Donn Davis Reveals Why PFL Acquired Bellator | The MMA Hour
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ย. 2023
- Donn Davis discusses PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, when the talks started, why they did it, if cash was involved in deal, if Bellator and PFL will have different TV deals, why they are keeping the Bellator brand alive, when Francis Ngannou will fight for the PFL, Jake Paul, Kayla Harrison, Scott Coker’s future, uniforms, rules, broadcast team, how close they are to the UFC now, PFL’s pay-per-view price, crowd sizes, Canadian events, and more.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @mmafightingonsbn
Subscribe to MMA Fighting on TH-cam: goo.gl/dYpsgH
Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: Apple.co/themmahour
Subscribe to The MMA Hour on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0NUQhyU...
Subscribe to MMA Fighting feed on iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Check out our full video catalog: goo.gl/u8VvLi
Visit our playlists: goo.gl/eFhsvM
Like MMAF on Facebook: goo.gl/uhdg7Z
Follow on Twitter: goo.gl/nOATUI
Read More: www.mmafighting.com
MMA Fighting is your home for exclusive interviews, live shows, and more for one of the world's fastest-growing sports. Get latest news and more here: www.mmafighting.com - กีฬา
![[Live] : ONE FIGHT NIGHT 22 วันนี้!! "สมิลลา vs นาตาเรีย"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hmzh7heFvx8/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TH]FFWS SEA Spring 2024 Knockout Stage - Day 15](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Mz16BkXaNA/mqdefault.jpg)
Seems like a kind man
Chael! Saw you in NYC last week! Was just thinking about you on this PFL-Bellator Subject. This guy is definitely good and unless your brand loyal to Dana I could see you partnering up with them as a win-win.
Or....Maybe this can go PFl vs. UFC where the young (talent) start up challenges their older (UFC) teacher! Either way, brings popularity. Choices Win-win at the same time absorbing more eyes collectively from everywhere. Kind of like the skit you and Ariel put on recently. Could be a fun one!
Such kind words from a Gangster
Nice guy's finish last.
Seems like Ariel beat you in the debate
Truly happy for PFL and the future of both PFL/Bellator.
I’m happy for the sport
@@drunkenmmamaster4193 North American promotions to 2 , how is that good
Can't deny it sounds really exciting to keep an eye on PFL next year big things could be on the horizon.
You said same when nigganu signed
@@robot9071 wtf? Did I? How do you know? And if it's because you went and checked my account or comments somehow that's also crazy. You're either slightly crazy or you are seriously lacking fulfillment in life. Either way all the best brother 👍🤣
The regional leagues sound very interesting and a game changer.
Their event on Friday was awesome. First live pfl event I went to. They know how to put on a show
Always been a massive ufc fan and have barely watched bellator or pfl but I’m hoping it all works out for this guy, seeing pfl being a powerhouse as well would be nice
I've been watching UFC since 1998, and if I am honest with myself, I have always been a fan of the personalities and the drama behind the scenes (fake or real). If PFL can do a good job with building up fighters and vlog type content like how UFC does it, I would definitely watch more often. I really like those "day in the life of" episodes that UFC drops during fight week.
@@Mr-E.so you’ll only watch if they copy the ufcs footsteps lmao
@@SonOftheBattleCry Damn straight
@@Mr-E.that's what I want pro wrestling to do to reinvent the sport: build up fighters through vlog content & have a madman owner/matchmaker like Dana promoting & hyping up the matches. I'm a major fan of MMA & Pro Wrestling & I personally would love to see Pro Wrestling become more combat sport oriented & drift away from Sports Entertainment.
@SonOftheBattleCry its not the ufcs footsteps lol, the ufc is the first and longest running mma promotion and the most successful by miles. They are the standard. Gimmicks like championship seasons, 'playoffs', ai scoring (lol) and "the smartcage (tm)" are merely gimmicks.
Pfl will have to do something wildly different to distinguish from the ufc, but paradoxically would do well to copy many of ufcs practices as clearly they work and arent patented (vlogging, media, storytelling). It could start by actually running events that make money.
Good luck to the PFL team. Good on the management to understand what's at stake here.
