There appears to be trouble behind the scenes for some of Professional Fighters League’s (PFL) new additions.
PFL made waves throughout mixed martial arts (MMA) to close out its 2023 campaign with the big acquisition of longtime promotional staple Bellator. The move bolstered PFL in essentially every category and the effects of that have been seen in 2024.
However, one place it hasn’t (yet) benefitted is financially, according to former Bellator Middleweight champion, Gegard Mousasi.
“I want to fight, but a little bit difficult with PFL. They don’t honor the contracts. We’ll see,” Mousasi said on JAXXON PODCAST. “They think I get paid too much. When they took over the contract, Bellator fighters make more than the PFL guys so they’re trying to cut the — maybe put pressure, a little bit of politics. Let me not fight for a year then they can come and say, ‘Hey, take half. Stuff like that.
“When they took over, they wanted all the Top 10 fighters, that’s what they said,” he continued. “I think Bellator fighters are also the better fighters, but Bellator fighters also get paid more than the PFL guys. So now, they have to cut because they’re not making a lot of money.”
Mousasi, 38, last fought when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Fabian Edwards at Bellator 296 in May 2023. The 60-fight legend (49-9-2) has fought in just about every major MMA promotion that’s existed since he debuted in April 2003. Unfortunately, a stint in PFL might not be in the cards.
“I think they want to be the No. 2 after UFC,” Mousasi said of PFL. “They’re No. 2, I guess, but I don’t hear them making any money. Even ONE FC is like, if you look at it, ‘Oh, it’s a big show’ but they lose money all the time.”