PFL

Inside PFL’s rise as no.2 global market leader in MMA

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While the UFC continues to reign over the landscape of mixed martial arts worldwide, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has exploded into the scene and now finds itself right behind the industry leader after just three years.

In an interview with CombatPress.com, PFL founder Donn Davis said that the league had established itself as the number-two MMA company globally on multiple factors, including fighter roster, worldwide audience, distribution, and growth.

“So I think what you’re seeing now, by all metrics, is the PFL is the number-two MMA company worldwide. In terms of fighter roster, PFL is number two. For a worldwide audience, PFL is number two. In terms of worldwide distribution, PFL is number two, and in terms of growth, PFL is number two,” Davis said.

Top MMA Promotions - PFL

Season format

But what pushed the PFL out into the front of the pack, alongside the UFC?

Founded in 2017, the league has already been able to put on two massively-successful seasons. Now, they are gearing up for the third season, which kicks off in April.

Notice how the PFL’s year is called a season?

That’s because the league follows a tournament-style format, which is unique in the world of MMA.

The league uses a regular season, playoffs, and finals format, which means the fighters will need to win to advance. At the end of the season, a world champion will be crowned for each weight division, and the winners are awarded one million dollars.

Stacked roster

Making that tournament format all the more exciting for the fans to watch is the stacked roster of fighters that the PFL boasts.

Each of the league’s six weight divisions features veterans and up-and-coming talent from across the globe. The PFL is home to many of the MMA world’s top stars, including PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion Kayla Harrison, two-time PFL Featherweight Champion Lance Palmer, two-time PFL Lightweight Champion Natan Schulte, and many others.

In 2021, the league will have an influx of world championship talent led by Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonald, and three-division boxing world champion Claressa Shields, who will be making her mixed martial arts debut.

Top-notch management

While the PFL indeed features an all-star roster of fighters, they also have the number one executive team in sports.

Founder Donn Davis, who was also behind Revolution LLC, has brought together some of the top minds in media, sports, and digital to lead the league to the top.

Leading the charge is PFL CEO Peter Murray, who helped sign some of the biggest names in sports during his time with Under Armour. Executive Producer George Greenberg has over 40 years of experience and is coming off as an Executive Vice President for Fox Sports. President Ray Sefo was the founder of the World Series of Fighting and is a combat sports legend.

Those big names are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the PFL’s executive management roster.

Overwhelming support

The PFL is also backed by a world-class team of investors, including Swan & Legend Venture Partners and Matterhorn Private Equity, and Ted Leonsis, David Blitzer, Mark Lerner, Kevin Hart, Mark Burnett, and Tony Robbins. The league has also managed to secure sponsorships with AB InBev, Socios.com, The Marines, and many others.

The PFL can be seen in the United States via ESPN and in an additional 160 more countries worldwide via various platforms and sports networks.

With all these considered, it’s no surprise that the PFL is already at the top of the MMA mountain, alongside the UFC. With another big year in store in 2021, there’s no telling the heights that the fastest growing sports league in the world can reach.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @alderalmo

BREAKING: Anthony Pettis has signed with PFL

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The free agency of Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (24-10) did not last very long. ESPN was first to report that Pettis has agreed to a new deal with PFL. Pettis will compete in their 2021 season in the lightweight division.

Showtime just announced last night that he was leaving the UFC to pursue free agency. Bellator’s Scott Coker expressed serious interest in bringing in Pettis given the fact that they already have Sergio Pettis on the roster.

However, Pettis found his dream deal with PFL. Pettis is the second former UFC champion that has signed with PFL to compete for the promotion during their 2021 season. The other being former heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum. 

This is a big signing for PFL who has started to make waves this year with signings. Of course, they did sign Werdum, but they also made headlines signing the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Claressa Shields. 

Now, they add Showtime Pettis to their expanding roster. PFL has been looked at as an organization that was a step down from Bellator and ONE Championship which were of course step downs from the UFC. However, PFL is flexing it’s muscles at the end of this year.

