His sole reason for existing is to make Dana seem less goofy.
Here we are two years later following the purchase of Bellator, what has that purchase done for the PFL, and what are the plans for 2025?
“PFL was already the No. 2 company in MMA by revenue, by distribution, by audience. What the Bellator acquisition did for us was fighters. It was all about adding fighter talent. So right now out of the top 300 fighters in the world by fight matrix, UFC has 175. And PFL, the combined roster, has 100. So, there’s only 25 fighters in every other organization in the world in the top 300. So, it was very important for us to consolidate all the best fighters in the world who are not in the UFC. The is what the Bellator acquisition did for us.”
“What that sets up for 2025? Great news for fans. The fight products will be even more exciting. We’ve now had nine months to plan, how to deploy the fighters, and how to match fighters to the products. Remember we have two kinds of products. Champion series, which are one-off events, where you can matchmake. And the PFL season or tournament, where meritocracy wins and advance. Now we have this complete roster. Totally combined. Top fighters, where do they go? How do fans enjoy them? That is what 2025 is all about.”
Many fans were waiting patiently for the return of Francis Ngannou after his unceremonious exit from the UFC. Now that Ngannou came roaring back during the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants - Ngannou vs. Ferreira event in October, what did his big win mean for MMA in general, and for the PFL.
What has Francis Ngannou’s return done for the PFL and MMA in general?
“For MMA in general, Francis is beloved. Francis’ story is universal. The one of escape from nothing, escape all odds, to start your life. This is like a real-world Rocky story time 100. We all can empathize with that story, and for him to go through the tragedies he has with his son. For him to break free from the UFC, only adds on to that mystery, only adds on to that journey. And none of us knew, maybe even Francis didn’t know. With a three-year layoff, what would it be like? He went up against the No. 5 ESPN heavyweight. He went against a 6-foot-8 knockout artist and he destroyed him in 90 seconds. So, for all of us in MMA it was ‘Wow! Francis Ngannou, he is the baddest man on the planet!’ So, anybody who doubted it, wasn’t sure, he still has it. He is the No. 1 man in the world. So, it was thrilling for MMA. For PFL, he’s here. He’s not anywhere else. He’s here. So, when people start to say ‘Hey, I got two great places to watch MMA. PFL and the other guys,’ that’s real. Whether it’s Francis Ngannou, whether it’s Dakota, the fastest rising women’s star in the world. Whether it’s Paul Hughes, cmon. Whether it’s Cédric Doumbé, this is a place where the PFL is empowering fighters and giving fans some really exciting fights.”
This guy has no fucking clue what he is doing. Why purchase Bellator if you are going to freeze their top fighters like ONE does?
Building companies is really hard with many setbacks, filled with uncertainty and pain, requiring creativity and perseverance. Most social media posts celebrate the triumphs of success, and I had great time last week doing that PFL post,” Davis wrote. This post is the opposite . . . We all took hard punches in 2024 and are still here to fight. We all had bad things happen this year . . . and survived!
BAD THINGS that happened to PFL in 2024:
Several potential new investors wasted thousands of hours of our time, and entrepreneurs time is precious
Big new advertiser agreed to deal, was in final contract, and then new management came in and stopped deal
Some Bellator star fighters complained on social media about not fighting, making PFL look like not meet our contracts
We are growing so fast with our new international leagues that costs in some regional areas are too high
Major new initiative and expansion is delayed one full year by one of our partners, through no fault of PFL.
Like all entrepreneurial companies, PFL battled, navigated, and solved . . . PFL enters 2025 in our BEST POSITION EVER. Do NOT let others foil you, keep you down, stop you. To ALL entrepreneurs - you survived - declare victory!”
Davis can spin the narrative all he wants, but it all comes down to the product and the ridiculous decisions the promotion made in 2024.
Whether it be not keeping their best fighters, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Patchy Mix, on the sidelines or having several international events like PFL Mena but not having a broadcast option for the U.S. audience to watch or just bad fights in their regular season - 2024 was not good for PFL.
Nevertheless, Davis has big plans for 2025 and has asked for “less MMA noise and disinformation” in hopes of bouncing back.
Before I wrap this up, I must say that I really, really want PFL to succeed, even though it seems like I’m burying it. MMA is better when there is more competition, and while PFL will never catch the UFC (no one will), fighters need another promotion to go to, and PFL needs to be that option.
Professional Fighters League announce massive rule change for 2025
Aside from a seasonal format and the use of a ‘SmartCage’ as opposed to a chain-linked octagon, one major difference between the PFL and the UFC has been the rules that each fight is governed under.
Specifically, the PFL had long been criticized for the fact that elbow strikes were banned; with the reason being that such blows could lead to significant cuts, which could force fighters out of the seasonal format.
Well, as we welcome a new year of MMA action, PFL chairman and co-founder Donn Davis has announced that elbows will now be deemed a legal strike in 2025.
“New Year … New Adjustments… YOU asked for ELBOWS… PFL MMA is giving you elbows! All elbows. All fights. All the time. #PFLMMA 2025 … COMING.”
Elbow strikes were introduced for the 2024 World Championship finals in November but were only allowed for the main title fights; now, it sounds like elbow strikes will be legal in all future PFL bouts.
The announcement has been met with a wave of positive reactions from the global MMA fanbase, with the consensus opinion being that this is a “significant improvement” to the promotion.
“Good call,” wrote one fan, with another adding “Great news, long overdue” – albeit those messages were scattered between others calling on the PFL to set more dates/locations for shows.
Elbows were originally outlawed in PFL because of the season format, where fighters can often compete up to four times within a six-month period. Elbow strikes increase the risk of lacerations, thus preventing stitched-up combatants from participating on schedule.
Elbows were back in the news late last year after the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) finally legalized 12-6 elbow strikes, made famous by the Jon Jones vs. Matt Hamill debacle atop the TUF 10 Finale way back in late 2009.
Donn Davis on the failure of GFL 
He says he doesn’t watch MMA but all I read was him making comments about who the best fighters are and who they should be fighting. How would he know any of that if he doesn’t watch MMA?
The guy is so unlikable and terrible at what he does it’s insane. PFL has so much potential but this retard is in charge and fumbles at every opportunity possible. Why even buy Bellator if you don’t plan on using any of their talent? All this has done is ruin PFL’s reputation and anger their fighters and fans.
Yup
Now it’s even worse with them losing all of the top talent from Bellator and it being made public that they weren’t offered fights, or even worse, weren’t responding to multiple fighters attempts to book fights throughout a long period of time. Unprofessional and wrong to say the least. Bellator had its ups and downs but was run with integrity.
Yup… It’s so frustrating how horribly mismanaged PFL is. They have an amazing roster of fighters and this retard Donn Davis doesn’t have a fucking clue what he’s doing. What a huge waste.