Still in October
RTL is showing sport on free TV for the first time
October 9, 2025 – 3:49 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Mixed martial arts is already one of the most popular sports in the USA. Now RTL is trying to bring the fights into the mainstream in Germany.
The TV channel RTL will show mixed martial arts (MMA) fights on free-to-air TV for the first time in October. As the broadcaster has now announced, the “OKTAGON 78” event will be shown live in the main program on October 18th. After the top game of the 2nd Bundesliga, the station begins the preliminary program at 10:45 p.m., and the fights then begin at 11:15 p.m.
MMA is a martial art that is usually fought in cages and combines various disciplines, such as kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling. The sport is already very popular in the USA, especially in the form of the world’s largest league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Now RTL is trying to establish the sport in the German market. The main fight of the event on October 18th, which will be broadcast live from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, will feature Christian Eckerlin, one of the most famous faces of MMA in Germany. The 38-year-old will also be the subject of a six-part documentary that follows him on the way to the fight.