The PFL has continued to attempt to rival the UFC as a promotional powerhouse in the sport of MMA, and following some impressive signings in 2023 and the acquisition of Bellator, things began to look promising.
When Francis Ngannou left the UFC in 2023 to join their competitor, PFL, things seemed to be looking up for the promotion.
Despite that, ‘The Predator’ didn’t fight under the PFL banner until October 2024, losing a lot of momentum and hype among the fanbase despite his return win over Renan Ferreira.
Not only that but when the PFL acquired Bellator at the end of 2023, fans were extremely excited at the prospect of seeing some of the experienced Bellator fighters added to the PFL roster.
Reports suggest PFL are set to reduce their $1m tournament prize
Despite acquiring some of the best fighters in the world from Bellator, several of the champions were left seething throughout 2024 as they weren’t provided with any fights.
Current Bellator featherweight champion, Patricio Pitbull has continuously flamed PFL owner Donn Davis on social media claiming that he hasn’t been offered a fight and hasn’t been honored his contract, calling for a release from the promotion.
Former UFC women’s featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg has also shared her frustration with the PFL since the Bellator merger, consistently claiming that they are not providing her with any opportunities.
Although things looked to be improving for the PFL and they seemingly put themselves in a position to begin rivaling the UFC, things now look to have taken a hit.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the PFL product is the fact that they are currently the only MMA promotion that runs a season-based format with a huge $1m tournament at the culmination of the season, crowing a champion each year.
Despite that being their unique selling point, Donn Davis recently told Bloody Elbow that they are adjusting the season format in some way for 2025.
And with that, more news recently surfaced online that could indicate some of what Davis alluded to.
Reputable MMA reporter, Al Zulino reported on X recently that the promotion is seemingly reducing their $1m tournament prize to $500k, after posting a fighter contract from 2025.
With $1m being awarded to the tournament winners historically, it has allowed the PFL to sign some top talent, as that sort of payout is rare in MMA, even in the UFC but things look to be getting trimmed down.
Fans react to PFL reportedly reducing their $1m tournament prize
Although it is still to be announced by the PFL what changes they are making to the regular season format, fans have provided pessimistic reactions to the news of the prize reduction.
One fan commented: “I mean, it’s over right? That has to be the final nail. It might not be immediate but the PFL will never recover.”
Last year, the promotion also launched their Super Fight Division which is what Ngannou went on to compete on. Zulino has claimed that with the tournament prize changing, we may see the regular season littered with prospects, with the bigger names left to compete in the Super Fight events with more money attached to that.
This news comes after Davis had a relatively strange outburst on LinkedIn recently, listing five bad things that happened to the promotion in 2024.
“PFL never made sense to me, and this is a step in the right direction (in my opinion). $500k is still a big chunk of money,” another, more optimistic fan commented.
“Do you think this will lead to more problems for the bigger names in PFLator? Some are already getting shelved. Keeping the big names out of the tournament could potentially make that much worse, no?” one fan questioned.
PFL will now be competing with GFL, a team-based promotion that is set to launch this year with several former UFC stars on the roster.