Pillow talk: Broadcasting professional pillow fighting
Posted on Jun 10, 2025 by FEED Staff
Professional pillow fighting – albeit an eccentric concept – has been picking up steam since 2020. We hear from Pillow Fighting Championship CEO Steve Williams on what the sport is all about and where it’s headed
Words by Katie Kasperson
With decades of experience in television production, Steve Williams is always searching for new entertainment opportunities. Roughly five years ago, he was laying the groundwork for a mixed martial arts (MMA) show called Fight Truck, which would see a transforming semi-truck convert into a boxing stage. He developed the design, secured a patent and was putting on the final touches – that is, until his brother (also in the biz) stepped in.
“[My brother] said: ‘Hey, this is cool, but MMA is only legal in like nine states, and the big sponsors don’t want blood on their logos,’” Williams recalls. “‘You have a lot of competition; UFC owns the top spot. Why don’t you do something different?’” Thus, Fight Truck was abandoned, and Pillow Fighting Championship (PFC) was born.
From bed to boxing ring
When his brother first suggested professional pillow fighting, Williams – now the CEO of PFC – initially laughed it off. “I was like, ‘Come on man, that’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard in my life,’” he admits. The image that often comes to mind – girls in their pyjamas, hitting each other playfully with bedroom pillows, feathers flying everywhere – served as Williams’ jumping-off point, but he made some significant alterations.
“We went in the total opposite direction – hardcore UFC fighters, boxers. It’s got to be a tough sport, and that’s what we’ve been pushing ever since,” he explains. But it’s not just for macho, muscular men: “We’ve got kids’ leagues now, and it’s a sport that has a wide range – from young through to old.”
The pillows themselves also demanded an upgrade. “I thought that maybe if we made the pillows a little more exciting… bedroom pillows are boring,” Williams states. He designed a branded nylon pillow cover – in a slew of bright colours – that makes a ‘bang’ noise upon contact. “When you go to a boxing match, bare-knuckle or jiu-jitsu, there’s not much noise. There’s a little pitter-patter in boxing, but you don’t get that bang,” he describes. With PFC, “You see these brightly coloured, big objects flying through the air. When they hit, it’s like a drum. Your senses are telling you that had to hurt.”
Fortunately, that pain is mostly an illusion. Sure, it hurts a little to be hit by any object, but part of PFC’s appeal is in its non-violence. “As long as the fighters are passionate and they want to win, you’re going to see a real pillow fight. There isn’t the risk of getting injured,” Williams explains, making it a suitable and accessible sport for any athlete.
Playing by the rules
PFC works like most other fighting matches; each round lasts for 90 seconds, and points are awarded by three impartial judges based on how and where the pillow makes contact. “A hit to the head is one point,” Williams begins. “A 360 to the head is three points. If I hit your legs and you lose your balance, that’s a point. If you get knocked down, that’s five points. That’s pretty rare,” he adds, “but it does happen.”
A major appeal of pillow fighting – for competitors, that is – is its athletic intensity. “It’s definitely the most cardio-intense combat sport,” Williams claims. “It’s 90 seconds of pure fighting every round, so these guys get gassed. We’ve even had a few TKOs where the fighter couldn’t continue. That’s where the experience comes in – you have to learn to regulate your cardio enough so you can make it all the way.”
Slowly but surely building its legitimacy, PFC has attracted a range of athletic abilities and experience levels, from young first-timers to pro wrestlers. “We had one guy who is a semi-pro football player,” Williams recounts, “and I put him in the ring with a 17-year-old kid we found in Charleston. The kid beat him up. It was such great theatre,” he laughs. “The younger, thinner guys can beat the heck out of heavyweights, who are actually at a big disadvantage,” he explains, as PFC athletes need to be agile. “He was a high school football player; he wasn’t a fighter,” Williams says of the winner. “He had what it took, and that was it.
“We do see PFC as a gateway sport,” he continues, suggesting that those who succeed could carry out a career in professional fighting. Even the aforementioned 17-year-old enrolled in training sessions after his big win, and Williams has seen a smattering of pillow fighting classes popping up across the country.
This all goes to show that anyone can be a PFC champion. A sign-up form is available on its social media channels and website, and they’ve received thousands of applications so far. “At some point, that’s going to be a big asset for us. We’re hoping that PFC will follow the same path that pickleball has, where we create city teams,” Williams shares. Besides participating in a relatively low-stakes yet high-intensity sport, fighters can win cash too. “We pay them,” states Williams. “Everybody needs money.”