Pettis in PFL

As mentioned above, Anthony Pettis will be competing at lightweight under the PFL banner. Pettis just competed at welterweight last weekend at UFC Vegas 17. Pettis was able to secure a unanimous decision victory over Alex Morono.

It’s been an up and down few years for Anthony Pettis. The former champion hadn’t put two straight wins together in the UFC since he was the lightweight champion. He couldn’t have picked a better time to start his first winning streak.

The UFC had gone to Pettis earlier this year and tried to sign him to an extension. Pettis decided to bet on himself and look at all the options. Just a few days after he fought out the last fight on his deal, he’s found his new home with PFL.

Anthony Pettis announces that he’s leaving the UFC

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This past weekend at UFC Vegas 17, Anthony Pettis (24-10) took on Alex Morono (18-7, 1 NC). Pettis made the walk in what was the final fight on his current deal with the UFC. Pettis was betting on himself Saturday night.

The UFC had gone to Pettis with an offer to extend his contract prior to the Donald Cerrone fight early this year. However, Pettis decided to turn down the offer and wait things out. Entering the cage Saturday night, there was still no deal in place.

Pettis was able to pull out the unanimous decision victory at UFC Vegas 17. After the fight was over, Pettis said that he wanted to go back to lightweight and capture a world title. Pettis competed at welterweight on Saturday night.

In the days after UFC Vegas 17, there has been a lot of speculation on what Anthony Pettis would do moving forward. Would he resign with the UFC or would he perhaps move on to Bellator where his brother currently fights.

After days of contemplating, it seems that Showtime has made his decision. After 12 years of competing for the UFC and the WEC, Pettis is moving on. He announced the news on Twitter this evening.

Life after the UFC

Pettis will walk away from the Zuffa banner having held a world title in the WEC and the UFC. While his career has been very up and down since he lost his lightweight championship years ago, he’s still one of the most recognizable athletes in the sport.

For the first time since 2008, Pettis will be competing outside of the Zuffa promotions. So where does Pettis go now that he’s leaving the UFC? There are going to be several suitors for the former world champion.

Clearly the favorite should be Bellator. Bellator is where his brother is signed and they could use more star power in their lightweight division. If I was a betting man, that is where I’d place my money.

However, I wouldn’t put it past PFL or even ONE to make a run at the former UFC champion. I would expect that we will know where Pettis will be going in the next couple of weeks.

PFL star Clay Collard looks to close 2020 with a bang

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Clay Collard decided to take advantage of every opportunity presented before him during a tumultuous time.

Collard will begin his quest for the largest paycheck in mixed martial arts when the Professional Fighters League returns in 2021 and will also look to close out 2020 in convincing fashion inside another arena.

The dual-sport megastar seeks his sixth consecutive win as a professional boxer when he competes this Saturday for Top Rank Boxing on the ESPN+ Shakur Stevenson vs. Toka Khan Clary card.

Collard will face Quincy LaVallais in Las Vegas from The Bubble, MGM Grand Convention Center. The bout will take place at 160 pounds and is scheduled for eight rounds.

Since January, Collard has been on a roll, racking up five wins in an eight-month span, including three stoppages. He is coming off a second-round knockout over Maurice Williams, in which he showed off his incredible boxing skills in a short amount of time.

“It’s been amazing,” Collard said during a recent Q&A hosted by Fight Hub TV. “I am fighting often, fighting tough opponents and loving all of the fans and love I have been getting from them. It’s just exciting.”

Collard has always shown his ability to adapt and thrive. He has competed in three different MMA weight classes and will focus on fighting at lightweight when the PFL’s 2021 Regular Season kicks off in a matter of months.

Collard has posted an 18-8 record inside the cage, including back-to-back victories just before signing with the PFL. He is 9-2-3 as a professional boxer.

“I want to keep dabbling in both,” Collard said. “I feel like it sets me apart from other fighters. I’m a striker, and I’m going to box regardless. (In MMA training) I am working my takedown defense and getting back up off the ground to get where I am comfortable, and that is to punch people in the face.”

