Ahead of PFL MMA’s season five playoffs, league president Ray Sefo admits that he isn’t surprised the league has been able to last this long. However, he did not expect it to grow as quickly as it has.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship controls a massive chunk of the mixed martial arts market share. But that has never stopped other promotions from trying to carve out a corner of the sport and lure in fight fans looking for an alternative. Unfortunately, that endeavor has often led to many failed cage-fighting companies.
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When the Professional Fighters League entered the fight game in 2018, there were certainly doubters in the industry. Especially since it brought a league format complete with a regular season, playoffs, and championship to the violent circus that is the MMA business. Yet, the league is just days away from the start of its fifth postseason and has turned into one of the few cage-fighting success stories. A story Ray Sefo always saw coming.
“I knew it was gonna work, it was just a matter of us doing the right things, and we did that,” Sefo told Sportsnaut. “I’m not surprised where we are, but I am surprised how fast we’ve grown. Which is a credit to the amazing work of the team. I’m honestly very grateful that we’re growing the way we’re growing.”
Melissa Rodriguez, PFL Senior Director of Event Operations and one of the few members of the staff that have been around as long as Sefo, shared that same early-days sentiment. “A league format makes sense,” she told Sportsnaut. “It’s new to MMA but it has worked in other sports, so I see why fans could understand and gravitate towards the format. There was an excitement to not only disrupt and be different but to also focus on the sport vs. the celebrity of the fighters.”
The growing pains in forming PFL from the ashes of WSOF
The PFL has made headlines and waves over the last year by further expanding its brand and roster with big-time free-agent signings like combat sports disruptor Jake Paul and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The acquisitions were the latest piece of evidence that the league is a legitimate force in the sport. Yet its growth did not come overnight and instead has been a steady incline that really started back when the company was known as the World Series of Fighting.
Sefo first came up with the concept of an MMA league back when he was part of the group that helped form the now-defunct WSOF. However, the plans to use the same concept that currently makes PFL different from other MMA companies were scrapped and WSOF was made to be just like other promotions. And that was one of the first big lessons that the former kickboxer and MMA star learned when it comes to running a fight company: Find partners that share your outlook.
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“There were a lot of things that went on that made me realize I’ve got to be a lot more careful with who is involved [in the league],” says Sefo. “And when you have a team like there is today, everybody’s mind, vision, and goal are exactly the same.”
The PFL has always been a unique MMA dish that has consistently gotten tweaks made to it since its inception in 2018. And while the basic structure of the league has helped to avoid serious problems from happening with its talent, Ray Sefo admits that it’s still a work in progress for him and the PFL brain trust.
“I always said [the format] was going to take five or more years to continue to tweak certain things here and there,” he said. “Which we’ve done with the help of [CBO Jim Bramson], [Vice President Josh Fowler],[CEO Pete Murray], and myself. When there are certain things that need to be tweaked, we sit down and talk about it and we kind of put it all together. It won’t surprise me if do more in the next year or two.”
Ray Sefo says PFL MMA could soon return to its playoff roots
One notable recent change is the fact that the PFL MMA playoffs no longer feature events where competitors must win both their quarterfinal and semifinal bouts in one night. It was a unique element that made PFL stand out and drew new fans despite the chaotic atmosphere it created backstage.
“Those were intense nights,” Rodriguez remembers. “We had to very strategically plan the fighter warm-up spaces because you didn’t know for sure who might end up fighting each other for the second round. The moments waiting to find out if the winning fighter was cleared to fight seemed like an eternity. The fact that the guys were able to physically compete twice was unreal.”
Unfortunately, two bouts in a night won’t be the case this August and haven’t been since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to go away from that element that blended a classic staple of old-school MMA with their modern format. However, Sefo claims that concept may not be dead and could eventually return to the PFL smart cage in the near future.
“In my opinion, I think eventually we will get back to the two fights in one night,” Sefo says. “Because that’s one of the [concepts] that separates us from everyone else. It’s because of the tournament format and how it’s done.”
Big things on the horizon for PFL MMA in 2024 and beyond
The league has made a lot of headway in a short amount of time, but the big question is what is the next big idea that could help the league stamp its place as the undisputed No. 2 MMA content provider in the sport, and maybe even pull from the UFC”s massive audience.
Obviously, the debuts of Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou at a future pay-per-view event will elevate the product to new heights, especially if it occurs on the same card. However, international expansion is also a major priority for PFL after producing events in Europe earlier this year. And Sefo revealed to Sportsnaut that PFL Africa — which will be led by Ngannou — is expected to begin next year, and PFL Oceania — featuring fighters from Australia and New Zealand — will follow soon after.
Another avenue for serious growth could come in the fact that rival promotion Bellator is reportedly up for sale, and the PFL is allegedly a serious contender to purchase what many consider to be the second-best company in the sport. A potential merger of the two brands would certainly help give the league the sort of roster that could compete with the UFC.
While Ray Sefo could not say much about negotiations, he did admit that there have “been great discussions and there are more discussions to be had” on a potential merger.
Later this year, PFL MMA will hand out six more million-dollar checks to their 2023 champions, and it looks like there is no reason to believe that yearly tradition will stop anytime soon because the league’s future looks promising compared to this time five years ago. Furthermore, the perception of the PFL around the industry is also far more positive than how it was viewed in 2018.
“When I’m in the gym, whether I’m training or coaching, there are endless amounts of people coming up and pitching their fighters, and this person and that person,” Sefo says with a sly grin. “Which is a good thing. In terms of emails or now with social media, I open up Instagram or whatever and there are hundreds and hundreds of messages from fighters all over the world [looking to join]. It’s good when you’re getting those calls and people reaching out. … Where we are today is truly amazing.”
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The PFL MMA season five playoffs kick off on Aug. 4 in San Antonio, then continue with events in New York on Aug. 18 and Aug. 23.