PFL acquires Bellator, plans champs vs. champs event in 2024

The PFL has acquired Bellator MMA in a landmark combat sports deal, PFL President Donn Davis announced Monday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Paramount, Bellator’s former parent company, will remain involved as a minority owner. The Bellator brand will still operate as a separate “reimagined” product in 2024, but all Bellator-signed athletes will be immediately available to compete on PFL platforms. Additionally, the PFL is planning a “mega-event” in 2024 with champion versus champion matchups between the two promotions.

“The foundation of all sports is the quality of the competitors,” Davis told ESPN. “With this acquisition, this combined roster is now equal to the UFC in terms of talent ranked in the Top 25. The quality of the product, the depth of the product – this makes PFL a global powerhouse overnight. is simply not possible in everyday sports. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Bellator President Scott Coker, who joined the company in 2014, did not immediately comment on the acquisition. Davis told ESPN that the PFL offered Coker “and his Bellator team” the opportunity to stay on board.

Bellator was founded in 2008 and most recently aired on Showtime Sports. Paramount, however, has decided to withdraw from boxing and MMA at the end of 2023. Bellator’s last event under its current structure took place last weekend in Chicago.

The PFL, currently broadcast on ESPN in the United States, has shown its commitment to major acquisitions in recent years. He announced a partnership with Jake Paul in January to potentially broadcast the professional boxer and social media influencer’s first MMA fight. The company has also signed former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2023. Ngannou, who boxed Tyson Fury last month in Saudi Arabia, is expected to make his PFL debut in 2024.

The PFL will now consist of five fighting “franchises,” including the PFL League Foundation Season, PFL Pay-Per-View Super Fight League, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues and Bellator. According to a press release, the company plans to promote 30 events per year. The Challenger Series focuses on emerging talent, while international leagues aspire to establish themselves in Europe, Africa and Australia.

The most immediate event, however, will be the champion versus champion matchups. Bellator’s roster will add top-tier talent to the PFL, including lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, featherweight champion Patricio Freire, light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov and women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.

The PFL had attempted to lure Cyborg to its roster in 2023 so it could book a high-profile fight pitting him against two-time PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison. Now that Cyborg and Harrison are under the same umbrella, Davis told ESPN he thinks there’s a “100 percent chance” the fight will happen.

“The combined roster of PFL and Bellator fighters is unrivaled in MMA,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in the release. “We look forward to giving MMA fans what they’ve been asking for: the best against the best with the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions mega-event.”

Additional details on events, dates and broadcast deals are expected in the coming months. The announcement of the acquisition comes days before the 2023 championship final scheduled for Friday in Washington, DC.