The PFL has a new chief executive officer.
On Thursday, the PFL announced that John Martin would be taking over as CEO after Peter Murray previously served in that role with the fight promotion. Thereās no word on why Murray is out, but Martin takes over after an extensive career working in broadcast television.
In 2017, Martin was named to the Variety 500 ā a yearly list recognizing the top 500 most influential business leaders in the entertainment industry. It was three years earlier when Martin left his previous post as the chief financial and administrative officer at Time Warner to become the new CEO over Turner Entertainment.
That tasked him with overseeing properties such as TBS, TNT, CNN and Turner Sports.
Martin left the company in 2018 after communications giant AT&T bought Time Warner and merged the companies together before rebranding as WarnerMedia.
Now Martin takes over as CEO at PFL during a pivotal time for the promotion as the organization continues to carve out its own space in the combat sports market, which is largely ruled by the UFC.
After making splashy headlines for purchasing Bellator from Paramount, PFL made significant changes in 2025 by eliminating the season long format and instead opting for a regular tournament while changing the prize for the eventual winners from $1 million to $500,000. PFL also did away with Bellator brand entirely and several prominent fighters exited the promotion.
The PFL is currently nearing the end of its 2025 tournaments along with a special card headed to Cape Town, South Africa on July 19 featuring former Bellator champions Johnny Eblen and Corey Anderson in marquee fights along with PFL superstar Dakota Ditcheva making her first appearance of the year.
Guy looks like a soyboy whoās never a watched a fight in his entire life.
ThoughT Donn Davis was CEO ?
With the UFC headed to Paramount for seven years, new PFL CEO John Martin sees a healthy landscape of potential bidders who still crave MMA.
Martin took over the reins of the promotionās CEO role in July, replacing Peter Murray. A former CFO of Time Warner and former CEO and chairman of Turner Broadcasting, Martinās resume shows there might not be anything thatās more in his wheelhouse than PFLās media rights. He revealed PFLās current deal with ESPN expires at the end of 2026.
āWe have one more year with ESPN,ā Martin told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. āWeāll be with them through 2026. But these negotiations usually take considerable time to negotiate. So that will be a good part of my work in the coming months. I look forward to that. Weāll be on ESPN at least through next year.ā
With the UFC headed to Paramount for seven years in a massive $7.7 billion deal solidified in August, Martin thinks the market for MMA broadcasting rights will likely be a healthy one. Conversations will likely begin in the coming months, and Martin expects there to be interest.
āI think itās only good for PFL,ā Martin said. "Iām going to need some time when I reach out to any company thatās going to buy rights in the next round to find out what their desires are. My understanding is UFC had multiple bidders maybe close to half-a-dozen or so. The fact that there is no other premium MMA to buy, our deal is up at the end of 2026. I think there are probably more buyers or potential buyers for those rights, our rights than there has ever been before. A lot of these big media conglomerates are splitting off.
āItās a great time for PFL to see if we can earn value on what weāre going to bring to the table, and more importantly, me as CEO, we have to execute and bring it. Thatās also why Iām here. Iām an operator in addition to being a financial guy. I look forward to really having those discussions and engaging in those discussions and really growing the PFL business, not only in the U.S. but everywhere weāre operating in the world.ā
Martin is still familiarizing himself with the product, the fighters, and the fans, but perhaps has a little bit smoother of an entry into the space as an outside executive entering the MMA space for the first time. Martin says heās a lifelong MMA fan and unsuccessfully even tried to bring the UFC to Turner in 2005 ā negotiations that included a kitchen sit-down with Dana White and then-UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
āI think Iām the right leader at the right time now for PFL,ā Martin said. "For seven years, the company has grown and developed real core capabilities PFL acquired to become a global MMA league. Those are not easy to develop. Whether itās getting a legitimate and attractive fighter roster or establishing a global platform, having nearly 25 linear network streaming partners that the product can be seen in over 120 countries around the world, thatās hard stuff to do. Iām coming in now. All of that is set up. There are at least five revenue streams attached to the business model.
āWhere I think I can add a lot of value is how do we take all of those revenue lines and how do we grow them. I always help businesses scale and grow. I think my experience now is that Iāve done some really big media rights deals. PFL is going to have a big media rights deal coming up, a big one in the U.S. next year. Thatās where I think I can really lend my experience and help. My goal is pretty ambitious one. Iād like to grow PFL into a true global, MMA sports powerhouse.ā
As for what fans can expect in 2026, Martin said big announcements are impending, though he elected to keep cards close to his chest for now. He confirmed Francis Ngannou is still in business with PFL and hinted other stars could have announcements coming soon.
With his entry into the PFL organization, however, Martin hinted fight fans could see an easier-to-follow brand in the coming year. Right now, the promotion has multiple series that coincide, including the PFL World Tournament, PFL Champions Series, PFL Super Fights pay-per-view series, and a host of international series that are more regionally driven. Itās possible some consolidation may occur.
āIām not prepared to make any definitive announcements today, but I think weāve been asking the fans a lot to keep track of all the various formats,ā Martin said. āIām interested in putting on the best fights we can for as many people as we can. Sometimes simpler can be better. Iām going to be looking for how do we hit that sweet spot and optimize. I think there could be some changes coming up.ā
Martin did not engage in hyperbole, as he spoke about PFLās place in an industry that contains a universally-recognizable UFC brand that is even sometimes erroneously used interchangeably with the sport, MMA. Martin hopes to continue to work step-by-step in pursuit of such a level, but says it starts with formulating a great product for its core audience.
āRight now, I donāt really view them as a competitor. Iām not naive,ā Martin said. "I understand that weāre in the same industry and the same sport. They have a big lead and theyāre much bigger on a much bigger scale than PFL. I think the fact that they are so successful right now and part of what Iām really bullish about with PFLās future is because UFC continues to grow the overall category. ā¦ You did mention there are some other companies out there pursuing the space but they are way behind where we are. Over time, Iād like to continue to get better and better in the core MMA business. But I come from a longstanding media background and I think thereās never been more innovative ways to get storytelling going and get fans engaged and begin to tell stories in different ways. Our sport is about storytelling, so Iād like to exploit that.
āLong-term ambition would be PFL could be a very successful and valuable global media company. But thatās long-term. Weāve got a long way to go, and I want to make sure we continue to put all the necessary pieces in place to grow this business intelligently, take advantage of the global market expansion and to deliver to fight fans. Ultimately, if the fight fans like PFL, weāre going to do great.ā
Guy was hired and doesnāt even know what the sport of MMA is, let alone what the PFL isā¦this should go about as well as we all expect it to