (CSE/employee committees) with preferential pricing for 10+ tickets. Contact-based sales through dedicated account managers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ARES Fighting Championship organizes and produces professional live MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting events held at major arenas across France (Paris, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux) and internationally. The company sells individual event tickets, tiered VIP hospitality packages, group bookings, and official branded merchandise (including Venum X ARES collaborations). Each event is numbered sequentially (ARES 1 through ARES 45+) and features professional fighters across multiple weight classes.

Product overview

ARES Fighting Championship is a French MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) promotion company that organizes live fighting events. The offering consists of numbered event series (ARES 1, ARES 2, etc.) featuring professional MMA fighters competing across multiple weight divisions. The company also operates adjacent services including ticketing, VIP hospitality packages, and an official merchandise shop. The events serve as the core product, with supporting services for fan engagement and corporate experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ARES Live MMA Events Numbered live professional MMA fighting events (ARES 1, ARES 2, ... ARES 45+) held at major French arenas (Adidas Arena Paris, Zénith Europe Strasbourg, Arkéa Arena Bordeaux, Marseille) featuring international fighters across men's and women's weight classes from Heavyweight to Strawweight. Targeted at MMA fans and combat sports enthusiasts attending in person.
• VIP Hospitality Packages Premium tiered hospitality offerings including Carré VIP, Ringside Platinum, and Ringside Gold packages sold for ARES events. Each tier includes premium seating, backstage access, cocktail dinatoire, official gifts, and post-fight cage photo opportunities. Targeted at corporate clients, groups, and high-net-worth individuals seeking exclusive fight-night experiences.
• Group and CSE Ticket Bookings Bulk ticket booking service for groups of 10 or more attendees, including corporate clients and employee committees (Comité Social et Économique). Offers preferential rates and dedicated account management via [email protected] or 01.85.78.40.65. Targeted at companies and CSEs organizing group outings or corporate entertainment.
• Official ARES Merchandise Official ARES branded merchandise sold through the Fan Avenue online store (ares.fanavenue.com) and via the Venum X ARES collaboration at Venum retail and online (fr.venum.com/collections/venum-x-ares). Includes apparel, fight gear, and collaboration products. Targeted at MMA fans, event attendees, and brand supporters.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Canal+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial broadcaster of ARES Fighting Championship events. Provides television distribution and media rights coverage of MMA events to subscribers in France.
• UnibetmajorOthersOfficial partner of ARES Fighting Championship. Unibet is a gambling and betting company that serves as a commercial sponsor for events.
• VenumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner and equipment supplier. Venum provides fight gear, apparel, and merchandise for ARES events. Includes Venum X ARES collaborative product line available through retail and e-commerce.
• Unlimited FlokerminorOthersOfficial supplier of Unlimited Floker products or services to ARES Fighting Championship events.
• SportcomminorOthersOfficial supplier of sports communication or event services to ARES Fighting Championship.
• Pacha SuprememinorOthersOfficial supplier of beverages or hospitality products for ARES events.
• Région Île-de-FrancemajorOthersInstitutional partner providing regional government support for ARES events held in the Île-de-France region, including Paris.
• Armée de Terre (French Army)minorOthersInstitutional partner representing the French Army, with engagement through the sengager.fr platform.
• TicketmastercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticketing platform partner for ARES Fighting Championship. Provides online ticket sales infrastructure for all events through Ticketmaster.fr.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PFL (Professional Fighters League): Global MMA promotion with a seasonal league format and Bellator assets, privately backed and active across multiple continents. PFL represents the larger, well-capitalized incumbent tier against which ARES competes for European media rights and fighter talent.
• ONE Championship: Asia-headquartered global combat sports promotion spanning MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing. ONE Championship overlaps ARES in MMA event production and international brand-building outside the UFC orbit.

Direct peers

• KSW (Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki): Poland's leading MMA promotion running a numbered event series across major European arenas. KSW is the closest European regional model to ARES in scale, venue strategy, and card structure.
• Hexagone MMA: French MMA promotion also staging events in France. Hexagone MMA is the closest geographic and product analogue to ARES, competing for the same French MMA fan, corporate hospitality, and sponsor spend.
• Cage Warriors: UK and Ireland-based MMA promotion with a long-running numbered event series and a fighter-development pipeline that has fed into the UFC. Cage Warriors overlaps with ARES in targeting European MMA talent and fans.
• Brave Combat Federation: Bahrain-based regional MMA promotion operating a numbered event series across emerging markets. Brave CF is comparable to ARES in staging localized MMA events with international fighter rosters.
• UAE Warriors: UAE-based MMA promotion with events staged across the Middle East. UAE Warriors is comparable to ARES as a regional, non-UFC promotion building a numbered event series with global fighter rosters.

Emerging players

• Invicta FC: All-women's MMA promotion staging numbered events in the United States. Invicta FC is comparable as a niche-but-established promoter with a recurring event series rather than the broader UFC/Bellator mass-market model.

Regional players

• Combate Americas / Combate Global: Hispanic-market focused MMA promotion staging events across the Americas and Spain with Spanish-language broadcast. Comparable to ARES as a non-UFC promotion built around a specific cultural/linguistic fan base rather than the global mass market.
• Rizin Fighting Federation: Japan-based MMA and combat sports promotion staging flagship events at major Japanese venues. Rizin is comparable as a non-UFC regional promotion operating in a non-English-speaking market with marquee events and international fighters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKvc7DzyLhhECmqqN81YYhA
• Instagraminstagram.com/ares_fighting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ares-fighting-championship

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ARES Fighting Championship