This is not the first time Collard and LaVallais have squared off. Back in 2019, they battled to a draw. The two were also scheduled to meet in October before having the rematch delayed.

PFL’s Kayla Harrison to fight Jozette Cotton at Titan FC 66

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MMA, PFL

Arguably the brightest star in PFL is taking her second fight away from the promotion. ESPN first reported this evening that lightweight champion, Kayla Harrison (8-0), will be taking on Jozette Cotton (8-2) on December 17th.

The fight will take place under the Titan FC banner. As mentioned this is the second fight for the PFL lightweight champion outside of the organization. As many know, PFL didn’t host any events after the pandemic hit this year.

However, they are planning on a 2021 return. In the meantime, they have allowed some of their fighters to take fights outside of the organization. The only condition is that they couldn’t fight inside the big promotions like the UFC or Bellator.

Instead, if PFL fighters wanted to remain active, they had to fight at smaller venues. Likely PFL is trying to protect their investments with this move. Harrison recently fought on an Invicta card last month. 

The PFL champion brutalized Courtney King and finished her in the second round of their fight. It was the first fight of 2020 for the PFL champion and former Olympic Gold Medalist. It’s obvious now that Harrison was desparate to get one more fight in before the year is up.

PFL’s champ accepting a rematch

This is actually going to be a rematch for Kayla Harrison. Harrison and Cotton both faced off in PFL just a little over two years ago. That fight was actually the last time that Cotton stepped into the cage.

Cotton has spent her fighting career fighting in the smaller shows. She does have one victory in Bellator and she has the one appearance in PFL which came against the lightweight champion.

When these two ladies first faced off, Harrison was able to pickup the win by third round TKO. Harrison is expected to be a massive favorite and the result will likely be the same for Cotton.

I’m fully expecting Harrison to completely run through Cotton. It is worth noting that this fight is taking place at lightweight. Harrison recently fought at 145 pounds and made the weight with relative ease.

It seems like the long-term career play for the PFL champion will be to fight at featherweight. However, just to get another fight in, the lightweight champion will fight at her traditional weight class on December 17th.

PFL signs boxing’s P4P best, Claressa Shields

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PFL made headlines yesterday when it was announced that the promotion had reached a deal with Claressa Shields. MMA Junkie first reported the news. Shields is an two-time Olympic Gold medalist in boxing and is widely considered the pound for pound best in the sport.

The 25 year old phenom is the fastest to get to 10-0 as a professional boxer and she hold multiple belts in multiple weight classes. In boxing, she’s clearly in a league of her own, but she’s ready to challenge herself in the world of MMA.

PFL is no stranger to signing Olympians as arguably their biggest star is two-time gold medalist, Kayla Harrison. Harrison was a gold medalist in Judo and PFL has invested a ton into her.

The transition for Harris was easier than the transition for Shields will be. We’ve seen over and over that the transition from grappling is so much easier than the transition for pure strikers. And that’s what Shields is, a pure striker. Specifically, a pure boxer.

She has no kickboxing or Muay Thai experience and she has no grappling experience. Nevertheless, the 25 year old is willing to challenge herself which is why she signed the deal with PFL. Last year, she voiced her interest in potentially making the jump.

PFL’s next star?

It’s such an interesting move for Shields. It’s a no-brainer if you’re PFL, but Shields is the absolute best in her sport currently. This is not the same thing as Conor McGregor crossing over to boxing for a match with Floyd Mayweather.

It’s so much tougher making the MMA jump. Just ask James Toney how his matchup against Randy Couture went. However, I will say that Shields does have a few things going for her. One, she’s a world class athlete. Two, she’s still very young.

PFL is going to give her the slow build in MMA. My guess is that they will give her very favorable matchups to start things out. Do not expect her to get thrown in with a world class grappler like Kayla Harrison.

