Category: PFL

Francis Ngannou’s first PFL fight revealed

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, MMA News, PFL

One of MMA’s biggest storylines of 2023 was focused on Francis Ngannou’s free agency and where he would finally land. Still UFC champion heading into last year, Ngannou was stripped of the title after failing to reach a new contract with the world’s largest MMA promotion.

While the Cameroonian-born Frenchman had no shortage of detractors over his decision to leave the Octagon behind, he eventually landed a massive contract with the PFL. One that wouldn’t just pay him multiple millions for competing in MMA, but would also give him freedom to pursue a boxing career as well.

Fans have already seen the fruits of that deal, with Ngannou making his debut in the ring against Tyson Fury last October. Now, however, with a bout against Anthony Joshua on the horizon, the question has remained, when is Ngannou going to return to MMA? And who will he face once he does?

Francis Ngannou to take on Bader/Ferreira winner

In a video posted to their social media accounts, the PFL has announced that Francis Ngannou will take on the winner of Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira from this Saturday’s upcoming PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card.

The 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament champion, Renan Ferreira enters his bout against Bader in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a 3-fight win streak. Those victories righted an exceptionally rocky ship for the Brazilian, who dropped three straight bouts in between 2022-2023, with losses to Klidson Abreu, Ante Delija, and Rizvan Kuniev. Fortunately for the Team Nogueira talent, however, both Abreu and Kuniev ended up with failed drug tests, resulting in both those losses getting overturned to no contests.

Most recently, Ferreira defeated Denis Goltsov at PFL 10, in the tournament finale in Washington DC, back in November of last year.

For Bader, the former Ultimate Fighter season 8 winner hasn’t competed since February of last year, when he knocked out PRIDE legend Fedor Emelianenko in a rematch to defend his Bellator heavyweight title. That bout made for three straight victories for the 40-year-old, stretching back to a 2021 loss to Corey Anderson in a light heavyweight title fight.

Bader was among many of the fighters acquired by the PFL in their recent purchase of Bellator, opening the door for this weekend’s champions vs. champions card. Alongside the main event, the card will also feature Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen. Unfortunately bouts between Patricio Pitbull & Jesus Pinedo, as well as Magomed Magomedov vs. Jason Jackson have had to be changed due to injury, leaving just the two title-vs-tile bouts at the top of the event.

Francis Ngannou talks PFL plans

With a second major boxing bout on the horizon, there’s been a lot of speculation as to whether Francis Ngannou would actually have a reason to return to the PFL in 2024. Most likely, his willingness to step back into the cage will be heavily contingent on his performance on March 8th. A win there and Ngannou will probably find himself with another major boxing bout on his hands tout de suite.

However, at least for the moment, the 37-year-old has remained bullish on the idea that fans should expect him back in MMA again soon.

“If it doesn’t work,” Ngannou said of a potential 2024 Tyson Fury rematch in an interview back in November, “then I can still fight February or March in MMA, then expect him by the end of the year—like, this time, by October.”

At the moment, Fury has his hands full with an upcoming bout against Oleksandr Usyk. The ‘Gypsy King’ has been set to take on the unbeaten Ukrainian champ for months now, with the bout now expected for May 18th. In a recent interview of his own, Fury laid out his plans for the future, including a pair of Usyk fights, and Pair of bouts against Anthony Joshua, and a rematch against Ngannou.

At the moment it seems the ‘Predator’ has plenty of options on the table, and a return to MMA is just one small piece of the puzzle.

Tyson Fury retirement? Champ lays out at least five more fights

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, MMA News, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury, PFL, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

No one can question Tyson Fury’s physical gifts or his skill in the ring. A massive 6′ 9″ heavyweight, Fury is best known for his lightening reflexes and his fantastic ability to work behind a powerful jab. There have been, however, plenty of questions asked about his dedication to being a pro athlete.

Despite an Amateur career that saw him win Olympic gold in 2008 and a 34-0-1 unbeaten record, Fury has had notable trouble maintaining his fitness and form over the years—battling substance abuse and depression along the way. Unified heavyweight champion in 2015, the ‘Gypsy King’ left the ring for nearly three years, abandoning his belts, before returning to competition in 2018. Despite a 9-0-1 record since his comeback, rumors that Fury may consider retiring altogether have regularly dogged the WBO champion.

Tyson Fury brushes off retirement talk, lays out future fight plan

For fans who might be extra concerned that Tyson Fury’s recent cancellation of a planned bout with Oleksandr Usyk might mean the end of his career was looming on the horizon, it seems the 35-year-old is hoping to quell his doubters. Despite delaying the Usyk bout twice now, Tyson Fury remains steadfast that he is not only preparing to face Usyk twice in the ring, but has a whole slew of future fights he’s looking to make happen.

