Lance Palmer seems close to his breaking point.
The two-time Professional Fighters League featherweight tournament winner has threatened to sue the promotion for the way it has handled the 2020 season.
Myself, as well as other fighters, are moving forward with lawsuits against PFL for the way things have been handled this year. @AliAbdelaziz00
— Lance Palmer (@LancePalmer) October 5, 2020
In April the PFL suspended it’s 2020 season and said it would return to action in 2021 via a press release.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021. PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel.
“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald.”
Not long after that, the promotion bungled the handling of how it informed its fighters that some would remain on the promotion’s roster and paid a monthly stipend while it would release others.
As MMA Fighting reported, PFL president Ray Sefo sent separate emails to the two groups of fighters. Donn Davis, co-founder and chairman of PFL, later told Insider the stipend would be $1,000 cash and that the payments would run through the rest of 2020.
Since the PFL cancelled its 2020 season, both the UFC and Bellator have returned to action with COVID-19 safety protocols and precautions in place. The UFC “postponed” events between March 21 and May 2 and returned to action on May 9 in Jacksonville. Bellator cancelled events between March 13 and June 6. The promotion first card back after that break was July 24 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bloody Elbow reached out to PFL for a comment on Palmer’s statement, a date for the 2021 season and if the promotion continues to pay its fighters the $1,000 per month stipend. The promotion did not reply at the time of publication.
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