CEO Dana White believes the Professional Fighters League (PFL) is in financial trouble.
The PFL as long been one of the UFCâs chief rivals, but after purchasing Bellator MMA late last year, established itself as the clear cut No. 2 in the sport of MMA.
Unfortunately, it hasnât been all sunshine and rainbows since the PFL bought Bellator. The promotion has recently cancelled a trio of Bellator events, and more troublingly, has struggled to keep some of its biggest names busy. That has led the likes of Patchy Mix, Cris Cyborg, Gegard Mousasi, and Patricio âPitbullâ Freire â all world-class fighters â to speak out against the promotion.
Mousasi was ultimately released from his contract, and Freire has asked for the same, in hopes that he can make the move to the UFC.
âThings arenât looking goodâ
Speaking at the UFC 310 post-fight press conference, White responded to Freireâs comments, and painted a grim picture of the PFLâs future.
âYou guys know what the f*** is going on.â
Dana White gave his honest opinion on the current state of PFL
#UFC310 pic.twitter.com/4AB3XMuZ0N
â Uncrowned (@uncrownedcombat) December 8, 2024
âListen, the last couple months, weâve been talking a lot about the PFL,â White said. âTheyâre cancelling a lot of shows. I know that a lot of guys that are supposed to fight arenât fighting. You guys know what the f**k is going on. When you see that start to happen, youâre running out of money.
âThings arenât looking good and youâre going to have people that want to jump ship,â White continued. âThese guys want to fight. You have a very limited time of opportunity when youâre a professional athlete, and even less when youâre a fighter. So Iâm sure youâre going to see a lot of that. Weâll see how that plays out over the next few months, going into 2025.â
While the PFL did recently cancel several Bellator events, it has also had some big wins this year. Some of its bigger moments included the debut of lineal heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, and a recent championship event where six $1 million checks were handed out to fighters. The promotion also has one of the hottest talents in womenâs MMA at the moment in Dakota Ditcheva.
If you ask Dana White, though, the writing may be on the walls for the upstart promotion.
Dont Forget
Man, I miss Bellator⌠Wish Don Davis didnât have to purchase it then fuck everything up!
PFL has been the worst #2 promotion Iâve ever seen. Signed almost nothing but boring fighters so they can make an argument that they have some of the best in the world. Tons of Russians whose fights are like watching paint dry. Plus a ton of WMMA.
Letâs see a #2 pop up that is the exact opposite. Donât try to be like or compete with UFC, just be an alternative. Something where being entertaining is more important than being good. Build mostly around Americans and other English speakers. Do some freak show fights. Only focus on a handful of divisions. This formula is what made Strikeforce actually stand out.
I agree with most of this except for the Russian part. They do have some very talented Russians that some might think are boring, but as a hardcore fan I wanna see the best fight each other. PFL has a very good roster, problem is they have no clue what they are doing and they seem to be icing their top Bellator fighters. They have too many feeder leagues and also need to merge the Bellator roster with the PFL main so we see the best fight each other. Hopefully PFL turns things around and listens to feedback, doubt that happens though.
I saw the writing on the wall a while ago. I had some dealings with them and i could smell trouble !
Thatâs what UFC is for. They have a built in audience and can afford to have boring fighters for the sake of determining the best. Do that as a secondary promotion and you get the PFL and Bellator situations - no one watching and days numbered.