I hope the PFL can stop sucking

Now claiming to be a top competitor to the UFC, the PFL needs to start upping its game.

Dana White ready to bury another MMA promotion. | Illustration by BE Art Director Chris Rini

It struck me recently that, all things considered, MMA promotions buying up their competition has been largely limited to the UFC. Sure, Strikeforce bought up EliteXC back in the day, but only after the promotion had already gone belly up. When it comes to companies acquiring their rivals in the combat sports space, the UFC is far and away an industry leader.

That makes the PFL’s purchase of Bellator feel like an especially interesting moment in history; a truly big risk taken by a promotion trying to make significant moves in a space that is utterly dominated by one company all on its own. With that lens, however, it also means that the PFL is under a lot of pressure to get better. If they acquired all this talent just to deliver another couple of years like they’ve done in the past, it’s going to feel like a real failure to follow through.

This past Friday, the PFL held their second end of the season PPV event. A seven fight main card, including five title fights for $50. That’s 5-hours of PPV entertainment, resulting in 5 decisions and two stoppages, not to mention the prelims, which included a featherweight title fight between Jesus Pinedo and Gabriel Alves Braga.

It’s the kind of ambitious booking that even PRIDE in its heyday never tried to pull off. And it’s also complete nonsense…