Getting off the ground
Launching a new sport is no small task, and PFC has had its fair share of hurdles. While originally developed with live streaming in mind, some early deals in this area fell through (including one with comedian Kevin Hart). Eventually, PFC landed a spot on ESPN8: The Ocho – a special programme that broadcasts obscure sports – as well as sponsorship from Dr Pepper, Manscaped and Bionaze.
To maintain exposure, ESPN8 shows a PFC match from August 2023 ‘on a constant loop’, according to Williams. “They play that every 48 and a half hours and then twice a month on ESPN News, which is on in [practically] every bar.” He’s just signed the contract for an upcoming ESPN event taking place at the Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida – PFC’s home state.
International expansion is also on the cards. “I signed licences for India, Nigeria, Ghana and Poland, and I’m working on Kenya and Lebanon,” Williams describes. Run by a small team, the sport is moving faster than they can ultimately handle. “If I really tried to make it a full-time thing, I’d be signing up a new country every week,” he suggests. “I haven’t done everything I can do here. We’re not fully developed.”
Initially operating at a loss, PFC had its first fight in August 2020. The pillows themselves cost over $30 a pop, and the organisation vowed to pay its fighters in full. Although the sport has grown since then, it’s still missing its ‘billionaire backer’, according to Williams. “We are bouncing all over the world with literally no money,” he admits. “We’ve got about $5 million into it – about $2.5 million in cash and $2.5 million worth of labour. We’re doing great, but we need our billionaire.” Williams recognises the hesitation in being associated with a sport like pillow fighting, which may seem silly to the casual observer. “We need someone who’s beyond it.”
For the fans
Niche in its premise, PFC has not yet made it into the mainstream. To spread the word, Williams leans into various marketing techniques, from social media to sports betting. “We pump out content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube when we do an event. We just signed up with Dooya,” he adds, putting PFC out on FAST channels as well. “Eventually, we will have our own streaming app; our goal is to put out about 24 events
every year.”
Williams is also exploring opportunities with Hard Rock Hotels, which ‘own all the sports wagering for Florida’, he says. “We’re talking to them about doing a daily pillow fight, called Fight at Four, for the wagering audience.” The rules are simple: “Whoever wins today fights tomorrow,” explains Williams. Guests at the hotels and casinos can attend the fight – or watch from the casino floor – and bet on a winner, making it a unique opportunity for both PFC and the entertainment chain.
Williams also aims to boost fan engagement by utilising the latest technologies to boost transparency – something that he believes has been missing from traditional fighting. “Boxing is this smoking room mystery of: ‘How is this thing even scored? Who’s behind it?’ We want to keep it super clean and positive.”
To do this, Williams hopes to integrate an automated scoring system, AI-powered cameras and pressure sensors inside the pillows themselves, “so the audience can see how hard the hits are,” he adds. He’s been working with the company Jabbr on tracking tech and other enhancements that will ultimately improve the sport’s production. “We see that as a huge benefit for PFC,” he concludes.
Why so serious?
Despite a desire to be taken seriously, Williams hopes that PFC will retain its ‘sort of goofy’ nature. “If you go to our fights, everybody’s there to have fun, and they do have fun. Everyone’s happy – they’re hooting and hollering. The fighters engage because they’re not worried about getting killed,” he remarks. “After the fight, everything changes – the superstar, he’s walking around town with the Pillow Fighting Championship belt, which is just the craziest thing. That’s the magic we have,” he enthuses, adding: “It just has to be better-produced.”
Although it’s a tricky time for the entertainment industry in the post-pandemic era, Williams feels that PFC’s success has been somewhat serendipitous. “It’s been up and down, but we’ve gotten really lucky. I think everyone’s frustration with Covid-19, as well as the wars and the economy, makes people a little crazy, and they want to see fights,” he argues. “Otherwise, you fight and you cause issues; that’s how it’s always been. I mean, the Olympics were started to stop these villages from killing each other” – among various other reasons.
Speaking of the Games, Williams has high hopes for the sport’s future. “I believe it will eventually become an Olympic sport,” he shares confidently, “but we are looking for the right strategic partners.
“It’s an incredibly tough business to make work,” Williams continues, “but Hollywood keeps knocking on our door, and now we’ve finally got a deal in place. Remarkably, this little sport has already started attracting global attention.”
To follow along with pro pillow fighting, visit fightpfc.com
This article first featured in the Summer 2025 issue of FEED magazine.
