Within the 2nd half of final 12 months, there have been rumblings occurring about PFL probably buying Bellator and thus making a respectable powerhouse that might presumably rival the facility and affect of the UFC. On November twentieth, it was official.
A undertaking that sees PFL now having the identical quantity of high ranked fighters on the earth, because the premier MMA group – UFC. This was in response to Donn Davis, the founder and chairman of PFL.
We have been all questioning if there’s really a risk for any promotion to go up towards the UFC, which has been absolutely the normal on the earth of blended martial arts, for years and years. Step one in testing that potential might be a Saudi Arabia supercard, on February twenty fourth 2024. Dwell, on ESPN+ PPV.
From a heavyweight conflict between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader, then a battle of welterweight champions Magomedkerimov and Jackson, plus different champion vs champion bouts and a fantastic preliminary card that includes the return of Claressa Shields – this one goes to be a banger!
New huge participant on the earth of MMA – Can PFL compete with the UFC?
For a really very long time now, the UFC stands as (by far) the number one MMA group of all of them. The followers and analysts questioned if there’s an opportunity for any promotion to have their say and problem Dana White and co. All through the years, it was proven to us that each one of these: Bellator, PFL, ONE have been having some nice concepts, with a stable roster of fighters, however one thing was lacking and the hole was simply too extensive.
Now, it appears to be edging nearer. PFL stood as a stable promotion with its distinctive system of competitors (PFL’s common season after which playoffs), with many nice, superior technological options and improvements. However what was lacking for them, was positively an enormous, various pool of gifted fighters and naturally – the juggernaut promotional energy that the number one boys have.
Now having that roster and on the point of promote the supercard that can go down within the Kingdom Area in Riyadh, this card will function a superb tester for PFL to see the numbers, particularly the PPV. Aside from this enormous announcement, PFL has proven to be engaged on a number of enormous initiatives throughout the board.
A few of these being a partnership with the YouTube sensation, now-turned skilled fighter, Jake Paul. That partnership will look to construct a super-division in PFL, with particulars about it but to be revealed. The group had additionally signed the previous UFC heavyweight king (who had by no means misplaced the belt contained in the octagon) – Francis Ngannou.
With PFL Europe up and working and PFL Africa having enormous plans and potential about it – we will see that the group is losing no time in 2024. Going international is certainly the plan for them this 12 months.
Nonetheless, if we’re utterly trustworthy – the query about PFL now being a respectable menace to the UFC is simply up within the air and a hypothesis. UFC remains to be an extended distance away from anybody and it’s as much as the PFL to have an enormous 2024. and present that they belong on this dialog.
PFL PPV supercard: Complete card revealed and fights listed
As talked about prior, the essence of the PFL x Bellator supercard might be champion vs champion matchups, with some fascinating additions to it. The cardboard accommodates 12 fights and could have a 7-fight fundamental card + 5 preliminary bouts. It stands as this:
Predominant card:
– Renan Ferreira vs Ryan Bader – Heavyweight champ vs champ
– Impa Kasanganay vs Johnny Eblen – Middleweight champ vs champ
– Magomed Magomedkerimov vs Jason Jackson – Welterweight champ vs champ
– Jesus Pinedo vs Patricio Pitbull – Featherweight champ vs champ
– Bruno Capelozza vs Vadim Nemkov (c) – Heavyweight bout
– Thiago Santos vs Yoel Romero – Gentle Heavyweight
– Clay Collard vs AJ McKee – Light-weight
Prelims:
– Gabriel Braga vs Aaron Pico – Featherweight
– Baggio Ali Walsh vs Chris Morris – Light-weight
– Claressa Shields vs Kelsey DeSantis – Ladies’s Light-weight
– Abdulah Al-Qahtani vs Edukondal Rao – Featherweight
– Malik Basahel vs Vinicius Pereira – Novice Flyweight