Although a matchup between the two might be the long-term play for PFL. At the end of the day, this is a big signing for PFL. Shields can become a superstar and I’m very curious to watch this play out. At the moment, she’s planning on continuing her boxing career while having one-off lightweight MMA matches.

Fabricio Werdum signs with PFL

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Former UFC heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum (24-9, 1 NC), has signed a deal with PFL. ESPN was the first to report the news that Werdum has made up his mind and will be heading to the Professional Fighters League.

It’s been a very interesting year for Werdum leading up to the PFL signing. Back in May, he made his return to the UFC after being suspended by USADA. Werdum had a lackluster performance in a loss to Alexey Oleynik.

After that, Werdum was booked against Alexander Gustafsson on Fight Island. Werdum looked much better in that fight and was able to use his superior ground skills to submit the former title challenger in the first round.

After the fight was over, it was announced that Werdum was a free agent. While PFL was on the radar, many expected Werdum to land with Bellator. Werdum had a previous relationship with Scott Coker and there were exciting fights in Bellator.

The two sides began negotiating a deal. PFL remained interested, however, up until last week, Bellator was the heavy favorite. Then it was reported that the talks between the two sides fell apart. 

After the failed negotiations with Bellator, Werdum announced that his management was in talks with PFL. It didn’t take long after that. Today we have learned that Werdum will be taking his talents to the Professional Fighters League.

PFL’s New Heavyweight

It’s been a tough year for PFL much like it’s been for the rest of the world. With everything going on, the promotion was not able to host any additional events in 2020 which brought great frustration to their stable of fighters.

Last week, it was announced that their star female fighter, Kayla Harrison, would be taking a fight in Invicta. However, the promotion is gearing up for a strong return in 2021 and Werdum will be a part of that return.

The heavyweight division is not steep inside of PFL, but signing Werdum was a good first step. Highlights in their heavyweight division include Ali Isaev, Justin Willis, and Mohammed Usman.

PFL’s Kayla Harrison to make featherweight debut for Invicta

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MMA, PFL

One of the biggest stars in PFL is going to be taking her talents to another promotion. Well, at least for now. Lightweight champion, Kayla Harrison (7-0), is wanting to stay active while the promotion is preparing to return.

PFL announced recently that they would be returning in 2021. However, Harrison is itching to get back into action. The Olympic Gold Medalist last fought in December 2019 shortly after she had signed a new deal with PFL.

Harrison has always competed at lightweight which made her unavailable to the bigger promotions like Bellator and the UFC. However, Harrison is going to be dropping down to featherweight in this next fight which could open some doors down the line.

On November 20th, Harrison is going to be switching over to Invicta and fighting at 145 pounds. Many PFL fighters have publicly showed their frustrations with not being able to fight during this crazy pandemic year while other promotions have been moving.

Harrison took her concerns to PFL and they are allowing her to take this fight to remain active. Yes, it’s not in her primary organization, but I think a lot of eyes are going to be on the PFL champion on November 20th.

PFL’s Risky Move

This is a risky move for PFL but it’s also a smart one. It’s smart to let one of your biggest draws stay active. Her fighting with Invcita will also get more eyes on her which could translate well for the promotion. However, she’s getting to fight in a new weight class.

If she’s able to make the cut easily, Harrison could start to contemplate a future outside of PFL. Perhaps one in the bigger promotions such as the UFC or Bellator. Both of those promotions currently have the two best featherweights in the world, Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg.

Given the contract, I wouldn’t expect Harrison to be tempted anytime soon. I really like the move from PFL letting Harrison get some action. However, if she’s not successful on November 20th, it’s not a great look for PFL.

Donn Davis’ Midas touch turns PFL into gold standard in MMA

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Professional Fighters League co-founder and chairman Donn Davis has put together an amazing group of investors that helped fast track its rise in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Among those investors include Swan & Legend Venture Partners and Matterhorn Private Equity and the likes of NBA’s Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, NHL’s New Jersey Devils co-managing partner and minority owner David Blitzer, MLB’s Washington Capitals owner Mark Lerner, actor Kevin Hart, MGM Television chief Mark Burnett, and American author, life coach and motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

The PFL has risen to the top two MMA leagues in the world, along with the UFC, thanks to its exclusive regular-season tournament-style league format, as well as its revolutionary use of tech to enhance fan and viewer experience with the use of their proprietary SmartCage technology.

