One Quick Fix For Two Of The PFLs Problems

PFL Has Raised Money and Expectations

Last week, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) made headlines with eye-opening news. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund made its first foray into mixed martial arts by investing $100 million into the PFL.

According to the Financial Times, this acquisition of the minority stake was the first deal by SRJ Sports Investments since Saudi Arabia's $650 billion Public Investment Fund established the vehicle earlier this year. The Financial Times went on to report that the deal would establish a Middle East and North African League in the second quarter of 2024. All of this news comes off the heels of PFL signing Francis Ngannou to the best contract in MMA history, being made an equity partner in PFL Africa, and other perks.

Some are calling this investment another act of sportwashing. That is, using big-name sporting events to distract from a poor record on human rights. Whether it’s the mob controlling boxing or The Rumble in the Jungle, organizations with questionable moral principles being involved in combat sports is more the norm than out of place.

Regardless of what you think, the oil money is here and it isn't going anywhere. If anything it will only become more pervasive in other sports and sectors across the world.

Christiano Ronaldo was awarded a deal with Saudi Arabian team Al Nassr for an annual salary of $315 million per season, Saudi soccer club Al-Hilal put together a $1.1 billion package for Kylian Mbappé, and before Ngannou fights in the PFL he will box Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. I mean, the UFC literally created Fight Island with Dubai because they had the capital and willingness to do business, and they wanted to skirt covid policies.

Again, the oil money is here and it isn’t going anywhere.

With this recent news I'm most interested in how the capital injection affects the PFL, their tournament model, and how this could improve the landscape of mixed martial arts competition. Before we get into that, let’s talk about what isn’t working with the PFL.

What Isn't Working with the PFL's Model

The PFL is in a really weird place right now. The PFL has two of the most engaging names in combat sports, Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul; their executive team is excellent at raising capital and building teams, and they are still just wallpaper. This might be a little unfair as the PFL has yet to host an Ngannou fight and capitalize on the big names they’ve signed. Their brand isn't fully feeling the effort they're putting forth. But, they are in a distant and dead last position for what MMA fans are searching for.

It’s worth pointing out that if I included the UFC as a comparison term, none of the three competitor organizations hardly register.

The PFL just had a Fight of the Year candidate between Kurt Holobaugh and Shane Burgos and it doesn't impact search traffic at all. Even when the Ngannou news broke, they didn't crack third place! To fully dissect what isn’t working with the PFL’s customer acquisition strategy is a story for another time, but, I can point to two main reasons why the PFL isn't breaking through to today's audiences.

Content

The PFL does not have a content distribution machine to get people interested in the fighters and, by extension, their brand. 
There is unlimited UFC content about their fighters. You can watch them train, talk, and then sell yourself on why you should watch the fight. That's what the UFC is at this point - a content machine. If the PFL wants any hope of competing with the UFC, they need a storytelling system. They can release as many press releases about making fighters millionaires as they want, but if consumers don't know what happens before and after they don't care.

Brands, Belts, and Tournaments

The PFL’s fighting schedule is not conducive for building brands. This is the PFL’s main differentiator and their most solvable problem. Right now the PFL is operating off of a tournament model. The PFL runs a full regular season of fights, single elimination playoffs, and one championship fight per weight class. If you accrue enough points via your regular season record and method of winning, you go to the playoffs. Win in the playoffs and in you're in the million-dollar fight. The problem is fitting a whole season like this into one year is hard. Like really, really hard. Getting fighters to weigh-in is already a logistical nightmare, and now you want them to cram a schedule of weigh-ins into a year to fit into an arbitrary season? Multiday tournaments are doomed to fail before they begin, and they often break more stars than they build.

If you read about fights you’re basically studying statistics. If you learn about one person fighting for championship status to improve their life you become a fan. The PFL’s system does not allow for this.

The PFL’s championships are largely meaningless as everyone starts the next season in the same place. Add in the PFL’s lack of content and you have a world where no one knows why they should pay attention to any fight. The PFL tried to create a consistent content cadence that sports fans would understand but broke the best part about following combat sports in the process. Champions fighting all comers is built into the lore of fighting. Every boxing fan has probably heard the quote attributed to Jack Dempsey, “I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any son of a bitch in the house.” That’s what fighting is about, seeing who the best is, and the PFL’s rigid structure prevents it. Now I need to confess something.

I actually like the PFL's point system, I just think it's misused in the tournament format. This is a solvable problem with a simple solution that leverages the global brand they're building.

Fix the PFL by Becoming the Premier Fighting League

I am not a soccer fan, but I am fascinated with the organizational structure of professional soccer, namely, promotion and relegation in the Premier League. Promotion and relegation essentially says that the three teams that did the poorest are required to drop down to a lower-class league for the next season. Conversely, the three teams that did best from the lower-class league get to move up to the Premier League. When borrowed appropriately, this system could create meritocracy in the sometimes confusing and corrupt world of combat sports. Think of it like this.

Based on recent PFL news, their organization is being stratified into regional subdivisions: PFL Europe, Africa, etc. Fighters in these regions could use the scoring system already being employed to move up to a higher league of fighting, the Premier Fighting League. Premier Fighting League Fighters could be eligible to contend for world championship belts and fight on the more lucrative PFL Pay Per View cards that afford athletes a 50-50 revenue split. The best part is, this would allow the PFL to build stories around their fighters so fans actually care about the fights while killing tournaments.

Let’s say a fighter gets signed to PFL Europe. After winning a few fights they accumulate enough points to fight in the Premier Fighting League, PFL’s top organization. With a couple of wins and a good stoppage, this fighter’s points have moved them up the ranks and they can contest for a title. This system is highly meritocratic, the matchmaking is clear, and the story writes itself.

Part of the beauty of combat sports is seeing unheralded men and women literally fight their way to fame and fortune in a matter of a few years. This system would create an objective path for that to continue happening while leveraging the foundations of PFL's regional brands and new international footprint.

The alternative is a few more years of obscure tournaments and giant fight nights in Saudi Arabia before flaming out like Bellator, Elite XC, and many many more.

One Thing I’m Trying In Training

I’m adding a new section to my newsletter, “One Thing I’m Trying In Training”. This is just a quick section on a solution to a problem I’m trying in training. Maybe these solutions can solve your training room problems as well?

I’m currently returning to full time training after having my ACL repaired. I’m slow, I’m fat, and I’m stoked to be back.

With my new knee, my game is a lot different now, especially my guard passing. I just don’t have the stability nor mobility to quickly move laterally, knee slice, and pass low yet. As such I’m trying to work something like this.