“I keep hearing talk of people saying that I should retire or I’m going to retire soon or whatever,” Fury wrote said in a video posted to social media (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I ain’t retiring anywhere, I’ve got two fights with Usyk, for the undisputed twice. Then I’m going to fight AJ at least once. Maybe twice if there’s a rematch, if he wants one after the first battering I give him, and then I’m going to fight Ngannou again and that’s just to start. So there’s five little fights for you to wet your appetite with. I ain’t going nowhere. Nowhere. I’m 35-years-old in the prime of my life.”

Francis Ngannou preparing to return to MMA

Tyson Fury’s revelation has to be good news for Francis Ngannou, who shook the boxing world last year, when he took Fury to a narrow majority decision loss, after knocking down the Fury down early in the bout. For a debut performance that was seen by many as a walkover warmup fight for Fury on his way to fighting Usyk in December, Ngannou’s performance crowned him as an immediate threat to the heavyweight boxing elite.

When Deontay Wilder failed to pick up the win this past December, in a bout that was expected to set the stage for a long teased fight against Anthony Joshua, Ngannou was perfectly placed to step in instead. Ngannou and Joshua will face off on March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Despite having talked up a Fury rematch as a top priority, however, and despite Fury’s apparent interest in making that bout happen as well, it doesn’t sound like fans should expect to see Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou 2 in 2024.

“We’ll have another event in the second half of the year, this summer likely, and we expect Francis to return to MMA in the PFL Smartcage,” PFL CEO Peter Murray announced in a recent interview with BBC sport.

Although no opponent for Ngannou’s MMA return has been announced at this time, apparently the PFL plans on making the details of the booking public during their upcoming February 24th ‘Champion vs. Champion’ PPV card. That event will feature elite talents from across Bellator & the PFL facing off in Riyadh, as the first crossover following PFL’s acquisition of the former Viacom MMA promotion. From the sound of things, it seems fans can expect to see another PFL PPV event later this year.

As for Ngannou, it seems he only has one thing on his mind at the moment, and that’s his upcoming bout with Joshua.

“They say never say never. Nothing is impossible, right?” Ngannou said of his chances against Joshua in a recent podcast interview (transcript via MMA Fighting). “We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua, but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out in two months. We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”

PFL wins the battle for Saudi Arabia, still losing on PPV

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, MMA News, PFL

Just the other day, the UFC made headlines with the news that it has been forced to delay their planned March debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern dictatorship has positioned itself as a major event destination in the sporting world, courting massive boxing, soccer, and track & field events.

They’ve also started making a bigger play for MMA as well, finding the UFC through their recent partnership with the WWE, and the Professional Fighter’s League through their constant need for outside investors. But where the UFC failed to offer a strong enough event to match the nation’s sports-washing ambitions, the PFL appears to have hit a home run.

PFL/Bellator announces lineup for champion vs. champion PPV

One of the biggest shakeups in the combat sports world last year came when longtime Viacom/Paramount-owned promotion Bellator announced their sale to rival competition the PFL. That deal will involve the PFL running Bellator as an independent property for the foreseeable future, with eventual plans to fold the two talent pools together. Until that happens, however, Donn Davis & co. get to have some fun smashing their toys together.

Immediately after the sale, Davis announced plans to hold a champion vs. champion event, with current Bellator title holders facing off against their PFL counterparts. The full lineup for that card has now been announced, set for February 24th in Riyadh. Although no price for the PPV has been announced, past PFL offerings have run around $50.

ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD (3pm ET/12pm PT)

  • Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Jason Jackson
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Pitbull
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
  • Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
  • Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee

ESPN News PRELIMS (12:30pm ET/9:30am PT)

  • Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
  • Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
  • Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira

The PFL/Bellator card is good, but…

For hardcore MMA fans, this PFL/Bellator PPV is clearly about the best offering the promotion could hope to make. Unlike the UFC’s recently cancelled Fight Night attempt, it’s clear that the promotion actually cares about trying to deliver a quality event for their Saudi investors. The obvious read then would be to argue that PFL has won the day. But have they, really?

Unfortunately for the PFL, the day they hope to bring fans to spend some extra cash on ESPN+ is the same one where the UFC will make their first return to Mexico since 2019. To honor the occasion, they’re bringing a Fight Night card headlined by Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2 and Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega, along with a host of other Mexican talent.

It’s not half as deep in top quality elite fight bookings as the PFL vs. Bellator card, but it’s hard not to also feel that Moreno vs. Royval 2 and Rodriguez vs. Ortega are a whole hell of a lot more interesting than a Ryan Bader fight or Eblen vs. a man still best known for being on the receiving end of history’s most spectacular knockout.

