Professional Fighters League will be as big as the UFC, says chairman Donn Davis

The founder of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) says the organisation is determined to deliver “the best of the best” in its inaugural event in Saudi Arabia to kick-start its partnership with the kingdom.

Billed as the world’s fastest-growing sports league, the PFL will on Saturday stage “PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions”, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between two top-level MMA promotions, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The PFL acquired Bellator last November, three months after the former announced an investment agreement with SRJ Sports Investments, an entity owned by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The deal, reported to be worth $100 million, sees SRJ take a minority equity ownership in the PFL, with a PFL Mena regional league to launch in April.

Speaking to The National in Riyadh, PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis said of Saturday’s Saudi debut: “It’s super exciting. First of all, to do something historic: the first ever MMA event in Saudi Arabia. To do something historic is so rare.

“Then, second, to have champs versus champs - PFL champions against Bellator champions - has never been done in combat. We did it because we put the fan first. Other organisations always kind of protect and there’s a lot of dogma. We said, ‘If we were a fan, what would we want?’.

“And so we're delighted to be able to stage what I think will be the best MMA event of 2024. We're really looking forward to it.”

Marking the promotion’s first show in their new “PPV Super Fights Division”, Saturday features a collection of marquee athletes from both promotional rosters.

The card includes three champion-versus-champion bouts, headlined by 2023 PFL heavyweight belt-holder Renan Ferreira taking on Bellator counterpart Ryan Bader.