Top official claims PFL is "direct, fair, and reasonable" in response to recent fighter complaints about post-merger contract dispute

PFL chairman Donn Davis recently addressed fighter complaints regarding their pay and ongoing contract disputes. Contrary to the allegations, Davis declared that his organization operated in a "direct, fair, and reasonable" way and didn't expect every individual fighter to agree with the terms laid out in front of them every time.

Last November, the PFL acquired Bellator MMA in a high-profile corporate takeover. While Bellator continues to operate as a separate promotion under PFL's purview, the parent company has introduced a cross-promotional card featuring many big superstars from both organizations.

While the PFL-Bellator deal was expected to benefit fighters on both rosters, it appears things haven't gone the way many expected. Three high-profile fighters have recently come forward to accuse the PFL of dishonoring their contracts and freezing them out of fighting opportunities.

After Cris Cyborg and Gegard Mousasi slammed the post-merger MMA promotion for delaying their fights and for not honoring their contracts, former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima has also lashed out at the PFL for the same.

During a recent appearance on the Weighing In podcast, Davis addressed these concerns and reiterated that they were functioning ethically and in a reasonable manner. He said:

"What I'm super-proud of is that the market and anyone you talk to, fighters, business partners, media, managers, we're direct, fair and reasonable. 100%. That's my 35 years in business, that's the culture we've built here... We're direct, fair and reasonable with everybody that we deal with... Will some people have different ideas of what works and doesn't work? Sure."

Catch Donn Davis' comments below (31:07):

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Cris Cyborg and Gegard Mousasi slam the PFL for not honoring professional contracts

Before Douglas Lima came forward with allegations about the PFL delaying his fights on purpose and not paying him as per contract, Cris Cyborg spoke up against the MMA promotion in a fiery social media post.

In an X post, the women's MMA icon pointed out that every Bellator champion had either fought or had fights scheduled except her and asked to be freed from her contract. She wrote:

"Every @BellatorMMA champion has either fought or is currently scheduled for a fight since the @PFLMMA merger except me...@DonnDavisPFL @PeteMurrayPFL FREE ME! @srjsports. I am ready to return to MMA I have not fought since Oct 2023."

Similarly, Gegard Mousasi complained about being frozen out of potential fights and accused the PFL of trying to pay him less than his contract amount. During an appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, he said:

"I want to fight, but a little bit difficult with PFL. They don’t honor the contract, but we’ll see... They [PFL] took over the contracts, and Bellator fighters make more than the PFL guys, so they trying to cut [salaries], maybe put pressure."