For anyone who primarily watches UFC, Bellator has talent on their roster that can compete with anyone in the world. Great move from the PFL
Have you seen a Bellator card?? They're boring as F. Almost every single UFC card from first fight is an awesome fight. You're losing it buddy...
@@hellohi5447 Yeah your right but partly because Bellator was top heavy and their marketing and promotion of fighters werent great either so even if it was a good match up you didnt care because you didnt know the fighters. Hopefully merging with PFL they can cut the dead weight and have solid cards from top to bottom and really improve their production because its very bland.
It depends on the card and the fighters on the card, some Bellator cards were amazing, others not so much. Some UFC card are amazing, others I don't even bother to watch because they're not interesting.
That doesn't even make sense. How do you know they weren't good if you didn't watch them?....Because, they're not "interesting." 90 percent of UFC cards are legit all awesome fights almost head to toe. Bellator doesn't even compare. I watch both. SMH....@@evanstarkman2341
I watched bellator once. It was a 0-2 guy vs a 0-0 guy and the fight was boring. Talk about making a bad first impression.
Interested how this goes, but I think simplifying the branding for the different fight cards. Bellator series, PFL season, Super fight etc. It’s confusing to keep track of and what fighter is apart of what. It’s easier to make a card and announce fights for that card. The champion vs champion is gonna be exciting to watch, should create a new unified belt.
I think a lot of it had to be that way. It should be simple in about a year - cohesive branding.
Although I like this comment, we’re only seeing the concept of operations right now. As it unfolds, there may be some roll outs that show the differentiation for the fighters.
Eventually Bellator will disappear.
Came here to say the same thing. The PFL is already harder to follow with their whole point and playoff system on top of them being behind the UFC that has fights nearly every single weekend they really need to make it as easily digestible as possible and they're doing the exact opposite.
Yup, most of the comments here are correct. PFL is confusing as hell. Being “different” to challenge the UFC doesn’t mean being over-complicated. I don’t get it, and I live for MMA.
I think the best thing to do once Bellator is merged into PFL is for them do a couple key tournaments (since they're so married to the concept) throughout the year and then have regular cards with championships fights as per normal. You can't expect to build stars without title reigns.
A tournament style bracket makes sense to boost the promotion to become that.
Yeah but in my opinion should just make a new brand or using pfl name because it just make fan confuse if their still separated entity ( fan want to see best fighter of the organisation ).
It'll be great if Bellator Champion fights the PFL champion in undisputed Championship fights. Sooner or later they have to combine the rooster otherwise all this acquisition doesn't make sense if they keep running separately because none of them are making money.
I’m liking this. This dude seems like he has the fighters/fans best interest in mind so I’m excited to see how it unfolds. Hopefully they can keep this momentum going cause it’s pretty refreshing to see a new organization start to rise up
Seems like he's good at lying like every businessman
@@tobiaspointer6662 fr lol, imagine believing he has the fighters/fans best interests. Dude is literally an investor and trying to make money.
@@tobiaspointer6662 what has he said that’s a lie?
@@lb2017blwhy would he be doing this for free? Of course he’s doing it for money. Anybody in his position would be trying to make money from it. Do you work for free? It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have fighters’ best interests in mind.
Lol, Scot Coker sounded the same way and he was about pretty shows instead of just putting on fights .
I like the way this guy thinks, don't limit the fighters let them move around, put on multiple great events, this is good for healthy competition.
They are still limited to the PFL umbrella. This is no different than UFC fighters being able to compete in ADCC or Fight Pass Invitationals. They are still locked to a PFL MMA contract.
@@DoubleDOwnage PFL repeatedly said they're interested in copromoting fights their roster wants to do, how is that locking their fighters? UFC (and ONE for now) is the only promoter out there unwilling to do this; proof is they're involved in an antitrust lawsuit and its a big piece of it.
They’re doomed
Wow. Pleasantly surprised after this interview. When this was initially announced, I really didn’t like the idea of keeping the brands separate post-merger. But after hearing Don speak I’m pretty interested. It seems like he wants PFL to be a hub for MMA where fighters have options and different niches that fit their preferences and career aspirations.
