The B/R Combat Sports Turkeys of 2024

In late 2023, it was announced that the Professional Fighters League (PFL) had purchased Bellator MMA. The historic deal represented a tectonic change in the MMA landscape, and it put the PFL in an excellent position to reach unprecedented heights in 2024. Not only had it eliminated one of its chief competitors, but it had gained access to dozens of world-class fighters, cementing its roster as the best in MMA outside the UFC. The future looked very, very bright.

We got our first taste of the a Bellator-infused PFL in February, when the promotion put together a stacked card pitting the champions of the two organizations against each other. The event was unfortunately hammered by injuries and last-minute shake-ups, but it still provided proof of concept of the kind of spectacles the PFL could put together with the Bellator roster at its disposal.

Unfortunately, things quickly began to take a turn for the worse soon after the card.

By early summer, several high-profile Bellator fighters had spoken out against the PFL, claiming they were struggling to get the fights stipulated by their contracts. That includes reigning featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, former welterweight champ Douglas Lima, and former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, who became so disgruntled that he was ultimately released from his contract.

From there, the Bellator fighter complaints seemed to quiet down a bit. The PFL also experienced some big wins, most notably the debut of lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who smashed Renan Fereira inside a round in his first fight in the SmartCage. There was reason to believe the league was getting things back on track.

This fall, the PFL quietly cancelled three planned Bellator cards in Paris, Chicago, and Japan. Soon after, a trio of reigning Bellator champions in Patchy Mix, Corey Anderson, and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire started raising their displeasure with a lack of communication from the PFL, and once again, a struggle to get fights. Freire, easily one of the greatest fighters in Bellator history, offered perhaps the most damning appraisal of the situation, but all three were clearly quite frustrated. Considering they’re legitimately three of the best fighters outside the UFC right now, it’s a pretty bad look. Not only is the PFL wasting the opportunity to use their talent, but it’s depriving them of the opportunity to make a living.

To make matters worse, the PFL has thus far been silent on the fighters’ recent complaints, and instead of addressing their very valid concerns, has continued to make unrelated announcements, such as a performance from Canadian rapper NAV at their upcoming playoffs event.

Surely, there are some fans out there who are excited to see NAV play. However, most of the social media replies to the announcement either challenged the PFL to address the Bellator fighter situation or bemoaned the fact that the league’s infamously tedious broadcast pacing will be slowed down even more by a mid-card concert.

“You have the champions in Bellator complaining they don’t have fights and you’re concerned with unnecessary entertainment,” one fan wrote. “Fast way to bankruptcy.”

“When are the Bellator fighters going to get a date to fight?” another fan wrote.

A third called the announcement “so tone deaf,” and many others chimed in with similar sentiments.

Make no mistake: the PFL is still in a position to do some huge things in 2025. The promotion is clearly the No. 2 in MMA behind the UFC, and it still has an incredible roster at its disposal. It still has Francis Ngannou. It still has Jake Paul—though he’s turned into something of a turkey himself, as we’ve covered.

However, at the close of 2024, the PFL is hemorrhaging goodwill among its fans and its fighters, and if it truly wants to prove itself as a serious competitor to the UFC, it needs to make some big changes in the new year.