Cris Cyborg

PFL Founder Rejects Bellator Fighter Complaints, Insists Promotion Did ‘Best They Could’ In 2024

2024 has provided some problems for the PFL that they haven’t had to deal with in the past. Despite having the PFL debut of Francis Ngannou and some great performances on the 2024 World Championships card, a lot of the talk surrounding the promotion as of late has revolved around the fighters that haven’t been […]

Following the acquisition of Bellator last year, the PFL was always going to have to work out how to keep a huge amount of new fighters on the roster busy and happy. This has not been the case for some of the top names in the promotion including Bellator champions like Patrício Pitbull, Cris Cyborg and Patchy Mix who have all complained about not being as active as they would like.

In a recent social media post, PFL founder Donn Davis hit back at some of the criticisms by stating that the promotion always has and always will offer each athlete the opportunity to compete twice per calendar year. It is also worth noting that the following post was edited with a slight change to the wording.

The post originally read that the PFL did “a good job” before it was later changed to state that the promotion did the “best we could”.

“PFL has ALWAYS provided all fighters 2 fights a year … When we acquired Bellator THEY had ZERO fight events scheduled for their Bellator 210 fighters in 2024. @PFLMMA stepped in and did best we could for them in 2024 … 2025 ALL fighters again 2 fights a year!”

PFL has ALWAYS provided all fighters 2 fights a year …

When we acquired Bellator THEY had ZERO fight events scheduled for their Bellator 210 fighters in 2024.@PFLMMA stepped in and did best we could for them in 2024 …

2025 ALL fighters again 2⃣ fights a year! #PFL

— Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) December 19, 2024

Cyborg, who is the Bellator featherweight champion, has been one of the most vocal about her issues with the PFL but this has quietened down since her fight with Larissa Pacheco in October. The Brazilian icon responded to Davis’ post and showed her support for the promotion.

Pitbull, on the other hand, has made his mind up that he wishes to be released from the promotion so that he can go and fight elsewhere after going public with his complaints. He also responded and disputed some of the claims made by Davis.

Bellator is PFL’s property, many fighters didn’t fight a single time and many like me only fought once.

You said you’d honor everyone’s contracts and give them
2 fights this year. You didn’t. You cut over 70% of the roster and had many renegotiate their pay. (1/2) https://t.co/Zvx4NS45H8

— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) December 19, 2024

As far as PFL providing everyone 2 fights this year, I really hope that’s what’s gonna happen and not because many more will be cut.

I want PFL to succeed, it’s good for the sport and for fighters.

That said, I want to leave right away. Can we agree to it this week? (2/2) https://t.co/Zvx4NS45H8

— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) December 19, 2024

Cris Cyborg Sends Message To Dana White Amid Growing Discontent Among PFL Fighters

Since acquiring Bellator and the majority of the promotion’s roster towards the end of 2023, it has been a difficult year for the PFL in some ways. Throughout 2024, several big names and champions have publicly voiced their issues with not being offered fights for various reasons. As a result, we’ve seen big names like […]

As a result, we’ve seen big names like Gegard Mousasi leave the promotion whilst other top stars like Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix have recently started to air their issues over fights being cancelled and not rescheduled with little communication. Pitbull in particular stated that if he isn’t going to be offered any fights, he would like to be released so that he can go and fight elsewhere with an opportunity to finally compete in the UFC being a big attraction for him.

In his post-fight press conference for UFC 310 this past Saturday, Dana White gave his thoughts on the fighters that are becoming frustrated with how they have been treated in the PFL.

“Listen, the last couple of months, we’ve been talking a lot about the PFL. They’re cancelling a lot of shows, I know that a lot of guys that are supposed to fight aren’t fighting and… I mean, you guys know what the f*** is going on. When you see that start to happen, you’re running out of money, things aren’t looking good and you’re gonna have people that want to jump ship. These guys want to fight. You have a very limited time of opportunity when you’re a professional athlete and even less when you’re a fighter. So I’m sure you’re gonna see a lot of that and we’ll see how this plays out over the next several months going into 25.”

Arguably the most outspoken major name regarding being unsatisfied with their treatment in the PFL has been Cris Cyborg. After beating Cat Zingano at the second to last Bellator event before the promotion was sold, she had to wait just over a year to get her next fight booked.

Despite getting the fight that she wanted against Larissa Pacheco at Battle of the Giants where she won the inaugural PFL Super Fights title in the women’s featherweight division, this hasn’t completely mended the bridge between Cyborg and the PFL.