Why didn't they just combine PFL and Bellator into one league. Have everyone compete under one rule set and one banner.
Would be too many fighters under the tournament format, I can see why they would want to keep Bellator around but I don't think they need an international league as well
@@megaham1552do away with the tournament
PFL used to be wsof and it used to come on NBC sports for free. That's when it was the best.
They eventually will. Just trying to work out the kinks in the beginning and see what sticks with the fans.
they need to make fight library have easy access to everyone not just Americans@@rudyleal2579
"If u are doing the right thing don't worry about it." What a quote.
I’m down to give PFL/Bellator a great chance hearing the interview today. I haven’t seen much of the PFL other than highlights, and I’ve seen some of bellator. If they can get a good network to have these shows and then good cards, I think they can do well against ONE and UFC.
Just ordered the ppv because of this interview. Excited to check it out
@@joshuahaggard8116 🧢
@@joshuahaggard8116you're their first sale 😂
@@joshuahaggard8116sorry you paid for that ppv
I like this guy. He seems very sincere and transparent. That's what we all want as fans. Wish them all the best.
if you want to compete with the UFC you need to make moves, you need to take risks and most of all give a better product. This man is doing his absolute best to do that, they got Francis and now this move plus the overseas focus makes me think they are on the right path. I wish them luck. I love the UFC but they need to be pushed if anything for their fighters' sake but also because I love MMA and I would love nothing more than more promotions that can compete with the UFC, shout out to ONE I think their on the right path as well. If you are a hardcore MMA fan you are already watching PFL and ONE so lets pray they get there!
🤝🤝
💯
The guy made it clear his big names are Francis and Paul .. Francis has never even fought under their banner and is a boxer now and if he was that big of a cash cow ufc would have figured out a way to keep him. Jake also never fought under their banner and isn’t even a mma fighter. It’s a joke. ONE is big because it’s asian market and it categorizes the different arts. This guy seems nice and all but my prediction is this fails .. we’ll see
Pushed for their fighters sake? By pfl? Just to make you aware, PFL pays 3x less to it's early prelim fighters and UFC is the highest paying mma organisation on earth
I agree. I like where his head is at. PFL and ONE are the real threats to the ufc. Monopoly’s are never good. There needs to be healthy competition.
They need to merge the brands, only way this has any success of gaining ground with the UFC
It will be phased.
Hopefully this is all just to maintain appearances and to honour existing legacy contracts. I suspect within 2 years it will all be just PFL.
@@DoubleDOwnage that would make sense, PFL I think from a branding point is much hotter and cleaner, all the bellator roster can benefit from it merging
This has 0 chance, but good suggestion
@@user-uc4zb2jk4jcan you explain why you believe it was zero chance?
Sounds like a impressive guy on a mission , looking forward to watching this unfold !
Super pumped for this. I really love the way PFL is structured, the way the stars are always on-screen and the AI judging.
AI judging? Who is doing that?
@@starseeddeluxe Ai judging is just for show in comparison
They also compare fan votes at the same time they show the rest
Way too many names and leagues. Its should be PFL. Period.
This guy doesnt get the fight business. He proved it with the "were all fighters" line.
I can understand why they would keep Bellator but I don't think they should bother with an international league
@@megaham1552 the international series makes more sense. Bellator does way better business in Europe than the US. Some of their best cards in the US have a hard time selling out. They take Peter Queally or James Gallagher to Ireland and sell out every time. Their London and Paris events have also done very well.
It’s not different than when Zuffa owned UFC and WEC and ran them separate for years. The same company selling you Edgar vs Maynard for the “lightweight championship of the world” was the same company selling you Pettis vs Henderson for the “lightweight championship of the world”
Professional Fighters League [PFL] is changing the landscape.
Awesomeness. 😎
It's The Future.
I just realized the amount of hype Ngannou gained after beating Fury would greatly benefit the PFL card. Its crazy to think if they get superstar Nate in there mixed with Jake and Wilder, then PFL could seriously rival and surpass UFC main events.