Plus, with both events on ESPN+ on the same day, advertised alongside one another, what many fans will see is that the UFC card is free. PFL may have won the battle when it comes to pleasing a major financier, but until they can get some real star headlining talent in the cage, their PPV offerings still feel like they’re losing the war.

Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua officially set for boxing match in Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, PFL

The ripple effects of Francis Ngannou’s shockingly narrow split decision loss to Tyson Fury continue to be felt around the boxing world. The former UFC champion made a huge splash in his ring debut when he knocked the unbeaten ‘Gypsy King’ on his ass back in October in what was meant to be a walkover fight for the WBC champion on his way to bout against Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury’s struggles in Riyadh appear to have forced he and his management team to reconsider the timing of their planned title unification bout against the masterful Ukranian, pushing back a planned fight date on December 23rd of last year into February of 2024. As a result, however, the Saudis needed another big event for their end of the year plans and enlisted two of heavyweight’s other most notable talents to make it happen.

231223 Anthony Joshua of England celebrates his win against Otto Wallin of Sweden in a heavyweight fight during the boxing event Day of Reckoning on December 23, 2023 in Riyadh. Photo: Joel Marklund BILDBYRAN kod JM JM0556 bbeng boxning boxing boksing day of reckoning Joshua vs Wallin Sverige Sweden jubel *** 231223 Anthony Joshua of England celebrates his win against Otto Wallin of Sweden in a heavyweight fight during the boxing event Day of Reckoning on December 23, 2023 in Riyadh Photo Joel Marklund BILDBYRAN kod JM JM0556 bbeng boxing boxing boxing day of reckoning Joshua vs Wallin Sverige Sweden jubel PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxAUT Copyright: JOELxMARKLUND BB231223JM033
Anthony Joshua will fight Francis Ngannou next in Riyadh. | Joel Marklund Bildbyran, IMAGO

Francis Ngannou gets Anthony Joshua bout after Wilder falters

Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder took to the ring last month as the main and co-main event for a big boxing PPV to wrap up the year of sports-washing efforts for the Saudi Arabian monarchy. Unfortunately, despite long being penciled in as a dream fight for fans, Joshua and Wilder didn’t face off against one another. Instead, they took what were supposed to be their own Ngannou-Fury style warm-up fights that would line them up to square off in 2024.

Anthony Joshua won his, defeating Otto Wallin via TKO when the Swede failed to answer the bell for the 6th round. Wilder was not so fortunate. The American was almost entirely dominated in the ring by his opponent, with Parker taking the ‘Bronze Bomber”s best shots and making him pay for an inherent lack of output and structure in his game.

The result? Not a chance at revenge for Parker—who had already faced and lost to Joshua back in 2018—but instead a major opportunity for Francis Ngannou. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman suddenly stood alone as one of the few big name heavyweight boxers on the market without a fight already booked, with Joshua in need of a viable PPV opponent.

MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani first broke the news.

“Alright, massive breaking news this Friday evening, in the world of combat sports,” Helwani announced in a video released to social media. “I have confirmed, via [Saudi royal advisor] Mr. Turki AlAlSheikh that it is a done deal, it’s going down; Francis Ngannou, ‘Le Predator,’ the former UFC heavyweight champion, is returning to Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Of course, just a few months removed from his incredible performance against Tyson Fury; after an unbelievable year, where he leaves the UFC, he signs with PFL, then he gets the big Tyson fight and shocks everyone.

“He is returning to action, in a boxing match, later on this year; to go up against the former heavyweight champion, the man who had an incredible 2023 in his own right, the man who just won at ‘Day of Reckoning’ on December 23rd, in Riyadh—the one and only ‘AJ’ Anthony Joshua. It is a done deal on both ends. Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou, ten-round fight, later on this year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”

Helwani didn’t have a date for the event, saying that it would be announced later at an official press conference. However, MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, confirmed Helwani’s report and announced that the fight would go down on March 9th. Which will put it head-to-head with UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera. Although the time difference will likely mean that it airs much earlier in the day.

Eric Nicksick’s gonna get paid again

Among the revelations following Francis Ngannou’s first boxing match was the news that with the ‘Predator’ earning a top payday for himself inside the ring, that money trickled down to his coaching staff as well. Most notably, Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick (who served as an assistant coach for the bout under Dewey Cooper) told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that he got paid more for his assistant role in that fight than he did for either of Francis Ngannou’s UFC title fights where he was in the head coaching role.

