PFL Acquires Bellator MMA After Rumors, Reveals Champs vs. Champs Fight Card For 2024
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVNovember 20, 2023
The Professional Fighters League acquired Bellator MMA to "create a stronger competitor to UFC," according to Samer Al-Atrush of the Financial Times.
PFL founder Donn Davis told Al-Atrush the deal "totally changes the MMA landscape overnight."
"You essentially put two number two companies to create a co-leader," he said. "The combined PFL Bellator roster now has 30 percent of its fighters who are ranked top 25 in the world by Fight Matrix. That's the same as UFC has in their roster."
Everyone on the Bellator roster is now a part of PFL, Davis said Monday:
Davis also teased a "mega-event" in 2024 that will pit champions from the two promotions against on another.
Donn Davis @DonnDavisPFLNew MMA Global Powerhouse<a href="https://twitter.com/PFLMMA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PFLMMA</a> acquires <a href="https://twitter.com/bellator?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bellator</a><br><br>Our Fighter Roster Equal To UFC - Both 30% Top 25 World Ranked FIghters<br><br>PFL Launch Reimagined Bellator - Bellator International Champions Series<br><br>Mega-Event For Fans In 2024 - PFL Champs vs. Bellator Champs <a href="https://t.co/Ma4YUl4AUi">pic.twitter.com/Ma4YUl4AUi</a>
Rather than ditching the Bellator branding, the PFL said in Monday's press release it's creating the Bellator International Champions Series, which will feature eight standalone events each year. Fighters signed to Bellator will have the opportunity to compete in the PFL as well.
This deal symbolizes the PFL's rapid ascent in the MMA world.
Signing unbeaten boxing star Claressa Shields in 2020 was a bit of a coup. Striking a deal with Jake Paul in January brought plenty of mainstream attention. Then came the biggest move of all, bringing former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou aboard.
Perhaps the most transformative development for the PFL, however, came when it sold a minority stake to a company owned by the Public Investment Fund for more $100 million in August.
The PIF is Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and the mechanism through which the country has built a bigger and bigger footprint in sports. Some have described the strategy as "sportswashing," a way for Saudi Arabia to improve its image abroad and deflect attention away from ongoing human rights abuses within the country.
It's not as though the UFC's status as the premiere power in MMA is under immediate threat. But a merger between the PFL and Bellator fueled in part by Saudi riches could create a serious challenger to the throne over the years to come.