Currently preparing for its 2021 season next year, the PFL is looking forward to massive growth through global expansion, including signing talents from across the world and potentially taking the product to international soil in the future.

Davis has been a huge part of the PFL’s success.

And it’s not hard to imagine how it came to be because Davis’ track record of success speaks for itself.

Davis, a Miami University graduate and University of Michigan Law School alum, began his career as an associate at the Sidley Austin law firm, before becoming Chief Legal Counsel for the Chicago Cubs.

In 1998, he earned what many believe as his big break, joining America online and helping take the American web portal to the next level.

Then in 2005, Davis, along with Steve Case, founded Revolution Growth, the venture that was responsible for putting brands such as Scopely, ZipCar, DraftKings, SportRadar, and BigCommerce on the map.

With his unbelievable foresight, Davis invested and became a co-owner of Team Liquid in 2016. It’s the most decorated franchise in eSports today.

Davis’ Midas touch has carried over to PFL.

PFL CEO Peter Murray: ‘There’s room for another leader in MMA’

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When the World Series of Fighting evolved into the Professional Fighters League back in 2017, it would have been easy for the organization to lose its momentum and fade into obscurity.

Instead, thanks to its game-changing league format and deep roster of talent, the PFL has exceeded just about every expectation put on them, and in just two short years, they have established themselves as the fastest-rising MMA promotion in the world and is right up there at the top, just behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Probably what makes the PFL stand out the most among other organizations is their game-changing league format, which features a regular season-style elimination round, playoffs, and finals, with the last man or woman standing at the end of each tournament being crowned that year’s PFL World Champion. Apart from some gold around the waist, the newly-crowned PFL champion also gets a US$ 1 million grand prize, another aspect that’s unique to the PFL.

PFL CEO Peter Murray believes that the regular season format is something that all sports fans can gravitate towards.

“We dialed in on what works in other sports, and we have the credibility and authenticity with MMA with great fighters and an incredible presentation and production value,” Murray explained in an interview with heavy.com. “But when you overlay a true sports season format, broader sports fans will understand how that works. It’s programmatic. There’s a beginning, middle, and end.”

As great as the PFL’s league format is, it would be nothing without top tier talent competing in it, that’s why the organization has also assembled a deep roster of some of the world’s most talented fighters featuring reigning champions like Kayla Harrison, Lance Palmer, Ray Cooper III, and Natan Schulte to veteran stars like Rory MacDonald, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and Bubba Jenkins.

“We all want exciting fighters. I’m looking for a guy that’s well-rounded in the game of mixed martial arts,” PFL President Ray Sefo said in a 2019 interview with Sherdog.com. “I’m not looking for a [fighter] that just wants to take a guy down and be a wet blanket. I love wrestlers that can actually stand and bang, because they can take you down anytime, and then they can trade with you.”

Just recently, the PFL announced eight more roster acquisitions from countries like Brazil, Germany, Norway, South Korea, and the United States, headlined by UFC veteran Cezar Ferreira, multiple-time champion Joilton Lutterbach, and up-and-coming Asian star Sung Bin Jo.

These new signings along with the already deep talent pool are sure to make the PFL’s 2021 season something to watch out for.

While the fighters and the format are helping carry the PFL on the surface level, people behind the scenes like the management team as well as the league’s partners are also making a huge impact.

All of these factors are helping bring the PFL to the pinnacle of the sport, alongside industry leaders such as the UFC.

“There’s room for another leader in this next evolution of the sport,” Murray shared on an episode of David Meltzer’s ‘The Playbook’. “I have amazing partners, we have titans in our ownership group from media, sports, entertainment, and technology.”