Ultimate Self-Defense Championship sets women’s spinoff for YouTube
The online combat competition is adding a female-focused series this summer as its main show heads toward season four.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
The Ultimate Self-Defense Championship is getting a women’s edition on YouTube after three seasons and 150 million online views, according to Deadline.
The combat and self-defense competition, known as USDC, runs on YouTube and social platforms. Deadline reported that the organization plans to launch the female-focused spinoff this summer, while a fourth season of the main show is also planned for later this year.
The new series will focus on elite women from the self-defense and martial arts communities, according to the report. No cast list, episode count or exact premiere date was announced.
USDC was created by Rokas Leonavičius and brings together fighters and instructors from across martial arts. Deadline reported that the competition has featured UFC fighters, kickboxers, self-defense specialists, traditional martial artists, grapplers, striking experts and practitioners from a range of disciplines, all competing for the USDC championship belt.
The franchise is also being readied for a bigger push beyond its current online footprint. Deadline reported that USDC is developing a reboot of the series for traditional buyers and is working on that effort with Cowboy Bear Ninja, the company behind TruTV’s Paid Off.
The move comes after the main series recently appeared on Tubi through the streamer’s Creatorverse initiative. Deadline reported that USDC is expected to expand to additional platforms in the coming months.
Leonavičius said the series was built to test approaches to self-defense and to gather people from different backgrounds who share an interest in the field. He also said the global audience response had gone beyond expectations and that the team was eager to keep building the format.
The planned women’s spinoff adds another branch to a format that has grown out of online video rather than a conventional TV launch. For now, its confirmed home is YouTube, where the broader USDC brand has already built much of its audience.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.