In case his band’s name isn’t an indication, Five Finger Death Punch‘s Zoltan Bathory is big into martial arts. So much so that the guitarist is hoping to make jiujitsu a major league sport.
Bathory’s efforts are spearheaded by his Professional Grappling Federation organization, or PGF. Teams in the league include the New Hope Kings and the Alabama Twisters, with a new franchise, the Philadelphia Phenoms, incoming.
“This is what it must have felt like to get in on the ground floor of the NFL or the NHL,” Bathory says. “The difference is, this time the format was engineered for scale from day one.”
He continues, “At this pace, we anticipate expanding to 8 to 12 teams in the coming months, which puts us firmly on track toward the 16-team national league we originally envisioned.”
In the meantime, PGF matches have been streaming live weekly on YouTube.
As for Bathory’s day job, Five Finger Death Punch is set to headline the Rocklahoma festival on Friday.
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