The $500 Million "Threat" Against Dana White's UFC

Happy UFC 293 week, folks!

The long-awaited moment is finally upon us Sydney natives (and the rest of the world, I suppose).

For context, the last time the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion hit our harbourside city was back in late 2017 for UFC Fight Night: Fabricio Werdum vs Marcin Tybura.

To give you a slightly more tangible reference for just how long ago that non-pay-per-view event really was — Tai Tuivasa threw hands with Rashad Coulter in the prelims while Alexander Volkanovski faced Shane Young to open the main card as its lowest-billed bout.

Suffice it to say, we’ve witnessed a fair bit of progress since then.

Now, if you still don’t have a ticket… fear not.

As some of you may already know, I have in my possession two tickets to this weekend’s UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland (September 10th) — acquired via the Tixel resale platform — to be randomly gifted to a lucky Chin Tucker subscriber.

Full disclosure: They are nosebleed seats. But free is free, and once again, if it turns out to be a shit experience, I’ll be hanging around Qudos Bank Arena afterwards, ready to shout beers as a consolation prize.

So get subscribing, and to increase your chances of winning, forward this to your MMA-obsessed mates — there’s no limit to how many times you can enter (note: existing subscribers have been automatically included).

Keep an eye on your inboxes this Thursday when I formally announce the winner of Chin Tucker’s inaugural giveaway.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming…

— GL

What The PFL’s $500 Million Acquisition Of Bellator Could Mean For MMA

Over the past few months, multiple reports have indicated the Bellator promotion was up for sale.

Now, Bellator President Scott Coker has confirmed they’ve been in active negotiation to be acquired by the Professional Fighters League (PFL) — the latter having recently secured $100 million from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) via SRJ Sports Investments.

“Bellator is valued at as much as $500 million in the deal, and the transaction would be primarily in cash with [current Bellator owner] Paramount receiving some equity in PFL,” revealed a report published by Front Office Sports.

“PFL had a valuation between $500 million and $1 billion last year. That estimate was before the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund invested $100 million in PFL through its new sports investment arm, SRJ Sports Investments.”

The grain of salt: two sources with knowledge of these dealings have stated this could all fall apart, as it still hasn’t been determined how either the PFL or Bellator would operate should the transaction be completed.

However, success may result in a shake-up of the mixed martial arts promotion hierarchy.

As it stands, thanks to the holy trinity of top-flight talent, marketing dominance, and of course, unrivalled profits, the UFC is obviously king. The matter of the prince-in-waiting, on the other hand, hasn’t always been so clear cut.

While Bellator is generally considered the UFC’s de facto understudy, ONE Championship routinely pips the Coker-led company in viewership — in fact, back in 2021, ONE even attracted more eyeballs than the UFC due to their presence in Asia.

A merger between Bellator and the Professional Fighters League, however, wouldn’t just significantly improve their chances of settling the second-place debate; thereby allowing them to distinguish themselves as superior to the Singapore-based enterprise.

Granted, there’s simply no way that anything will ever be able to compete with Dana White’s UFC in terms of talent roster and overall profile at this stage — the PFL is where UFC stars of tomorrow (i.e. Justin Gaethje) tend to develop, whereas Bellator is where washed up UFC athletes (i.e. Yoel Romero) tend to end up — but a combined venture such as the one being proposed potentially has the best chance of bridging the vast chasm between #1 and #2.

In Bellator, you have 14 years’ worth of invaluable fight game experience and a wonderfully stable infrastructure that’s produced nearly 300 numbered events thus far; and although many deem it to be B-tier, their talent roster ain’t exactly comprised of plumbers and bar brawlers, e.g. former three-time lightweight champion and current UFC signee Michael Chandler.

In the PFL, you have spectator-focused innovations like the “ref cam”; an exciting points-based format that encourages + rewards finishes; a proprietary tournament-style elimination system that removes the oft-political dealings of lining up next bouts; and most importantly, an attitude of willingness when it comes to paying fighters/allow fighters to cash in on side hustles that’s seduced everyone from former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to — yes — YouTube wank stain turned “pro boxer” Jake Paul.

Compare that to Dana White’s well-documented hesitancy to financially compensate any fighter who doesn’t bear the surname “McGregor”; a sneaky cartel-like contract clause that now entitles the UFC to a slice of any business their rostered fighters launch; as well as the details of the ongoing antitrust class action lawsuit filed against the organisation by almost 1,200 fighters… The difference is quite literally night and day.

So yes, Bellator and PFL may never challenge the UFC’s hegemony in any seismically meaningful way, but all I’m saying is this: don’t be surprised if their hypothetical union manages to poach a few disgruntled stars in the equally hypothetical future.

ICYMI: Why Fedor Emelianenko Never Joined The UFC

Widely considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, and a legendary pioneer of the sport who’s beaten countless elite champions (plus two Olympic medallists), Fedor Emelianenko has a storied career that simply cannot be told by his 40-7 professional record alone.

Having competed at every major promotion from Strikeforce and Rizin to M-1 and Bellator, The Last Emperor is the very epitome of “been there, done that.” Well… with one key (and rather glaring) exception.

When Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta III acquired Pride Fighting Championships and all its contracts for the UFC, it seemed as though Emelianenko — Pride’s final heavyweight champion — was on track to enter the Octagon, where he’d go toe to toe against the likes of Randy Couture and eventually Brock Lesnar.

But tragically, none of that ever came to fruition. YouTube documentarian Patrick Gavia explores what is perhaps MMA’s biggest what-if moment.

Upcoming Events

• September 10th [10 AM AEST]
  UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland
  Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney | Australia

• September 17th [9 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko II
  T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas | US

• September 24th [1 AM AEST]
  Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs Fabian Edwards
  3Arena, Dublin | Ireland

• September 24th [6 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Rafael Fiziev vs Matteusz Gamrot
  UFC APEX, Las Vegas | US

• September 30th [10 AM AEST]
  ONE Fight Night: Stamp Fairtex vs Ham Seo Hee
  Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang | Singapore

• October 8th [7 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night 229
  UFC APEX, Las Vegas | US

• October 8th [10 AM AEST]
  Bellator 300: Ryan Bader vs Linton Vassell II
  Pechanga Arena, San Diego | US