The Ringer MMA Show
PFL Acquires Bellator! How PFL Can Deliver on Its MASSIVE Promises, and Why the UFC Hopes PFL Can Become a “Co-Leader”
About the episode
For years now, the greatest minds in MMA have put their heads together to try and figure out how to topple the UFC. Yesterday, Donn Davis became the latest in a long line of innovators when he announced that PFL, which he founded in 2018, has acquired Bellator and its deep roster of 210 fighters so PFL can position itself as the clear no. 2 promotion and pave the way for PFL to eventually become a “co-leader” in MMA. To react to this massive news, MMA business experts Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Mindenhall are here to lay out the terms of the deal, clear up the gray area, ask more questions, contemplate the positives and negatives of this move, and so much more.
TOPICS:
- Intro (00:00)
- The terms of the Bellator acquisition (04:08)
- Instant reactions to the news (08:03)
- Potential shortcomings of the deal (15:24)
- Whether we should believe in Donn Davis and his mission (24:12)
- Why UFC is likely happy about this deal (42:50)
- Discord questions on the deal (47:52)
- How each member of 3PAC discovered MMA (01:04:00)
- What we’re grateful for this Thanksgiving (01:10:26)
Hosts: Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Mindenhall
Producer: Troy Farkas
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