Francis lost to Fury and no one watched the fight lol
Rival or surpass ufc M.E. ? Lol not happening right now lol in 5yrs maybe rival but not surpass lol
@@martyfromnebraska1045 A lot of people I know watched it for free if you know what I mean... including myself lol
@@martyfromnebraska1045most of the world says Francis won, whether they watched live or not. Francis's stock went up big time
Ok, but who is Francis fighting in PFL? That's the problem.
Great interview. Thank you Ariel! Very informative for MMA fans.
This is an owner I can get behind. I hope they can make an accessible paywall that makes sense for larger masses of fans to take part in.
Bro is waffling about being innovators, but people don’t like fights without elbows for example. Also, nobody is paying $50 for that PPV. Even not with 20 title fights.
Worst part about pfl fr
right lol would never order a pfl ppv
Yeah, no elbows is trash
It makes sense if they fight 6 times a year
@@DefendingTheTruth the season is dumb. That’s why even bellator went away from that format
MMA fans need to support PFL. This is a great interview.
He should just merge it all into one promotion. It’s too many names and categories, it’s going to confuse most people
Some of the fighters losing belts and having to pick between competing for Bellator or PFL is going to make them really want to fight elsewhere. I want PFL to do well, but this doesn’t sound good, I hope I’m wrong
I like this guy! Have never seen him before. Would like to see him on more. Good energy, shares what he can and opens up more than Dana.
Really like the 1 off product 8 times a year, treats, fan fights.
Please change the Bellator name for the love of god.
They won't change the name. He said it's a popular 12 year old brand that has its own following. And they don't want to kill it.
I've always loved Dana and his comical personality. But hearing this man, it sets a whole new bar of honesty and transparency. Dana avoids so many answers and also insults the people asking the questions. But more so, Dana isn't making the correct fights. PFL is going to only make good fights that fans want. The UFC and Dana are trying to force Jon Jones vs. Stipe which is completely unacceptable.
Havent watched a show PFL before , will definitely be tuning in for the Championship and the following season . Exciting times ahead!
Their plans are very interesting. Hopefully they can pull it off. Would be great for us fans
Never heard of this guy. Wow can't wait to see more of him. What a speaker.
I like his interviews. Very interesting, lots of insight into business, and zero arrogance.
I like this guy. First interaction with him. I'm down to start watching PFL/Bellator soon.
I like this guy, breath of fresh air.
PFL still needs to improve their production. A while ago, there was too much quiet time during their show, they need to work on this.
Possible, I would think they are just going to grind as hard as they can until Dana retires, and that’s when they might be able achieve parity. Until then, it is going to be very difficult to challenge the Dana White show.
@@edwardseavey1172
Revenue in 2022:
UFC: $387 million
PFL: $8.6 million
They really be a small fish
I'm very happy for the fighters, they have a sense of security, but this merger isn't going to make Ari and UFC brass lose any sleep.
Merging the #3 and #4 (I'd say ONE is #2) does not make them a threat.
What it does do, it will force the UFC to raise it's game and it improves the industry, fighter pay, fighter benefits etc, which is fantastic news.
Don’t be so sure of yourself man, it depends on who they can sign and how good the fighters get in the next couple years
one fell off tbh
@@caleblaws2533 Ain’t no way any of the top 10 in each weight class (mostly in ufc) join them. I think this will be a short lived adventure. Is pfl or bellator even on tv?
Yeah, when it does they'll just buy it.
@@thetwistedfirestarter pfl is on ESPN same as ufc homie
Really like this man the more interviews I see of him
I can understand keeping the brand separate at least for a while or whatever but having them under different media rights is a terrible idea when the UFC is under one banner
Exactly. UFC is synonymous with MMA. Them being under one banner is what makes UFC easy to follow.
Atleast don davis is giving fighters the chance to fight in both organisation and not restricting them, good work man
Great questions and really good answers. Ariel you actually asked a lot of the questions I had about this.
This interview alone really shows the masterful Journalist you have become my friend.
Who tf are you lol
Im sure you made his day with your support.
What, you didn't want Schmo or Nina Whatsherface to interview him instead and ask what his favorite color is?