“It was the most money I’ve ever been paid by a fighter,” Nicksick said of his cut from Francis Ngannou’s bout. “It was unbelievable. It was more than I expected. I wasn’t expecting—obviously Francis has always taken great care of me, but it floored me. I saw my Wells Fargo account that morning and it literally brought me to tears. That’s a true story; literally brought me to tears. Because, he changed my life.

“Not only from a professional standpoint, but a monetary standpoint; allowed me a lot of financial freedom to be able to enjoy my coaching, enjoy being a dad and a husband… allowed us to buy a new car. There’s a lot of things that just, with Francis moving over to boxing, and the way he takes care of his team? He loves every single one of us and he shows it. He takes care of us, and I couldn’t thank him enough.”

Nicksick added that he’d be “all for it” if Francis Ngannou wanted to continue his career inside the boxing ring. Congratulations, coach, go get yourself a vacation home.

I hope the PFL can stop sucking

Posted on by Zane Simon in 2023 PFL Championship, MMA News, PFL

This feature first appeared on The Bloody Elbow Substack.

It struck me recently that, all things considered, MMA promotions buying up their competition has been largely limited to the UFC. Sure, Strikeforce bought up EliteXC back in the day, but only after the promotion had already gone belly up. When it comes to companies acquiring their rivals in the combat sports space, the UFC is far and away an industry leader.

That makes the PFL’s purchase of Bellator feel like an especially interesting moment in history; a truly big risk taken by a promotion trying to make significant moves in a space that is utterly dominated by one company all on its own. With that lens, however, it also means that the PFL is under a lot of pressure to get better. If they acquired all this talent just to deliver another couple of years like they’ve done in the past, it’s going to feel like a real failure to follow through.

Ambitious booking, complete nonsense at the PFL season finale

Stacking so many of them on one night and asking fans to pony up even an only slightly hefty price tag to watch is a constant recipe for disaster. It doesn’t help the PFL at all either, that what fans are mostly seeing lately are former UFC washouts they used to watch compete for free, now running amok against the JV squad.

Derek Brunson, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Impa Kasanganay, Larissa Pacheco? Is this a PFL PPV in 2023, or a set of UFC prelims in 2019?

Will PFL 2024 feature Francis Ngannou, Jake Paul & Amanda Serrano?

What 2024 will look like for the PFL remains to be seen. Founder Donn Davis suggested that any roster expansion due to the acquisition of Bellator talent likely wouldn’t come until 2025. But we should be looking at the birth of the ‘Superfight Series’ next year, with PPV cards featuring the likes of Jake Paul, Francis Ngannou, and Amanda Serrano.

Only problem there is, as of yet, none of theose people have anyone to fight. Heavyweight MMA is something of a wasteland outside of the Octagon, and Jake Pauls’ attempts to lure Nate Diaz into a PFL contract have gone absolutely nowhere. Is Amanda Serrano an MMA draw, even with the right opponent? There are more questions about the viability of any PFL PPV than there are answers.

When this promotion was just another mid-tier little guy, their season format was something of an endearing counterpoint to the UFC’s juggernaut of same-y ‘people fighting’ cards. But if they’re going to become a real player going forward then they have to find something more senseable to deliver PPV’s people want to see. The season format, if they absolutely need to keep it, has to take a back seat to delivering entertaining big fights.

It’s clear the PFL knows this, or they wouldn’t be trying to bring in all the talent and changes that they’re looking to make. It remains to be seen, however, if they can actually pull it off. No other MMA promoter in history has been able to solve the PPV problem outside the UFC. The PFL is poised to try, but they’ve set themselves one hell of a task.

Bellator champ in limbo with brand new contract

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, MMA News, PFL

News of Bellator’s sale to the PFL has been this week’s big story in the combat sports world. For fighters in the formerly Paramount-owned promotion, the reactions have largely been positive. It seems Bellator talent is pretty excited about the potential of combining rosters with their now sister promotion over on ESPN+.

That said, the shakeup likely won’t leave everyone positioned for the better. For one, it sounds like the new Bellator will be running a lot fewer events than previous. And while the idea of some champion vs. champion ‘bragging rights’ bouts seems like it could make for fun spectacle, the PFL and Bellator’s divisions don’t entirely overlap.

Patchy Mix talks new Bellator contract, hopeful future

Principal among the fighters who might find their opportunities curtailed by the merger is Bellator’s bantamweight champion Patchy Mix. Mix is fresh off a rear naked choke submission win over Sergio Pettis at Bellator 301 (the promotion’s final card before leaving Showtime). In a recent interview the 30-year-old detailed his fresh new contract and what might be in store for the future.

“I’m getting paid a ****-ton of money,” Mix revealed. “I got paid a ****-ton of money on Friday. I signed a new deal, that was my first one on my new deal, and I got paid out very, very good, as a champion should. As one of the best bantamweights in the world should.”

