Chamley-Watson & Kiefer Launch World Fencing League: Pro Fencing Set for Hollywood-Style Revolution in LA 2026…see more

Chamley-Watson & Kiefer Launch World Fencing League: Pro Fencing Set for Hollywood-Style Revolution in LA 2026

Los Angeles, April 2026. The lights will drop. The music will hit. And for the first time in history, fencing will feel more like a UFC main event than a quiet salle.

Miles Chamley-Watson and Lee Kiefer, two of the sport’s biggest global names, officially unveiled the World Fencing League (WFL) on November 20, 2025. Backed by Chiron Sports Group and RWS Global (the entertainment giant behind Super Bowl halftime shows and Olympic ceremonies), the WFL is not another tournament series; it is a full-blown professional league designed to drag fencing out of dimly lit gyms and onto center stage.

Chamley-Watson, the 2013 world champion and fashion-world darling who has walked Vogue runways in full kit, will serve as both founder and flagship athlete. Kiefer, the three-time Olympic foil gold medalist and reigning queen of the discipline, is the first woman signed. Together they have recruited a core of current Olympians and medalists who will compete for seven-figure prize purses under a team-based format.

The rules are being rewritten for spectacle: shorter bouts, walk-out music, live DJs, athlete microphones, colored LED pistes, and arena-style production values. Think March Madness meets Formula 1 paddock glamour. The inaugural weekend in Los Angeles is already being pitched to Netflix and Apple as a docu-series follow-up to *Quarterback* and *Drive to Survive*.

“This isn’t about disrespecting tradition,” Chamley-Watson said at the launch. “It’s about giving the next generation a reason to choose fencing over every other sport screaming for their attention. We’re making it impossible to scroll past.”

The WFL will run separately from the FIE calendar, meaning top athletes can compete without risking their Olympic eligibility. Franchises are being sold in major markets (Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Seoul, Dubai already confirmed), with team owners ranging from tech founders to NBA minority stakeholders.

Reaction has been swift and polarized. Traditionalists call it “fencing cosplay.” Younger athletes and national federations quietly admit they need exactly this kind of oxygen. USA Fencing issued a neutral statement of “cautious interest,” while several European federations are reportedly studying how to keep their stars from jumping ship.

One thing is certain: when the lights go down in LA sixteen months from now, Miles Chamley-Watson will stride out in custom Nike lamé, Lee Kiefer will follow to a roaring crowd, and fencing will never look quiet again.