Didn’t ask about health insurance for all the fighters Ariel Jake and Francis will never mention it again
How is he your friend? 😂
I honestly like what they’re doing. Stateside and internationally it sounds like it will be very impactful. I just hope to have quality fighters and great production. It’s great for fighters to have choices and also as a longtime fan I like having options.
As far as quality fighters, you don’t hear many young guys hoping to be PFL champ someday lol they might have trouble with that
@@kylenordstrom3554no debate there. But imagine once word gets out that you can make the same money if not more at pfl….it’s just about having choices man.
@@kylenordstrom3554Yeah, it's a title that guys who couldn't cut it in the UFC settle for.
I’m happy this information is shared in this platform
Best interview since the last DD interview🤙 the future is bright
This was really good. Thank you! If anyone is making a movie about Donn Davis then Ray Winstone would be superb as him.
The vision! It's amazing 👏
Great content and interview
39:25 amazing… ‘if you love it… the pain is worth it’.
I like this guy. Even as a massive (and always will be) fan of ufc, I’m interested in seeing what this guy does with pfl.
Respect to what he’s trying and Goodluck mate.
I hope Donn makes this work. An actual global MMA league with a world championship at the end of it would be so sick. It would make people take it far more seriously instead of the fake drama that's in the UFC. The UFC's shtick is so old nowadays.
Drama is what sells.
Damn after this interview im definitely going to tune in
This guy is really building something big
Delighted, this is a win for MMA fans! I haven’t watched a PFL event yet, however I think Bellator are great and god knows they have done much more for European fighters than the UFC ever has! I’ve been to several Bellator cards in Dublin over the years, I just hope that they continue to bring the international series to Europe 👍👍
Hopefully it works out well, The fans and fighters all win from competition. Hope PFL advertise better than Bellator ever did, and make it easier to know start times.
Wow, hell of an interview !
great interview
Very excited about how they flesh out the league concept now
What a great interview
I admire the transparency
I like this man, Donn Davis really humble and you can tell this man care about the fighters.
On par with the UFC...Well, at least the guy has a sense of humor.
Aerial, can you ask how they plan to raise the profiles of the fighters?Apart from on your show, I don't get any other insight into PFL and Bellator fighters. That's one thing that really distinguishes the top tier UFC fighters
This is gonna be fire 🔥.
Comes across as a really good guy, also glad Ariel asked about the branding, I thought it made sense to scrap the Bellator branding and unify the brand against the UFC moving forward. Bellator has some great fighters but the brand's seemed stagnant for some time, whereas PFL has that new kid on the block feel to it (in a good way).
I'm in the UK and would love to give PFL more of a try, I probably won't whilst it's aired through DAZN though.
He actually made a lot of sense with the tournaments.
This guy is good! Interesting to see "How this plays out" looks to be a real player in the game!
Dude understands fighters because he’s a fighter himself, he said lmao. He thinks investing money is the same as fighting in a cage.
Dork lol
Sorry but the UFC is the NFL and the PFL is the XFL. No matter how much this guy tries to say otherwise. Dana wasn't "worried" about Strikeforce and their roster was far superior to PFL's even with the Bellator roster added in. The REASON Dana has talked about the PFL more lately is only because reporters ask him questions about them. That's it! Before hand even the MMA journalists didn't care.
The PFL's PPVs will still tank. Francis still couldn't draw even with Fury and Jake Paul can't even sell out a small arena if he isn't fighting someone the UFC built. Facts don't care about opinions.
Damn. This is spot on. Lol and also Francis and Jake. Their 2 biggest stars are trying to be boxers lol
He was worried about strike force hence why he bought them out and shat on them every chance he got.
I think he is worried in the sense he wants to smash everyone and they are on his radar now but not like he cant sleep ahaha that would be nuts
This guy is a lot of talk can’t wait to see how this all plays out
The Chase N Status guy is everywhere at the moment
First I’ve ever seen this guy.. seems like a real good dude..
Definitely going to support PFL.. the UFC needs actual competition..
I just do not get the season thing. Hard to imagine top fighters wanting to be involved in it. I would love to dig through the data that is getting them to that conclusion.