Without a clear path over to the PFL right now for Mix, his principal hope is that the PFL will give him a rematch with only man to defeat him inside the cage: Juan Archuleta.

“I have [almost] cleared out the division, one through five,” Mix said in a recent interview for MMA Fighting’s ‘The Fighter vs. The Writer‘ podcast. “No. 1, Sergio Pettis, I’ve beat him. No. 2 Raufeon Stots [I beat him], No. 3 is [Juan] Archuleta, No. 4 is [Magomed Magomedov] and No. 5 is Kyoji Horiguchi so I’ve beat four out of five. There’s one guy sitting there, and there’s only one fight to make.

“I’ve been chasing it since the day it happened, and it has to happen. Why not make me versus Juan Archuleta?”

Archuleta’s weird contract deal

There may be at least one reason that the PFL can’t go ahead with a Patchy Mix vs. Juan Archuleta 2 title fight. Juan Archuleta hasn’t been competing for Bellator for the last year. In that time, ‘The Spaniard has gone 3-0, fighting under the RIZIN banner in Japan. Bellator and RIZIN have had a talent sharing agreement in place for years, creating multiple opportunities for high level fighters to cross over and compete both in America and Japan.

In an interview back in May, Archuleta detailed how that agreement had worked wonders for his career.

“I couldn’t ask for a better position than I’m in now,” Archuleta explained. “Especially after losing the title fight in Hawaii, going into Japan, it gives me the extra motivation to keep going forward. After you lose a title fight it is draining on you. Then I got this opportunity, now I’m super stoked.

“How many fighters have you seen basically rented out for the year to another promotion?” he added. “Yeah, they’ve done fights here and there, but to actually say like — I’m still signed with Bellator but I’m fighting for RIZIN. I’ve made history in this type of deal that they’ve done. I’m the first fighter that’s ever done this. I’m excited to do my part and go and win the title then going back to Bellator.”

In that same interview, Archuleta explained how he’d like to win gold with RIZIN and then come back to Bellator and unify the titles, just like Kyoji Horiguchi did. The 36-year-old completed the first leg of that task back in July, defeating Hiromasa Ogikubo to win the RIZIN bantamweight championship. With a title around his waist, will he be eager to jump back into a new Bellator that might not even recognize the belt?

MMA fighters react to PFL’s Bellator buyout

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, MMA Business, MMA News, PFL

The news has finally become official, MMA promotion Bellator has been bought out by the PFL. First teased all the way back in July, fans and pundits have been waiting for the other shoe to drop for months now. But with an announcement from PFL chairman Donn Davis, it appears all the ‘i’s have been dotted and the ‘t’s have been crossed.

Sources close to the deal have reported that the purchasing price for Bellator was somewhere in the $200-$300M range, with Davis himself explaining that the deal was a stock trade for his company, with the PFL acquiring majority ownership of Bellator in exchange for granting Paramount a minority stake in the PFL.

Current plans are to continue running Bellator shows at least through 2024, with a limited series of international events, featuring Bellator title fights and champion vs. champion bouts. After that, it sounds like the PFL plans to expand their roster and event run in 2025. Obviously pundits have been weighing in all across the board, but here’s what the fighters had to say about the big news:

Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul weigh in

Perhaps the biggest stars to give their take on the breaking news are a pair of PFL PPV stars: Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and celebrity boxing star Jake Paul. Ngannou didn’t offer much more than a post of his support for social media, but Paul recorded a short video message.

“Massive news! The PFL has acquired Bellator,” Paul announced. “This is insane news for the whole entire industry and makes PFL even more of a global powerhouse; with a fight roster now equal to that of the UFC’s. We have some challenges. Let’s prove it: Their champions vs. our champions. Let’s make it happen.”

PFL & Bellator employees give their thoughts

A few of the broadcast team members from both the PFL and Bellator weighed in on the news as well.

MMA fighters in support of Mike Kogan

Other reactions

UFC’s biggest ‘rival’ set for PPV stinker

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, PFL

The PPV business is a terribly difficult one. Even in the boxing and pro wrestling worlds, promotions often struggle to attract viewers for what seem to be high profile, high-stakes events. At any given moment, there are a handful of stars capable of carrying a PPV card, and many other great athletes who just simply can’t. Nowhere does that fact seem to be more true, however, than in the MMA world.

Mixed Martial Arts has been a PPV-based entertainment product since its modern North American inception way back in 1993. Over 30-years and hundreds of PPV events, however, only one US promotion has ever managed to be a consistent money maker under that business model: The UFC. All others who have tried have resoundingly failed.

