Professional Fighters League (PFL) News

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 20, 2024

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull has responded to PFL founder Donn Davis. As many fans have likely noticed over the last few weeks, Bellator fighters aren’t happy. Last fall, the PFL and Donn Davis bought the longtime Viacom brand and promised to honor the roster’s contracts. Quickly, the company announced a new streaming deal with HBO Max and revealed a massive schedule for 2024.

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.

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 - December 2, 2024

Dakota Ditcheva has no plans of leaving the PFL for the UFC just yet. ‘Dangerous’ returned to the cage over the weekend in Saudi Arabia. On Friday night, Dakota Ditcheva met former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in the finals of the 2024 PFL women’s flyweight tournament. The Brazilian was expected to serve as the undefeated striker’s biggest challenge to date.

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

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 - November 27, 2024

PFL women’s flyweight contender Dakota Ditcheva is confident heading into her return. ‘Dangerous’ is considered one of the company’s biggest homegrown stars. Debuting in the Donn Davis-led promotion with just five pro fights under her belt in 2022, Dakota Ditcheva quickly found success. Afterward, she racked up two knockout wins that year. Then, she followed that up with a stellar 2023 campaign which saw her win the PFL Europe flyweight tournament.

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.

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 24, 2024

PFL Chairman Donn Davis isn’t exactly ruling out Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou. Jones vs. Ngannou is a fight that escaped the UFC’s grasp. Ngannou, who was the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, decided to leave the promotion to pursue lucrative boxing matches and a PFL contract. While Jones and Ngannou traded barbs over the situation, “Bones” was recently complimentary of “The Predator’s” successful return to MMA.

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.

Harry Kettle - October 22, 2024

PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has provided an interesting update on his next fight. Last weekend, Francis Ngannou made his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts. He took on Renan Ferreira and, to put it bluntly, he dominated. After taking Ferreira to the ground, he was able to unleash some vicious shots on his opponent en route to an impressive knockout victory.

Josh Evanoff - October 21, 2024

PFL and Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has her sights set on Misfits Boxing star Jully Poca. The Brazilian is fresh off her return to the cage in the co-main event of PFL pay-per-view offering on Saturday. Back in the cage for the first time since knocking out Cat Zingano last October, Cris Cyborg faced Larissa Pacheco. For her part, the latter entered the cage riding a ten-fight winning streak, handing Kayla Harrison her only career defeat in that stretch.