As the PFL prepares for its 2024 season to come to a close on Friday, several prominent fighters from Bellator have come out publicly criticizing the promotion for inactivity with no signs about when they’ll fight again.
PFL bought out Bellator in 2023, and even kept the brand alive for this past year, but questions about the future of the organization have plagued the promotion in recent days. Champions such as Patricio Pitbull, Patchy Mix and Corey Anderson have all lamented long layoffs and in some cases fight cancellations with only one Bellator card currently scheduled for January, but none of those particular athletes currently slated to appear on that show.
“It sucks,” UFC legend Matt Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Because all these guys are in the their prime, too, and they’re essentially wasting their prime waiting on this organization to figure out their shit. PFL-Bellator, it just seems like a mess really. The merger with everything, it just seems like there’s not a lot of organization.
“There’s a fight happening this weekend that nobody even really knows is happening. I think they lost their ass on the [Francis] Ngannou fight. It just seems like a trainwreck. The rails are just slipping off little by little.”
While PFL officials haven’t addressed the concerns raised by the Bellator fighters, many believe the problems could come down to financial obligations based on currently existing contracts.
Deals struck while still under the previous Bellator regime have to be honored after the promotion sold and former champion Gegard Mousasi went as far as filing a lawsuit against PFL after he accused the organization of sidelining him while allegedly asking him to take less money if he wanted to fight.
“What other reason could there possibly be? If they had the money, they would be wanting these guys to fight,” Brown said. “This is all their premier fighters that they acquired with Bellator. Of course they want these guys to fight, get them out there and put on shows for the fans. Us hardcore fans that do follow Bellator, these are the guys we want to see fight. I want to see Gegard Mousasi fight. Guys like Patchy Mix that are in their prime, they should be fighting. I want to see him fight. I want to see Aaron Pico fight. I want to see Corey Anderson fight.
“This is just a bad, bad look, especially when these guys start coming out publicly about it. It just looks terrible for PFL-Bellator. Looks like a trainwreck on its way. The train’s going to fall off at some point and explode.”
The two organizations running side-by-side has always been a bit confusing, especially knowing that the PFL owns both promotions.
Part of the reason for the separate entities has been the PFL format, which involves a season-long tournament that leads into playoffs and eventually a championship final like what’s happening in Saudi Arabia on Friday. It’s a more traditional sports model similar to leagues like the NFL or NBA but made to fit for MMA.
The problem is Brown doesn’t believe any of it has ever worked or really caught hold with fans, which is why he’s even more confused about why the PFL bought out Bellator if it wasn’t to employ the company’s biggest and most viable stars.
“It’s a trainwreck,” Brown said. “The fact is it’s all MMA still just like the UFC and the fact is no one cares. Your tournament? No one cares. Your f*cking point system? No one gives the slightest f*ck. Nobody. Not the hardcore fans. Not the casual fans. Nobody f*cking cares.
“The only way you’re going to compete is by getting the best fighters and putting on the best shows and building some f*cking drama.”
Brown believes the UFC’s ability to build a storyline and sell that in a fight is really what has separated the promotion from every other contender that has ever come nipping at their heels.
Of course talent still matters but Brown knows from his own career that just putting on great, exciting fights isn’t always enough to keep people interested enough to watch every single event.
“I’ve said it for years. That’s what the UFC has done better than any sport promotion in history. They build drama like no one else,” Brown said. “We know the personalities of the athletes. We build favorite athletes and guys you start caring about and it builds drama and people start f*cking caring. Motherf*ckers do not care about your points, about your tournaments. They do not f*cking care.
“I have a good fan base. If every fighter was like me and put on great fights, like say me and Robbie Lawler — if they were all like me, this sport wouldn’t have lasted. There were great fights before us, there are going to be great fights after us, what built the sport was drama. Then there’s the guys like me, Robbie Lawler, the guys who aren’t talking shit, the [Georges St-Pierre’s] even, the great technical winners, the only reason we are able to get a platform so large and build a brand so big is because of those drama guys that build [the sport]. They’re the catalysts for what we’re doing. They’re the lynchpin. We’re just playing off of that and getting that platform.”
Brown says if you want further proof that drama and storytelling sells, look no further than the recent boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which resulted in massive viewership numbers for Netflix.
He feels like perhaps PFL should take a lesson away from that fight and really think about the future.
“Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, 65 million people watch this shit because of emotional investment,” Brown said. “Not because of a single f*cking skill. I know there’s everybody with the question can Mike Tyson do it at 60 years old, whatever it is, but no, we got emotionally invested. Like f*ck yeah Mike you can do it at 60! We couldn’t help but watch because of emotions not because of skill.
“PFL-Bellator has a long road and no sporting promotion in history except maybe Jake Paul, nobody else has ever sold personality and drama the way the UFC has, and that’s the key to their success. [Entertainment] sells, not sports.”