UFC ‘rival,’ PFL set for next PPV event

The next promotion all set to deliver dismal PPV numbers is the Professional Fighter’s League. Once branded the ‘World Series of Fighting’, the PFL has positioned itself as a power player in the modern MMA market with a number of high profile investors, a deal to air alongside the UFC on ESPN+, and regular $1 million tournaments—providing real free agency competition against the UFC for name talents looking to explore their options.

They’ve also put on one PPV event so far in their history, the 2022 finale card, featuring a trilogy fight between Larissa Pacheco and former Judo Olympian Kayla Harrison. That bout was one of six title fights to take place that night, marking the end of the PFL’s tournaments for the year. While no numbers for the total buys on that card were ever released, anything over 50,000 would have been quite a shock.

“Everybody was happy with it,” PFL president Ray Sefo said of the buy-rate shortly after the event. “You’ve got to start somewhere, and we were happy with the outcome of the whole show. ESPN was truly happy with the show, so if they’re happy, we’re happy.”

Whatever the numbers might have been, they must have been enough not to stymie the promotion’s ambitions, because here it is 2023, and the PFL is gearing up for another PPV that nobody wants.

Headlining the whole thing is former Ultimate Fighter Nations finalist and 2022 tournament winner Olivier Aubin-Mercier, taking on former UFC washout and surprisingly successful boxing talent Clay Collard in the lightweight finale. They’ll be joined by heavyweight finalists Renan Ferreira & Denis Goltsov, as well as women’s featherweight finalists Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina. A superfight between former PFL tournament champion Kayla Harrison and former Bellator champion Julia Budd is also planned for the event.

The whole thing takes place on November 24th, starting at 5pm Eastern. Here’s a look at the full card as it currently stands:

ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD

  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Clay Collard
  • Renan Ferreira vs. Denis Goltsov
  • Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina
  • Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Sadibou Sy
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Alves Braga
  • Josh Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay

ESPN+ PRELIMS

  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Joel Galarza Lopez
  • Bubba Jenkins vs. Chris Wade
  • Phil Caracappa vs. Khai Wu
  • Jesse Stirn vs. Josh Blyden

While the event has its share of former tournament winners from years past, there’s little in the way of star power to justify what will likely by $50 price tag (last year’s PPV cost $49.99). Fans who do pony up the dough, however will at least get their money’s worth in quantity for what it lacks in quality. Of the main card’s seven bouts, six are 5-round title fights. With potential commercial breaks, shoulder programming, walkouts and post fight speeches, fans could easily be looking at a 5-7 hour main card if most of the bouts go the distance.

PFL has other plans for the future

If all this seems like a poor way to go about selling fights, it should be noted that the PFL does appear to have other plans going forward in the future. Most notably, of course, the promotion landed a massive contract with free agent UFC champion Francis Ngannou. Ngannou will compete exclusively for the ‘Superfight’ division of the PFL, meaning that all of his fights under their banner will take place on PPV.

Likewise, the PFL has inked a contract with celebrity boxing superstar Jake Paul. A move that may very well see the promotion host an MMA rematch between Paul and former UFC title contender Nate Diaz. Paul and Diaz recently met inside the boxing ring, selling a reported 500,000 buys for their fight back in August. Alongside the reported signing of women’s boxing star Amanda Serrano, there’s at least some evidence that when the PFL returns to PPV in 2024 they’ll be doing so with some true headlining talent secured.

The other piece to this puzzle, of course, are persistent rumors that the PFL are on the verge of buying out Paramount Global-owned MMA promotion Bellator. Long considered the No. 2 promotion in the US, Bellator has struggled for more than a decade now to find any consistent audience with American MMA fans. Initially partnered with MTV, Bellator eventually moved to Spike TV (later rebranded as the Paramount Network), before announcing their move to Showtime in 2023. Rumors currently have the promotion valued at $500 million.

If that sale goes through, then the PFL might just have enough of the right kind of talent to put on a few successful PPV events. Not enough to match the UFC’s dominance in the market, but even the ability to play a strong second fiddle would be a seismic shift in the post-Strikeforce MMA world.

Aspen Ladd among top earning fighters at PFL 5

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA Business, MMA News, PFL, PFL 5

With another event down in the great state of Georgia, fight fans are getting another peak behind the curtain for just how well the Professional Fighters League pays their athletes. The PFL made major headlines this year, both with their signing of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou to a multi-million dollar contract, and for their reported deal with social media influencer and celebrity boxing sensation Jake Paul. While Paul’s contract appears to be principally as a ‘brand ambassador’ for the promotion, there’s also apparently room for him to compete in MMA as well, should he wish to do so.

