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COMBATE AMERICAS NAMES SPORTS MEDIA SPONSORSHIP SALES EXECUTIVE MIKE PINE, FIRST-EVER CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER

By Mike Johnson on 9/14/2017 6:09 AM

COMBATE AMERICAS NAMES
SPORTS MEDIA SPONSORSHIP SALES EXECUTIVE
 MIKE PINE, FIRST-EVER CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER


Former FanDuel GM, UFC, IRONMAN AND WWE Global Head of Sales
 joins the world’s premier Hispanic MMA sports franchise
In its most explosive growth period to date


NEW YORK – September 13, 2017 – Combate Americas announced today that it has named storied, sports industry business development and sponsorship sales leader Mike Pine, the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports and media franchise’s first-ever Chief Revenue Officer.
 
Coming off a two-and-a-half-year tenure as GM, Integrated Partnerships for FanDuel, Pine, who was responsible for breaking unprecedented ground for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by securing blue-chip advertising clients Bud Light and Harley Davidson, for the longest-standing MMA organization, will report to Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Mike Pine, an authentic trailblazer in the world of sports and entertainment brand partnerships, to Combate Americas,” said McLaren, also the co-founder of the original UFC. 
 
“Mike’s incredible track record,” continued McLaren, “and extensive book of high-level relationships with marketers from worldwide, renowned brands across a wide range of product categories, speak for themselves, and we are looking forward to having him spearheading our sales efforts as we continue to aggressively expand our footprint across the globe with a fast-growing schedule of live and special events, and television programming for 2018 and beyond.”
 
Pine will be responsible for building Combate Americas’ portfolio of sponsor partners which, to date, has included the U.S. Army; Aspira A Mas, a Hispanic consumer-targeted offshoot of health insurance industry giant IHC; and consumer electronics pioneer Altec Lansing, across the organizations’ year-round live television event series in the U.S., Mexico and overseas. 
 
Combate Americas television programming airs weekly, including once per month live, in over 137 million homes across the U.S. and Mexico on Azteca America and TV Azteca, respectively, and has been averaging over 3.5 million viewers per episode since “Combate Azteca” premiered in November. 
 
The franchise’s monthly live events also air in an additional 47 million plus homes across Latin America on ESPN LATAM, and it’s most recent event, “Combate Clásico,” a partnership with Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross’ RSE Ventures that took place on July 27, two days before RSE’s “El Clásico Miami” soccer match between legendary clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, ushered the Latino flavored brand to national television in Spain for the first time ever with coverage of the nine-bout fight card in over 20 million homes on the country’s popular sports network, GOL TV.
 
During his stint at FanDuel, Pine compiled an impressive roster of first-ever landmark industry advertising partners for the online daily fantasy sports platform, including Bud Light, FORD Motor Company, Corona Extra, HBO Sports, Chef’s Cut and Bacardi. 
 
As Global Head of Sales & Partnerships for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Pine forged and developed a host of relationships for the publicly traded, worldwide leading professional sports entertainment brand, with leading consumer electronic, retail and food brands, including Norelco, XBOX, Footlocker, KMART and General Mills.
 
Prior to his time with WWE, Pine led and oversaw the development of globally renowned agency IMG’s NCAA collegiate sports.  His time at IMG was proceeded as IRONMAN Global Chief Sales Officer & Eight Years @ Turner Broadcasting.
 
Pine is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and served as Captain, U.S. Air Force.
 

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ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world's most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company's CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as "the marketing genius behind the UFC" and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he "knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today." With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.