Donn Davis announces official end of Bellator MMA brand: “All fight events and content will be PFL”

According to PFL founder Donn Davis, the Bellator MMA brand is officially no more.

Bellator has had a rocky road since being founded by Bjorn Rebney in 2008. After a few years of running a tournament format producing talents such as Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, Viacom bought the company. In 2014, Rebney parted ways with the company, leading to the signing of former Strikeforce boss, Scott Coker.

For nearly a decade, the brand was run by Coker. They had some incredible highs, signing high-profile broadcasting deals and acquiring former UFC stars such as Rory MacDonald and Cris Cyborg. However, in late 2023, Viacom sold Bellator to the PFL. As a result, Coker and others parted ways with the company.

PFL’s year running Bellator produced some phenomenal events, but also much controversy. Several champions, such as Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix, publically complained about their lack of activity. Eventually, the two requested releases, with the Brazilian formally parting ways with the promotion earlier today.

RELATED: MARK ZUCKERBERG STILL HOPING FOR MMA FIGHT AFTER FAILED TALKS TO FACE ELON MUSK: “I WANT TO”

ALL fighters now integrated and connected in one powerful roster

One Brand 👊@PFLMMA 👊One Roster

Professional Fighters League #PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/JcylkqFQSA

— Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) January 14, 2025

PFL founder Donn Davis announces the end of the Bellator MMA brand

Along with the announcement of Patricio Pitbull’s release, Donn Davis also announced a formal end to the Bellator brand. In a post on social media, the founder announced that all fighters will be competing under the PFL umbrella moving forward. While Bellator titles will seemingly be on the line in future bouts, there won’t be any events centered around them.

The brief press release leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but it’s not a secret the PFL is making a lot of changes to its business model. Earlier this month, longtime MMA journalist Al Zullino reported that the company is axing its $1 million prizes for tournament winners. Instead, they’ll receive just $500,000.

There are also other contractual changes that are reportedly in the works over at the PFL. However, the company must now turn its attention to its first event of 2025. Later this month, Usman Nurmagomedov will look to defend his lightweight gold against Paul Hughes in the headliner of a Dubai-based card.

What do you make of these comments from PFL founder Donn Davis? What are your favorite Bellator fights of all time?