MMA promotion PFL came in 2025, guns blazing. From announcing their new rule changes to announcing their next fight season, the promotion plans to make some significant alterations this year, including the elimination of Bellator.
PFL purchased Bellator in 2023 following a deal with Paramount, but the purchase has not been lucrative for PFL. The promotion was initially happy to keep Bellator on and continue as an independent promotion, but over time, many fighters began to complain about inactivity. Bellator also began to cancel shows, the most prominent being their cancelled card in London just days before the event.
With the new year comes a new decision from PFL as the plan to cancel the Bellator brand and sign all fighters as PFL athletes. The promotion is yet to announce what will happen to Bellator title holders and current champions. However, the promotion will make an announcement subsequently.
Bellator has had a lot of fighters complain about their treatment and inactivity. Featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull and bantamweight champion Patchy Mix requested a release from the promotion after months of inactivity. Although the brand will no longer exist, the fight card is very much actual and will now be under the PFL banner. The promotion announced that they will be undergoing a rebranding as all Bellator series will not be retitled PFL Champions Series.
The news was broken by veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, who revealed the promotion’s plans moving forward. He says the Road to Dubai: Champion Series on January 25 will be Bellator’s final title fight.
“Right now I can tell you, on Monday, January 13th, at 1:20 P.M. Eastern time, Bellator is dead,” Helwani said. “Bellator as we know it is no more. Bellator is dead. You will not see Bellator events anymore.”
“If you look at that event on Jan. the 25th, you will see that other than the picture of the belt and other than. You know, in the press release it says Bellator lightweight title, there’s no other mention of Bellator. Bellator, as we know it is dead. From the Bjorn [Rebney] era to the Scott Coker era to the PFLator era, it is no more.”
PFL also announced they would be scrapping their $1 million prize for seasonal tournament champions, and the winners will be walking home with $500,000 instead. Furthermore, the organisation is expected to scrap its signature tournament point system in favor of adopting a more classic grand prix-style MMA format.