Terrible marketing plan. They should mimic the UFC structure and make proper rankings. That's what gets people involved.
This guy comes across really well,excited!
First experience of Donn Davis and he seems a like a good egg. Interested to see how this developes
When watching the first time my kind keeps running across someone i was thinking Ol Don Davis reminds me of.
Today i rewatched and realized who it is. Anyone see and hear Paul Giamatti from Shoot’em up and many other great movies?
Good stuff
Make PFL cards in Canada for a fair ticket price and you have the market! 💯
I love competition in any Industry so I wish the PFL news merger success for both fans and fighters!
Please buy up Glory as well 👏🏽
Dana white can go a whole conversation without mentioning the PFL/Bellator.
They cant go an interview without mentioning UFC.
Thats the standard.
Seriously epic
Can’t wait to see what happens with the companies.
This fella look like GTA 5 character Lester Crest.
Put PFL highlights on TH-cam quicker. People have to be to see your product. For instance I want to see the Harrison vs Ladd highlights a week later there's no official video whereas the UFC has dariush vs tsarukyan highlights 12 hours after
12:27 I LOVE the honesty
Hopefully they can succeed, it's good for fighters to have competition in pay.
Watched the PFL because of this interview. Interesting concepts! I like the info ui, especially foot speed and live odds, however, the ui seems like too much technology and screens and could be toned down or toggled on/off. Also the wiz khalifa call in at the end of a fight was whack. Can't wait for Bellator vs PFL champions to see which fight organization is best! Also why is a women's fight headlining lmao. Also to see how Derek Brunson does, how the competition compares!
I'm unsure how to feel after this interview with regards to bellator. Making it like PFL and doing 6/7/8 big shows a year I'm not sure I like. I think the industry needs a big company running fairly regularly but this is huge and we will see what happens next
He's really sticking to the idea that PFL is a season based sports league. So it is the PFL season, staddled by 2 PFL super PPVs, then 8 matchmaker cards(Bellator) throughout the year to use the roster that way. My confusion is what they are going to do when they find out that all established fighters will prefer to participate in the matchmaker model because seasons are crazy, once you've made it
@@blahblahbag8715”super ppvs” 💀💀
@@blahblahbag8715i think the idea is that the season is good to create stars and interest, then when the fighter is more established they can do the other stand alene fight Cards.
If you look at ufc which had 100s and 100s of fighters under contract, most fans knows just about the top 5 or top 10 depending on the divison, and if we re talking about how many fighters draw fan interest which translates to ppv's, gate, Merch, SoMe engagement, etc. You can prob count them on two hands
Scott is the best at interviews bar none.👍
Great interview. Pfl will eventually top ufc with the season merit structure that will feed the champion series events. Longer lasting Fandom and more money for the company and the fighters as well.
What is this "season structure?" Like it only takes place 3 months of the year?
Doubt it.
Please make a PFL streaming service 😭 I’m not gonna buy multiple streaming services to use at max once a week
Keeping the failed Bellator brand is a terrible decision. The only tiny part i could relate with is basically getting 2 diff tv deals but you can go and do that but you create more confusion and seperate fans. People who like watching Bellator fighters, you want them to watch PFL not Bellator branded events. More fans watching PFL is more valuable thst short term money grabs
What they should do is create tournaments for the Bellator and PFL titles and then have it all culminate with them merging the titles in a PPV. They could call it "worlds collide" or something.
I am so freaking excited about this new injection of talent! Great model!
Donn is a stud. Meritocracy!
Actually, love the energy
For all UFC haters instead of hating why not just support everyone? If you're a fight fan then that's all that matters love and appreciate all promotions
If we can get consistent PFL & Bellator events year round. They should create something like fight pass where they have all their libraries combined on there. 5-10$ monthly
So the two promotions that receives the UFC’s seconds are combining…
The UFC has had and always will have the elite of the elite fighters on their roster. No other promotion comes close.
Great day to be a MMA fan
Gonna start watching 💋
seems like a dope idea, going in the right way
I love bellator. Hope it will keep being good. Never seen a pfl fight. Wouldn't know how to see it. Go mma