So while the PFL is splashing out big on celebrity attractions, what’s the rest of the promotion pulling down? At PFL 4 2023, two fighters took home $100k paydays. That seems to be the high water mark here as well, but with a few more athletes getting their hands on six-figure purses.

Aspen Ladd among 5 fighters to grab $100k purses at PFL 5

Unsurprising among the list of fighters drawing top money for the latest PFL event are former tournament champions Larissa Pacheco and Ante Delija. Both athletes have had long tenures under the promotion’s banner, with Pacheco making her PFL debut in 2019, in just her second fight after getting released from the UFC four years before.

Pacheco lost to Kayla Harrison twice that year, before rattling off a 5-fight unbeaten streak capped by a win over Harrison to claim the 2022 women’s lightweight title. Pacheco is 2-0 in 2023, with wins over Julia Budd and Amber Leibrock.

Delija first made his debut with the PFL back in 2019 as well, but didn’t become a steady part of the roster until 2021, after a failed bid to sign with the UFC. ‘Walking Trouble’ played runner up that year to Bruno Cappelozza in the heavyweight tournament finals, but went 4-0 in 2022 to win the crown the following year. His victory over Maurice Green at PFL 5 was his first bout of 2023, after a cancelled April booking against Yorgan De Castro.

The other fighters making solid ends at PFL 5 were Denis Goltsov, Aspen Ladd, and Julia Budd. While none of those fighters are yet to make it to a tournament Finals in any of the past four PFL seasons, it’s not terribly surprising that any of them would be on higher earning contracts. Budd entered the PFL just two fights removed from losing her Bellator women’s featherweight title to Cris Cyborg in 2020. While Goltsov first hit the PFL cage in 2019, as a former ACB champion. While he’s only lost twice with the promotion in 11 fights since being signed, visa issues have notably hampered his ability to compete stateside.

As for Aspen Ladd, she has no titles to her name as a pro-fighter, but she and Budd were both key signings by the PFL in hopes of keeping Kayla Harrison with the promotion for the foreseeable future. Ladd made her PFL debut in November of last year, defeating Julia Budd by split decision. She followed that win with a majority decision loss to Olena Kolesnyk at PFL 2 back in April.

Complete PFL 5 salaries

Here’s a look at the complete list of salaries for PFL 5, as disclosed by the Georgia State Athletic Commission (h/t MMA Fighting).

  • Ante Delija – $100,000 ($50k/$50k | Show/Win)
  • Maurice Green – $21,000
  • Larissa Pacheco – $100,000 ($50k/$50k | Show/Win)
  • Amber Leibrock – $11,000
  • Renan Ferreira – $50,000 ($25k/$25k | Show/Win)
  • Matheus Scheffel – $25,000
  • Olena Kolesnyk – $40,000 ($20k/$20k | Show/Win)
  • Yoko Higashi – $10,000
  • Denis Goltsov – $100,000 ($50k/$50k | Show/Win)
  • Yorgan De Castro – $50,000
  • Aspen Ladd – $100,000 ($50k/$50k | Show/Win)
  • Karolina Sobek – $8,000
  • Marcelo Nunes – $30,000 ($15k/$15k | Show/Win)
  • Danilo Marques – $11,000
  • Julia Budd – $100,000 ($50k/$50k | Show/Win)
  • Martina Jindrova – $24,000
  • Marina Mokhnatkina – $44,000 ($22k/$22k | Show/Win)
  • Evelyn Martins – $13,000
  • Jordan Heiderman – $20,000 ($10k/$10k | Show/Win)
  • Patrick Brady – $10,000
  • Isaiah Pinson – $13,000 ($6.5k/$6.5k | Show/Win)
  • Denzel Freeman – $6,500
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Note: As always, these payout numbers do not reflect any potential side letter agreements, locker room bonus, performance bonus, sponsorship deals, or other non-purse related income athletes may receive as part of their participation in PFL events. These numbers also do not include any fines, taxes, manager/coaching fees, or other witholdings that may be removed from a fighter’s income due to their participation in PFL events. These numbers are only the base fight purse information as relayed by the promotion to the state of Georgia.

PFL hit by lawsuit after shelving fighter

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA Business, MMA News, PFL

One of the many serious problems swirling around in the mixed martial arts ecosystem is the tendency for promotions to lean on long-term, exclusive contract structures. Even outside the UFC, PFL, or Bellator, fighters often find themselves tied to regional promotions, sometimes for years, in exclusive rights deals. And if an athlete is competing with one of the big shows? As Manoel Sousa recently discovered, they’re pretty much guaranteed to be on lockdown.

