Self-proclaimed as MMAâs co-leader, things could have gone more smoothly for the Professional Fighters League following their acquisition of Bellator MMA last November. After adding hundreds of fighters to their combined roster, some have already jumped ship - like ex-champ Gegard Mousasi and #1 contender Lorenz Larkin, due to a number of reasons.
As we soon approach 2025, more and more Bellator fighters are starting to speak out against PFL after last yearâs acquisition, with current bantamweight champion Patchy Mix and Leandro Higo complaining about inactivity after the PFL cancelled their title fight and event altogether at Bellator Paris last month.
Pitbull Calls Out PFL On Fightersâ Inactivity
Widely renowned as the greatest fighter to compete under the Bellator banner is Patricio Pitbull, who like his fellow compatriots isnât a fan of how the PFL has treated their new fighters.
The reigning featherweight champion has only fought once since PFL bought Bellator - a successful title defense against Jeremy Kennedy 8 months ago.
âI wanted to fight 3x this year, but I was told Iâd have to wait until December 31st and found out online my opponent would fight someone else. Then they had a replacement, I bring people over, spend more money with the camp and thereâs no fight,â Pitbull wrote on X on Sunday.
âThey said things didnât work out with Japan and that it wasnât their fault. Ok. So why donât you stage a show somewhere else? What kind of promotion canât give fighters at least two fights a year? Some havenât even fought this year! Bellator used to be BIG.â
âThis Merger Has Been A Disaster To The Sport Of MMAâ
Pitbull continued, saying âwe always had answersâ at Bellator, but not anymore with the PFL taking over.
âThey never just cancelled a show and said they had no idea when we would be booked. Even regional promotions have dates set for April of next year already!â Pitbull said of the PFL. âThis merger has been a disaster to the sport of MMA.â
âMeanwhile we have to see the top brass talking about offering tens of millions of dollars to social media personalities and semi-retired fighters, while cutting 90% of the roster and telling guys making 30+30 theyâre too expensive. How can you become number 1 in the world if you donât stage events and donât want to pay fighters?â
Pitbull Worried About The Future
âI am very worried about the future of Bellator and MMA in general,â Pitbull went on. âI feel very sorry for all the fighters who didnât even get to fight this year or were cut because they just donât make shows or think theyâre expensive, and all the fighters who were forced to take paycuts.â
âThis is wrong. We need answers, we need the fighters and fans to be respected. This is not a game or just some business, these are peopleâs lives we are talking about. A serious promotion would give fighters the chance to fight at least 3 times a year if theyâre healthy.â
Patricio Pitbull has fought a record 30 times in the Bellator MMA cage, winning championships at both featherweight and lightweight with a TKO win of Michael Chandler in 2017. Pitbull has seven successful title defenses to his name, more than any other former or current champion in PFL and Bellator history.
Pitbull is hardly the only Bellator champion looking for a fightâŚ
PFL IS A JOKE
Everyone has been saying this for awhile. PFL has no clue of what they are doing and neither did Bellator. They have good rosters but bad matchmaking and promoting.
Pfl should spend big on Jones and have him fight Thier whole roster one after the other.
Having some experiences working with them , I couldnt agree more.
You wanna see a competitor to the UFC succeed but Coker era Bellator was retarded and the PFL is even worse.
We havent had a solid no2 promotion since Strikeforce.
âIt sucks,â UFC legend Matt Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. âBecause all these guys are in the their prime, too, and theyâre essentially wasting their prime waiting on this organization to figure out their shit. PFL-Bellator, it just seems like a mess really. The merger with everything, it just seems like thereâs not a lot of organization.
âThereâs a fight happening this weekend that nobody even really knows is happening. I think they lost their ass on the [Francis] Ngannou fight. It just seems like a trainwreck. The rails are just slipping off little by little.â
While PFL officials havenât addressed the concerns raised by the Bellator fighters, many believe the problems could come down to financial obligations based on currently existing contracts
Look what Bjorns beautiful Bellator has become
