For months, even before the November acquisition of Bellator, various members of PFL's management team boasted that its talent roster was second to none.
Saturday's pay-per-view card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that pitted Bellator fighters against PFL fighters showed how short-sighted those boasts were. The PFL is spending a lot of money in an attempt to make itself a viable competitor to the UFC, and while it still has a long way to go, it certainly has a strong footing.
But the Bellator fighters on the main card showed much work needs to be done where it matters the most, with the quality of the fighters in the cage. Bellator athletes won the first five of their six head-to-head battles with PFL fighters and largely made it look easy in the process.
It was only a massive right hand by the PFL's Hulk Hogan-sized heavyweight champion, Renan Ferreira, that knocked out Ryan Bader in the main event which saved the PFL from the utter embarrassment of a shutout. HIs prize for that? A date with Francis Ngannou, the ex-UFC heavyweight champion who is boxing right now and has a March 8 bout in Riyadh against Anthony Joshua that's available on PPV.com.
For the time being, at least, Bellator is going to be run as a separate brand, so Saturday's results made it clear the PFL needs an infusion of talent. In the opening bout, A.J. McKee decimated the PFL's Clay Collard. He took him down, caught him in a guillotine, tried a triangle choke and finally ended it with an armbar. It was over at 1:10 of the first.
It was a mismatch, and it wasn't the only one. After Yoel Romero defeated Thiago Santos in an utter snoozer to put Bellator up 2-0, former Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov overwhelmed former PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza. He caught Cappelozza in an arm triangle and put him to sleep at 2:13 of the second.
Jason Jackson just decimated the PFL's Ray Cooper III with calf kicks. Cooper nearly didn't make it out of the first round, and was saved by the bell. All that did was get him a bit more beating before referee Bryan Miner mercifully halted the bout at 23 seconds of the second.
Impa Kasanganay, the 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion, was the first PFL fighter to provide any pushback, and there was a bit of uncertainty about the result when his fight with Johnny Eblen ended. A picture-perfect right by Kasanganay dropped Eblen in the second, but to his credit, Eblen recovered quickly and was able to survive. He rallied in the third and pulled out a split decision.
"Hey man, it was a close fight and [in the] second round, he caught me," Eblen said. "I had to f*cking show up and be a champion. It is what it is, but sometimes, you're going to get knocked down in life. You've got to f*cking get back in there and f*cking win it."
Bader, though, wasn't able to finish it off. He was dwarfed by the 6-8 Ferreira, and couldn't handle a clean, blistering right cross that landed on the button. Bader went down as if he were shot, and Ferreira made no mistake by finishing it quickly.
That allowed the PFL to avoid the ignominy of a complete sweep, though to be fair, it's the promoter for all of these fighters. But since they're running the brands separately, it was pretty obvious the PFL is lagging badly behind Bellator in both high-end talent in depth. It's not within shouting range of the UFC at this point.
It was, though, just one fight card on one night. NFL teams that don't make the playoffs or don't win the Super Bowl don't give up; they go out and re-tool and use the draft and free agency to try to improve themselves.
The PFL management would be wise to not talk so much about the quality of the roster and instead go out and do something about it.
The idea for the show was fun, and the belt they designet to give to the winners was awesome. It was a big championship belt that had what looked to a a Super Bowl ring inserted in it. It was the star of the show.
The fights, though, didn't live up to the extraordinary hype. On the boradcast, the announcers were referencing it as possible the greatest card in MMA history. But the PFL fighters disappointing showed very little pushback and went down largely without much of a battle.
Ferreira did his thing and blew out Bader, and his reward for that is a date somewhere down the line with Ngannou when Ngannou is done boxing.
"I am the real problem out here," said Ferreira, whose nickname is "Problema." "I'm the record breaker out here. I'm the record-setter. Francis, where you at? I'm waiting for you. Let's do this."
When Ngannou finally fights another MMA bout, it will considerably strengthen the PFL roster. More, as Saturday's results unequivocally showed, is needed.
Adding Ngannou, though, will be a star. A big one.
But the brains behind the PFL has to make sure that's not a one-and-done. They clearly need talent up and down the roster to pursue their dreams.
Courtesy PFL
PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira (R) celebrates after uncorking a vicious right hand that knocked out Bellator's Ryan Bader just 21 seconds into their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.