The PFL is set to make several major changes in 2025, including a complete overhaul of its signature "season" format.
The promotion announced Wednesday that this year's World Tournament will consist of three single-elimination matchups rather than the season and playoffs format the company has used since its debut in 2018. The tournament will feature eight weight classes consisting of eight fighters each and will run April through August.
"This is a continuance of the evolution of PFL," CEO Peter Murray told ESPN. "This innovation of our product makes it better and keeps it merit-based. It's all about one shot. It's a compressed window of competition time, which will lead to a broader audience and more fan engagement."
Also this week, PFL co-founder Donn Davis announced the PFL would no longer promote events under the Bellator MMA banner, as it did in 2024. The PFL acquired Bellator MMA in late 2023 and continued to operate it as a separate entity. That will change in 2025, effectively closing a promotion that opened in 2008.
The PFL will absorb Bellator's roster and crown one PFL champion per weight class, as opposed to having Bellator MMA champions and PFL "season" champions. The promotion has not yet said whether Bellator's current titleholders will transfer their status into the PFL or be asked to compete in a vacant title fight.
The eventual goal is for PFL champions to emerge from the combined roster and defend their titles against other PFL champions from the World Tournament and its global leagues. The PFL is set to launch PFL Africa this summer, and already has PFL Europe and PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa). It has further plans to launch PFL Pacific (Australia).
"It was the right decision to acquire the Bellator brand, and we're proud to have those fighters within our PFL league," Murray said. "That was the driving force behind the acquisition, to upgrade our fighter roster. Last year, we executed the Champions Series with only Bellator fighters. Now, that series will continue with all PFL fighters. That's our franchise, where champions fight."
Over the past year, several of Bellator's top names expressed discontent with the PFL's handling of the Bellator brand -- notably, featherweight champion Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. PFL ultimately released both from their contracts, with the Freire move earlier this week.
Murray said that it's standard for PFL's roster to see more than 30% turnover per year and that a "significant majority" of Bellator fighters are staying on for the new structure in 2025.
"We want to retain top champions and performers who share our values, and we are always bringing in fresh talent to challenge those top performers," Murray said. "Every individual fighter is a different case. We made the decision with Patricio, and, in my view, it was an isolated case."
Previous years of PFL seasons have featured six weight classes with a $1 million prize in the finals. This year, that field expands to eight weight classes, with a $500,000 finals prize. According to officials, PFL will pay out over $20 million in total prize money. The single-elimination bracket will feature standard seeding. Rosters and fighter seeds will be announced in February.
In 2024, the PFL moved into the pay-per-view space with a heavyweight fight between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Murray said the company has not decided whether it will offer a PPV event again in 2025. Much of that might depend on Ngannou, who defeated Ferreira via TKO and has said he intends to return to boxing and MMA.
"We are gearing up to launch PFL Africa in June, and Francis is an integral part of that," Murray said of the fighter born in Cameroon. "Francis absolutely has plans to return to combat sports, including MMA. We are talking to him about timing and potential opponents. If we do a PPV, we'd be gaming up for one big event, and it's an event I'm sure Francis would be a part of."