Following her win over Felicia Spencer back in 2019, White stated that the UFC would not be re-signing the former champion after Cyborg’s contract had expired following a less than stellar relationship between the two parties. However, in a social media post reacting to the UFC boss’ recent comments at the press conference, it appears that the Brazilian isn’t opposed to stepping back inside the Octagon, especially if it means settling a score once and for all.

Cris Cyborg Calls Out Jully Poca for Misfits Boxing Bout Following PFL Title Win

MMA legend Cris Cyborg has called out model and boxer Jully Poca in a showdown for the Misfits boxing…

MMA legend Cris Cyborg has called out model and boxer Jully Poca in a showdown for the Misfits boxing title. Coming off of her PFL world championship win Brazil’s Cyborg wants to turn back to boxing.

Jully Poca

Jully Oliveira, AKA Jully Poca, is a model and social media influencer who fights in the influencer and celebrity boxing circuits. Currently, she has an unbeaten 5-0 record and holds the Misfits Boxing women’s cruiserweight championship title. Jully Poca made her debut against model Daniella Hemsley under the KingPyn banner in April 2023.

The Chute Boxe trained Cris Cyborg is a legendary athlete in MMA. A base in Muay Thai has made her a dangerous striker across MMA, boxing, and kickboxing. She is known for her knockout power and aggressive style. Additionally, she has collected world titles in Strikeforce, Bellator, Invicta, the PFL, and the UFC.

Jully Poca vs. Cris Cyborg

Over five rounds, Cyborg recently defeated Larissa Pacheco to capture the PFL Super Fights championship and now she has set her aim for the boxer Jully Poca. On X, formerly Twitter, she said:

“Hey @MamsTayloryou still looking for an opponent for [Jully Poca]?! She said when I beat Pacheco she wanted to fight me next @MisfitsBoxing.”

Poca responded:

“19 years of career, 17 world belts and I’m so important in your life that the first thing you do after a victory is challenge me when I’ve only been training for 1 year and a half and have 5 fights? The right time will come, but it’s not now…”

Cris Cyborg tried to push Poca with trash-talk, she said:

“You’re the mosquito that needs to be taken care of…the annoying sound in my ear that needs to go away. You’ve been nothing but disrespectful but the nice thing about fighting is it solves everything…“

GOAT Recognizes GOAT: Jon Jones Praises Cris Cyborg’s PFL Title Win in Saudi Arabia

Jon Jones was very impressed with Cris Cyborg’s latest world title-winning performance over the weekend. Making her Smart Cage…

Jon Jones was very impressed with Cris Cyborg’s latest world title-winning performance over the weekend.

Making her Smart Cage debut at the PFL’s ‘Battle of The Giants’ pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia, Cyborg entered her bout as the reigning Bellator featherweight champion. Following an entertaining 25-minute war with two-time PFL tournament winner Larissa Pacheco, Cyborg left as the first-ever PFL Super Fights champion, adding yet another piece of gold to her already impressive collection.

Her unanimous decision win over Pacheco garnered the attention of fighters and fans alike, including undisputed UFC heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones who shared his appreciation for Cyborg’s performance on Saturday night.

“I’m incredibly proud of Cris Cyborg right now. OG showing how it’s done,” Jones wrote on X.

Cyborg Responds to Jon Jones

Cyborg responded shortly after, calling ‘Bones’ the GOAT and thanking him for his kind words.

“Thank you Jon, you are the [goat emoji] and I appreciate this,” Cyborg replied.

With the win, Cyborg has not won 17 title fights over the last 15 years. Along the way, she’s captured gold in practically every major mixed martial arts organization, including Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, Bellator, and PFL.

At 39 years old, it’s clear that Cyborg hasn’t lost a step inside the cage, but even she knows that eventually, she’ll have to lay down her gloves for good and call it a career. Sadly, it sounds like that may be sooner rather than later.

“It took a long time to fight,” Cyborg told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “My last time, I fought one year ago. I wanted to fight more times, for me to defend my title, because I want to complete 20 years in my career. This year is 19 and I want to go to my next chapter of my life and have a kid. Next plan, I’d like to defend my title as soon as possible.”

Cris Cyborg Defeats Larissa Pacheco By Decision to Win PFL Featherweight Title Fight

Cris Cyborg’s legend grew even larger on Saturday with the legendary fighter adding the PFL Women’s Featherweight Superfight Championship to her trophy case…

Cris Cyborg Defeats Larissa Pacheco By Decision to Win PFL Featherweight Title Fight

Cris Cyborg’s legend grew even larger on Saturday with the legendary fighter adding the PFL Women’s Featherweight Superfight Championship to her trophy case…