A rising top prospect from Sao Paulo, the 26-year-old Sousa last competed in the PFL Challenger Series in February of 2023. The set of annual small-scale events, meant to find young talents to bring into the upcoming PFL ‘regular season’ bigger cards, ran eight shows in 2023, with Sousa competing on their ‘Week 4’ fight card.

Unfortunately for the Brazilian, however, despite winning (and taking his record to an unbeaten 10-0), PFL didn’t offer him an immediate spot on the roster for the 2023 season. Instead they offered him another Challenger Series fight on March 3rd, which he was unable to take due to COVID. At that point, Sousa assumed his business with the PFL was complete.

PFL stops Sousa from DWCS booking

Unsurprisingly to anyone that’s followed the MMA business for long, contracts in combat sports are rarely that simple. With the latest season of Dana White’s Contender Series approaching, and a strong record to his name, Sousa accepted a chance to compete for a potential future UFC deal. After all, the PFL had their look at him, and passed.

Booked to compete for DWCS on August 15th, that was when Sousa discovered that the PFL had actually retained their contract rights for his services as a “backup” fighter for their 2023 season, effectively icing him out of competition unless called upon to replace an injured or suspended competitor.

“They put me as a back-up, but that wasn’t my goal. I told them I would’t do it,” Sousa told MMA Fighting. “I train really hard every single day, I live in the gym, and I’m chasing my dreams. My dream is to fight in the UFC and the [DWCS] offer came, but [PFL] wants to keep me locked. I thought I was free to fight anywhere else, but that wasn’t the case. They don’t want to let me go.”

Fighting reports that the deal Sousa signed was not, in fact, for just one Challenger Series fight, but a 3-year contract to compete with the PFL. As such, the promotion informed the fighter that “they would not release ‘Manumito’ in any way since he’s a prospect of the sport and should be revealed only by PFL, the defendant, for mere commercial whim,” according to the lawsuit filed in Sao Paulo, and provided by Sousa’s lawyer to MMA Fighting.

The lawsuit also alleges that Sousa is functionally illiterate, even in his native Portuguese, and did not understand the original PFL contract he had signed, which was delivered in English.

No Ali Act for MMA

Cases like Sousa’s especially highlight the lack of legal protections that MMA fighters have in comparison to their boxing counterparts. Introduced in 1996, the Ali Act includes specific provisions that are meant to prevent exactly the kind of contract situation that Sousa has found himself in.

  • (A) A Contract provision shall be considered to be in restraint of trade, contrary to public policy, and unenforceable against any boxer to the extent that it—
    • is coercive provision described in subparagraph (B) and is for a period greater than 12 months; or
    • is a coercive provision described in subparagraph (B) and the other boxer under contract to the promoter came under that contract pursuant to a coercive provision described in subparagraph (B).
  • (B) A coercive provision described in this subparagraph is a contract provision that grants any rights between a boxer and a promoter, or between promoters with respect to a boxer, if the boxer is required to grant such rights, or a boxer’s promoter is required to grant such rights with respect to a boxer to another promoter, as a condition precedent to the boxer’s participation in a professional boxing match against another boxer who is under contract to the promoter.

At the very least, whether or not the courts would find any of PFL’s contract provisions coercive, there’s no way they could lock down his services for 3 years. In MMA, however, that kind of deal isn’t just possible, it’s more or less the standard.

Unfortunately, unless the PFL plans to wash their hands of the whole thing and release Sousa in a hurry, no matter the potential for success or failure of his legal actions, it seems likely he’ll be tied up with the courts for the immediate future.

Other fighters have suffered similar disputes

King of the Cage developed something of a reputation over the years for locking young fighters down in long-term, low-paying contracts. Back in 2013, top Hawaiian prospect Lowen Tynanes lost out on more than a year of his career due to a court battle with KOTC owner Terry Trebilcock, over a 3-year deal that Tynanes claims included a signature forged by his manager.

While he did end up competing in the UFC, bantamweight Drako Rodriguez found himself in a similar position with the KOTC promotion back in 2019—when Rodriguez got an offer to compete for that year’s DWCS run, while still under contract. Trebilcock claimed that, while he mostly just wanted Rodriguez to fulfill the remaining four fights on his deal, he also didn’t feel the fighter was ready for a step up in competition and was being misled by his management.

“This kid has the potential to be a gold mine, but he’s not a gold mine at 22 years old,” Trebilcock explained at the time, noting that while Rodriguez’s boxing was great, “his jiu-jitsu is terrible.”

Rodriguez would only compete once more for KOTC before getting his shot on the Contender Series, submitting Mana Martinez with a Triangle Choke just 2:22 into the first round. Rodriguez went 0-2 in the Octagon, however, and was released shortly afterward.

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