Over the last two decades, MMA fans have witnessed numerous promotions rise and fall, with the UFC standing as the dominant force throughout.
Organizations such as Strikeforce, PRIDE Fighting Championships, WEC and even ambitious ventures like Affliction failed to establish a lasting presence in the combat sports landscape.
The latest contender attempting to challenge the UFC’s dominance is the Professional Fighters League (PFL), which made waves in 2023 by acquiring Bellator MMA. This acquisition positioned the PFL as the second-largest MMA promotion. However, the transition has been rocky, with high-profile fighters — including champions Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Patchy Mix — requesting releases due to inactivity and other frustrations.
Former UFC fighter Matt Brown shared his skepticism about the business strategies of promotions like the PFL during an episode of MMA Fighting's The Fighter vs. The Writer. Brown argued that the "fighter-first" model, which includes significant payouts like the PFL's $1 million prize per weight class, might not be sustainable in the long term.
There’s only been one truly successful fight promotion in history — the UFC. They didn’t build it by helping fighters. I think that’s where they’re all kind of messing up," Brown said. "I say that as a former fighter — I want to see everybody get paid and do well. But the UFC built their business by lowballing fighters and still almost went out of business. Even now, people debate how they treat their fighters. So, making it a fighter-centric promotion is admirable, but I have a hard time believing it’s the way to build a lasting business.
Brown questioned how the PFL has managed to sustain itself so far and expressed doubts about its ability to compete at the UFC’s level.
To be honest, I’m not sure how they’ve existed this far. If they keep doing whatever they’re doing, maybe they’ll keep existing. They bought Bellator, and we thought maybe they’d become a clear No. 2. But they were already claiming that before, acting like they were close to the UFC, and it’s like, no — not really. It’s basically the UFC, and then there’s everybody else.
Reflecting on the history of successful promotions, Brown noted that growth often requires a long-term, incremental approach.
If you look at the big players in combat sports — boxing and the UFC — they all started small and took years to build. You can’t start at the top unless you have immense resources, like Saudi Arabia throwing billions around to fund cool fights as a luxury. That’s a completely different game.
The PFL’s ambitious strategy has garnered attention, but whether it can establish a sustainable model to challenge the UFC’s dominance remains uncertain.
And the same can be said for the recently announced Global Fight League (GFL), which is set to launch in 2025 and boasts of high pay and advantages fighters under its banner will have.