Silverside AI Named Official AI Innovation Partner for Global Fight League (GFL)

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silverside AI, San Francisco-based artificial intelligence innovation lab, today announced its partnership with the Global Fight League (GFL), a new team-based MMA league, marking a groundbreaking collaboration that will revolutionize how combat sports are presented and promoted through AI technology.

As GFL's official AI partner, Silverside will leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence to create innovative content and experiences for the league's inaugural season. The partnership officially launched with the GFL Draft on January 24th, in which the GFL shared AI-generated athlete walkouts created using MiniMax AI technology, with a custom music track titled 6 Sides of the Cage. The campaign will also include videos introducing the identities for individual teams, launching later this year.

Full video here. 
Press Images here.

For Silverside Founder PJ Pereira, the partnership holds deep personal significance. What began as a passion for martial arts—particularly with the new MMA league's strong Brazilian athlete representation—evolved into a strategic opportunity. Initially unanticipated, the collaboration revealed a critical insight: as a new league, GFL lacks archival content for promotions. AI becomes not just an option, but an essential tool for content creation. As they began working together, the team discovered AI's potential to do more than replicate traditional promotional formats—it could elevate production values and create entirely new storytelling dimensions that transcend previous sports media approaches.

"This partnership reimagines combat sports. GFL is positioning itself at the forefront of sports innovation, leveraging AI to transform how fans experience and connect with martial arts in the digital age," says Silverside Co-Founder PJ Pereira. "As a martial arts enthusiast, I've always been struck by the profound team spirit that most outsiders overlook. This technology allows us to showcase the deep, often unseen collaborative bonds that define martial arts."

The partnership's initial phase includes the development of an AI-generated league anthem and unique team introduction videos for all six GFL teams. These innovations address a unique challenge in launching a new sports league: creating compelling visual content and team narratives before the first event takes place.

Looking ahead, Silverside and GFL will collaborate on various initiatives to enhance fan engagement and support the league's mission of creating a more equitable environment for professional athletes. The partnership will explore AI applications in storytelling, fan engagement, and digital experiences that celebrate the collaborative nature of combat sports training while honoring its individual competition heritage.

"AI isn't just a technology for us—it's a central part of our mission to elevate combat sports, empower athletes, and engage fans," said Scott Parker, CMO at the GFL. "We're building the most AI-forward sports league in the world, creating a platform that transforms how athletes are discovered, developed, and celebrated. This is about reimagining MMA from the ground up, using technology to break down barriers and open new pathways for talent that have never existed before."

About Silverside AI:
Founded as an AI innovation lab in San Francisco by Pereira O'Dell, an award-winning American advertising agency, and Serviceplan Group, Europe's largest independent advertising and digital innovation agency, Silverside operates at the intersection of technology and creativity. Blending innovation lab, technology development, and incubation ecosystem, Silverside connects brands with cutting-edge AI technologies.

About the Global Fight League:
Launching in 2025, the Global Fight League seeks to redefine the business model and enhance competition in Mixed Martial Arts. Athletes and coaches will be part of an incentive and revenue sharing plan based on league success, while competing for glory and engaging with fans in cities around the world. The GFL will reimagine the business of combat sports for the 21st century.

About MiniMax:
MiniMax is a leading global technology company and one of the pioneers of large language models (LLM) in Asia, the mission of which is to build a world where intelligence thrives with everyone. MiniMax develops proprietary LLMs across various modalities, including a trillion-parameter MoE model, a speech model with low latency and native support for non-English languages, as well as advanced models for music, images, and video. MiniMax is the tech powerhouse behind Hailuo AI creativity suite and the Talkie app. Leveraging these multi-modality models, the MiniMax Platform offers enterprises and developers secure, flexible, and reliable model services, enabling the rapid deployment of AI applications.

Press Contacts:
Joe Favorito, pr@mmagfl.com
Emma Swanson, emma.swanson@pereiraodell.com

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SOURCE Silverside AI