One of the worst-kept secrets in the sport has been confirmed today, with the PFL officially announcing its acquisition of Bellator MMA. Find everything you need to know about PFL’s acquisition of Bellator MMA below.

For nearly a year, rumours have swirled about the sale of Bellator MMA by its previous owner, Paramount. While there were several potential buyers, the PFL quickly became the most likely, with a combination of business needs and the finances to acquire Bellator.

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How Much Did PFL Buy Bellator For?

Following the announcement of the acquisition, PFL Founder, Chairman and Co-Owner Donn Davis went onto Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour and revealed details of the purchase. He also outlined how the two companies will operate going forward, with the merger of their rosters and tournament formats.

Surprisingly, the acquisition was entirely stock-based, with Paramount coming on board as a PFL minority owner. This means PFL did not have to pay any cash or take on any debt to fund the acquisition. Rumours had suggested a cash price of up to $500 million as a possible price, but this seems to have been incorrect.

Pricing companies is always a tricky process that relies on countless factors. This is especially so in the MMA industry, where there are so few competitors, a significant market leader in the UFC, and considerable demand for top fighters. For rostering purposes alone, the acquisition seems to be an incredible deal.

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Will Bellator MMA Continue Operating?

Despite now being under the PFL banner, Bellator MMA will continue in some form. Donn Davis announced that Bellator MMA will continue running events alongside its standard PFL Regular Season events under the name Bellator International Champions Series. The Bellator International Champions Series will focus on international markets, with each event expected to feature two title fights.

These “Bellator” titles will operate as the standard MMA titles we are used to seeing, with Champions defending their belts against challengers. PFL will continue to run its Season format alongside these events, with the Seasons winners being considered “PFL Champions”.

This sets up the opportunity to hold Champion versus Champion fight cards, which is expected in 2024. Such an event would see Bellator’s current Champions facing the PFL Season Champions. However, PFL does not currently hold Seasons in every weight class, leaving some Bellator Champions without a direct competitor.

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Will All of the Bellator Fighters Move to PFL?

Arguably, the biggest question surrounding PFL’s acquisition of Bellator was whether all of Bellator’s existing roster would be brought into the PFL roster. Donn Davis confirmed that the PFL agreed to acquire the entire Bellator roster under the purchase, which immediately boosts their lacking roster.

Bellator undoubtedly has the second-best roster in MMA behind the UFC. However, PFL’s lack of events and season-based format made it unclear whether they would want to acquire the entire roster or if certain fighters would hit free agency. This would have created the potential for the UFC to poach some of the best fighters on the roster.

While the PFL has immediately improved its roster substantially, there remains serious uncertainty about how the roster will actually be used. Donn Davis has indicated that some fighters will enter the PFL format while others will stay on the Bellator International Champions Series.

Will PFL Be Able to Compete With the UFC?

The clear goal of the acquisition is for the PFL to further compete with the UFC, something that has been largely unsuccessful over the past two decades from several different promotions. The purchase of Bellator MMA clearly positions PFL as the second-best MMA promotion in the world.

However, there is still a considerable gap between the PFL and the UFC, which remains the clear market leader and largely synonymous with MMA. Further, there is still significant uncertainty about how successful the PFL will be in implementing its plans, with the PFL and Bellator facing countless issues over their respective histories.

Clearly, it will be several years before we can truly assess the success of the acquisition. At the very least, the PFL has committed to chasing the UFC for the top spot in the world of MMA.

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