THIS IS THE FUTURE OF MMA!

September 20, 2023

Welcome back to The Sports Road! Bringing you the newest in sports and tech, we’re here to make sure you don’t fall behind in an ever changing new world… Dramatic? Well, get used to it 😅 Enjoy!

Here's what we got for ya today:

  • MMA’s New AI…

  • Whatsapp & Sport: WHAT?!

  • Broadcasting Will Never be the Same…

  • Basketball’s Newest Tech!

Most Valuable Sports Teams:

Let's get into it!

AI is Changing MMA Forever…

There’s no denying that this weekend was absolutely massive for the UFC…

Showcasing some of the organisation's best talents, Noche UFC truly highlighted Mixed Martial Art’s (MMA) growing global appeal.

Acting as a nod to Mexican Independence Day, the card – despite being one of the most exciting Fight Night’s in recent memory – was shrouded in controversy.

Why? Judging, of course…

With the main event for the Women’s Flyweight Championship going all five rounds, to be honest, the fight could have gone either way.

Being the case, a draw – which eventually was decided upon – doesn’t sound like the craziest call ever. BUT, that’s before looking at the judges' scorecards.

Scoring the final round 10-8 in favour of Alexa Grasso – a score which usually is only given for a far more dominant round than we saw – fans and UFC representatives alike were SHOCKED; especially due to the fact that if he had scored it 10-9 like the two other judges we’d have a new champion…

Representing a huge problem currently existing in a number of combat sports, it looks like we finally may have a breakthrough…

Enter, AI… That’s right, AI may actually have the power to fix dodgy decisions. But before we get into it we need to talk about ‘Combate Global’.

Aiming to bring new eyes to the sport, the organisation does great work in giving opportunities to some of the world’s most talented fighters.

Being the brainchild of UFC Co-Founder Campbell McLaren, ‘Combate Global’ is the world’s premier Hispanic MMA franchise, and it looks like they could be changing the game forever...

Signing a deal with specialists in AI tracking, Combat IQ, we could be in for a serious shift in the judging process.

Measuring and analysing nearly every metric applicable during a fight, the technology will be able to give judges a far more definitive idea of what’s actually happening. Working in real-time, results would be immediate.

We could be saying goodbye to dodgy decisions forever!

Sport is changing forever and you do NOT want to miss out…

Everyone knows just how important AI can be, but we’re here to help you reach the next level!

Want to improve performances? Learn a new sport? Push yourself like never before? Well, look no further than SportGPT.

Acting as your very own AI sports coach, our platform allows anyone – from amateurs to athletes – access to world class coaching anytime, anywhere, and for whatever need!

With our system evolving right alongside you, by using your unique progress, results will be optimised to help you realise whatever athletic need you have!

Already backed by thousands, this is your chance to play a key role in the future of sports training. 

It’s time to unleash your athletic potential.

Join to begin your journey today! Visit https://sportgpt.ai/ for more

Whatsapp’s Newest Sport Feature?

Sports fans are – how should we put this – an interesting bunch…

You guys know how it is. With social media becoming such an active part of everyone’s lives, the amount of time we actually spend interacting with our favourite games has increased tenfold…

Being the case though, it’s getting pretty hard to filter between what is and isn’t reliable. I mean, how many times in the last month alone have you seen sports news on Twitter only for it to end up being an absolute hoax…

Well, that could all be changing.

How? Using Whatsapp 🤨🤨🤨 ONE. NORMAL. DAY. That’s all we ask for…

Alright, alright. You may be wondering how on earth this partnership works. Let us explain.

Earlier this week, Meta announced the creation of Whatsapp channels. Looking to give influencers and large organisations the opportunity to reach millions of people through only one text, channels could just be Whatsapp’s biggest innovation yet.

Essentially being a one-way broadcast tool for admins to send texts, photos, polls, stickers, and more, the system is pretty easy to understand.

With Whatsapp users having the chance to select any given suitable channel, people will have the ability to follow certain organisations and people to be kept up to date. These are said to include actors, musicians, large firms, and most importantly, sports teams…

“Excited to introduce you all to WhatsApp Channels, a new private way for you to get updates from people and organisations you follow. I’m starting this channel to share Meta news and updates.”

Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Meta

With Meta already confirming Liverpool, Manchester City, The MLB, and more, this could be the future of the way that teams and fans interact with one another…

Sports Broadcasting: The Future

If you didn’t know, the sports streaming scene is probably at the most competitive it has ever been.

In an era where new systems and social media dominate, the way viewers consume sports media is constantly changing.

Whether that be for good or bad is yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain. Broadcasters need to keep up.

And for up and coming companies like German Broadcaster, Dyn Sports, that’s getting more and more difficult to do.

Now that’s exactly where AI comes in… To be more specific, Pixellot.

Considered as the world's largest producer of live sports, the software development company is well known for its top-level use of AI.

Utilising the technology in their unique cameras, the company is charged by eight years of experience.

Fitted with enhanced AI tracking and multiple viewing angles, the product – being both cost effective and future proof – is totally tailored to high level sport.

In signing on with Dyn, the broadcaster's content is bound to improve in huge ways…

“Choosing an innovative company like Pixellot allows us to embrace new technologies to improve our infrastructure and deliver a robust production solution… Pixellot’s technology is field-proven, and it made complete sense to make it an integral part of our production workflow.”

Andreas Heyden, Chief Executive Officer of Dyn Media

We Need to Talk About: Bayern Munich…

Alright guys, we have a pretty random question…

If you were told to think of how a Basketball court looks, what would you say? To put it simply, you’d probably say polished wood with a couple of lines painted on.

And, historically, that would be completely correct. Nothing special, hey? Well, you’d be wrong…

Get ready, Basketball is changing forever – and it all has to do with Bayern Munich.

A couple of months back we spoke about FIBA trialling the use of special Augmented Reality (AR) based courts.

Offering a variety of customisation options, its usage allowed for game specific animations. Being reactive to real-time events, the court was able to give fans a better understanding of what was actually happening on the court through dynamic images and stats.

Ultimately being extremely successful in its goal to further engage fans with the game, it seems as though the concept is going to stick.

Announcing this week that home games in the upcoming season will be played on ASB LumiFlex glass court’s, FC Bayern Basketball are looking to be pioneers of the idea in the mainstream.

“We are thrilled about the commitment of our partner BMW, who is making this spectacular event possible… I've been aware of this technological innovation for some time, and I can only say to our fans: come and see this, come to the arena because it will be a unique experience! Once again, a big thanks to BMW for presenting this highlight to our fans. Our players, who got a first impression of this promising indoor floor technology at our successful Meet & Greet event in the BMW World last week, will also be excited.”

Marko Pesic, FCBB Managing Director

Being developed in Bavaria, the ASB GlassFloor actually does way more than display visual graphics. Integrating systems such as ball and player tracking, the floor – which also is optimised for elasticity and shock absorption – will give everyone involved a far better grip on the game.

Quick Bites

Meme of the day

Quote of the day

“I think it would be fair and very right to have the next event in Kyrgyzstan, Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan. And it’s going to be very smart because it has to be equal, right? We cannot do, like, Mexican Independence Day twice, right? Kind of like very fair."

Valentina Shevchenko

Picture of the day

Do you want to rep your favourite newsletter? Refer your friends and colleagues to the Sports Road and you could win big

It’s easy to spread the word. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline

Ps - please respond to this email to help us beat the dreaded spam filters!

Chat to ya on Friday! ☮️