Professional Fighters League (PFL) News

Josh Evanoff - January 14, 2025

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull is no longer with the PFL. When Donn Davis and the PFL bought Bellator in late 2023, there was a lot of optimism from all parties involved. The new owners promised a loaded schedule for 2024 and quickly revealed a new broadcasting deal with Max. Sadly for Bellator fighters such as Patricio Pitbull, many of those promises went unfulfilled.

Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has reportedly cut their $1 million prize pot for their tournaments. Over the course of the last few years, PFL has worked hard to separate itself from the rest of the pack. One of the ways they’ve done this is by implementing a tournament/league style format in which the winners receive a $1 million prize.

Josh Evanoff - January 3, 2025

PFL founder Donn Davis has fired back at claims that Aaron Pico is now a free agent. The 28-year-old is riding a wave of momentum right now. Aaron Pico famously signed with Scott Coker’s Bellator a decade ago, with high hopes and a lot of potential. Sadly, the young featherweight hit a few bumps in the road, suffering three losses in his first seven appearances inside the cage. However, it didn’t take Pico long to get used to fighting.

Josh Evanoff - January 3, 2025

PFL lightweight contender Paul Hughes has fired back at Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ made headlines earlier this week with his controversial comments about Irish MMA. While Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired as a fighter these days, he’s still an active coach for his cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov. The Bellator lightweight champion is slated to meet the rising Irish star Paul Hughes later this month in Dubai.

Josh Evanoff - December 12, 2024

According to a recent report, PFL has signed former UFC and ONE Championship star Sage Northcutt. ‘Super Sage’ hasn’t been seen in action since a trip to the cage last May in Colorado. The bout was Sage Northcutt’s first since being flattened by Cosmo Alexandre in 2019, and he looked stellar. It took less than a round for the welterweight prospect to earn a submission victory over Ahmed Mujtaba via heel hook.

BJ Penn Staff - December 8, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White believes the Professional Fighters League (PFL) is in financial trouble. The PFL as long been one of the UFC’s chief rivals, but after purchasing Bellator MMA late last year, established itself as the clear cut No. 2 in the sport of MMA.

Josh Evanoff - December 5, 2024

Bellator champions Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix have become the latest to request a release. It’s been just over a year since Donn Davis and the PFL bought Bellator. When the deal was first announced, there was a lot of excitement among fighters, because of what they were told. PFL executives including Davis promised fighters the opportunity to compete in either the tournament format, or hop over to Bellator and fight in one-off events.

Josh Evanoff - December 4, 2024

Saudi Arabian promoter Turki Alalshikh has opened up on what’s next for PFL champion Francis Ngannou. ‘The Predator’ is fresh off his return to the cage earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. In October, Francis Ngannou competed in his first MMA fight in nearly three years against Renan Ferreira. Due to injuries, as well as a stint in the boxing ring, the former UFC champion hadn’t competed since a January 2022 win over Ciryl Gane.

Josh Evanoff - November 29, 2024

Manchester United star Andre Onana recently fought with PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. ‘The Predator’ is fresh off his return to the cage in Saudi Arabia last month. In the main event of PFL: Battle Of The Giants, Francis Ngannou collided with former tournament winner Renan Ferreira. For the former UFC champion, the bout was his first in MMA since a decision victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

Josh Evanoff - November 29, 2024

The PFL cage touched down in Saudi Arabia earlier today for their final card of 2024. In the main event, Timur Khizriev met Brendan Loughnane in the featherweight tournament finale. For his part, the Russian entered the cage with a stellar 18-0 undefeated record. However, Loughnane was also riding a wave of momentum. The Brit entered the finals fresh off a three-fight winning streak, last defeating Kai Kamaka in August.

Josh Evanoff - November 29, 2024

PFL flyweight Dakota Ditcheva has officially arrived with her win over Taila Santos. ‘Dangerous’ entered the PFL 10 card earlier today riding a wave of momentum. With a stellar 13-0 undefeated record, Dakota Ditcheva stamped earned her way to the tournament final with three straight knockout wins. The last of which came in August, when the British prospect dominated Jena Bishop to score a first-round stoppage.

Josh Evanoff - November 27, 2024

PFL women’s featherweight Superfights champion Cris Cyborg has called out Claressa Shields. The current Bellator women’s featherweight champion returned to the cage last month in Saudi Arabia. There, Cris Cyborg finally made her PFL debut against former tournament winner Larissa Pacheco. Despite the 39-year-old entering the cage as an underdog, she turned the clock against her Brazilian counterpart.

Josh Evanoff - October 28, 2024

According to a recent report, Francis Ngannou’s PFL debut earlier this month didn’t do great on pay-per-view. ‘The Predator’ returned to the cage in Saudi Arabia, competing in MMA for the first time since January 2022. Just a few months after the tragic passing of his son, Kobe, and his loss to Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou faced Renan Ferreira. With massive question marks around the former UFC champion, he looked excellent.

Josh Evanoff - October 25, 2024

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes the PFL’s recent event shows a lack of competition. Last Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, the Donn Davis-led company held their biggest show to date. In the main event, former UFC champion Francis Ngannou competed for the first time since 2022 to face Renan Ferreira. Meanwhile, the co-main event featured the legendary Cris Cyborg facing PFL tournament winner Larissa Pacheco.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2024

PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has admitted that he wasn’t sure he’d ever fight again after the death of his son. Last weekend, Francis Ngannou made his blockbuster return to mixed martial arts. Following his stint in professional boxing, ‘The Predator’ opted to head back into the cage with PFL. In doing so, he signed up to fight Renan Ferreira – a man who many believed was capable of defeating Francis.

Curtis Calhoun - October 24, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White quickly responded to PFL founder Donn Davis’s latest claims, comparing the two top MMA organizations. White and the UFC are hours away from one of their biggest cards of the year in Abu Dhabi. UFC 308 is headlined by a featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

Curtis Calhoun - October 23, 2024

PFL founder Donn Davis didn’t take long to respond to Bellator champ Usman Nurmagomedov’s timeline for a potential move to the UFC. Nurmagomedov, regarded by many as one of the top fighters outside of the UFC, defeated Alexandr Shabliy by unanimous decision in his last Bellator title defense. Usman is the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, considered one of the greatest fighters of all time.

Curtis Calhoun - October 22, 2024

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou had an internal fight hours before making his highly-anticipated return to the cage in his PFL debut. Ngannou defeated 2023 PFL heavyweight title winner Renan Ferreira in the Battle of the Giants main event last weekend in Riyadh. After almost three full years away from MMA, Ngannou looked dominant in his return, finishing Ferreira in the first round.