PFL Forms Global Powerhouse Poised to be MMA Co-Leader
PFL + Bellator Combined Fighter Roster Equal to UFC &ndash; Both Rosters 30% Top 25 World-Ranked
PFL to Launch Reimagined Bellator in 2024 with Bellator International Champions Series
PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions in Landmark MMA Mega-Event to be Staged in 2024
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NEW YORK (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023)&nbsp;- Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced it has completed the acquisition of Bellator from Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), creating a global powerhouse in mixed-martial arts (MMA) and accelerating the combined company to become the industry co-leader.
PFL has acquired an immense number of top fighters through the Bellator acquisition, and its combined fighter roster is now equal in stature to UFC. PFL and UFC both showcase rosters that are 30% comprised of fighters who are top 25 independently world-ranked in their weight- classes. In addition, PFL + Bellator now has the best roster of women&rsquo;s fighters in the world. All newly acquired Bellator fighters will become part of the PFL platform and available to compete in PFL fight franchises.
PFL will continue the Bellator brand, and Bellator will be the &ldquo;one-off&rdquo; event product from PFL. PFL will launch a reimagined Bellator product in 2024 &ndash; the &ldquo;Bellator International Champions Series.&rdquo; The Bellator International Champions Series will consist of eight fight events each year hosted in major cities across the globe, and each Bellator event will feature two compelling co-main fights competing for championship belts.
Bellator becomes one of five live fight franchises of the Professional Fighters League: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Overall, the company can now meet fan and media demand by producing and programming a year-round calendar of live fight content with 30 premium MMA events per year.
PFL as a fighter-first and fan-focused organization plans to stage a landmark mega-event in 2024 &ndash; PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions. The PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions mega-event will feature the champions of each promotion in all seven weight-classes in a head- to-head epic fight experience.
Details of Bellator events, distribution, partnerships, and management will be announced at a later date.
Donn Davis, PFL Chairman and Founder, and Peter Murray, PFL CEO, continue to lead and operate the combined company.
&ldquo;PFL is now a global powerhouse in MMA,&rdquo; said Donn Davis, PFL Founder and Chairman. &ldquo;Our Bellator acquisition turbocharges PFL&rsquo;s mission to innovate the sport and become the industry co-leader.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The combined PFL and Bellator fighter rosters are second to none in MMA,&rdquo; said Peter Murray, PFL CEO. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t wait to bring MMA fans what they have been asking for - best vs best with the PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions Mega-Event.&rdquo;
MMA with 650 million global fans is the third largest fan-base of all sports worldwide. MMA is the sports growth business of this decade with its current $1.75 billion industry revenue projected to grow 10% annually to $4 billion by 2032.
Bellator has served fighters and fans worldwide for more than a decade, staging an astounding 301 major MMA fight events. Bellator has successfully identified and developed dozens of acclaimed MMA world champions. Bellator&rsquo;s current fighter roster has 46 fighters world-ranked in the top 25 of their weight-class per independent source Fight Matrix Rankings.
PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class, the same percentage as UFC. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the &ldquo;Champions League of MMA&rdquo; with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next- generation viewing experience. PFL is primetime on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S. and is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.
Citi and LionTree served as financial advisors to PFL and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to PFL.
ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league world-wide. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.
MEDIA CONTACTS
PFL Loren Mack;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lmack@pflmma.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lmack@pflmma.com</a>
Paramount Allie McLarty;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:allison.mclarty@paramount.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allison.mclarty@paramount.com</a>

Professional Fighters League Acquires Bellator in Industry Transformative Deal

LOS ANGELES &mdash;&nbsp;BELLATOR&rsquo;s return to San Diego for the promotion&rsquo;s momentous BELLATOR 300 event proved to be a thrilling one. In the historic three title fight main card, all champions retained their belts with Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) outclassing former champion Brent Primus (12-4), climbing up to the No. 3 spot in the men&rsquo;s pound-for-pound rankings. The greatest women&rsquo;s fighter of all time Cris Cyborg (27-2, 1 NC) made an emphatic return to the BELLATOR cage when she stopped Cat Zingano (14-5) in the first round, retaining her status as No. 1 in the women&rsquo;s pound-for-pound rankings. Lastly, Liz Carmouche (20-7) displayed her dominance over former flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-3), defending her No. 2 spot in the women&rsquo;s pound-for-pound rankings in the process.
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The preliminary portion of the event saw a shake up as well with Leah McCourt (8-3) inserting herself at the No. 1 contender rank in the featherweight division following her first round TKO victory over Sara McMann (14-7). After a back-and-forth brawl, Kai Kamaka III (12-5-1) defeated Henry Corrales (21-7) securing the No. 9 spot in the featherweight rankings.
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Slim Trabelsi (6-0) debuted in the top-ten of the heavyweight rankings at No. 9 after his first-round stoppage over Davion Franklin (6-2), while Grant Neal (9-1) found success in his middleweight debut scoring the No. 9 spot after his unanimous decision victory over Romero Cotton (6-2). Finally, Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov (21-7-1) placed himself at No. 5 in the light heavyweight rankings with his impressive victory over Maciej Rozanski (14-4).
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BELLATOR MMA&rsquo;s next stop will be The Windy City for BELLATOR 301, with undefeated welterweight kingpin Yaroslav Amosov (27-0) defending his title against No. 2-ranked Jason Jackson (16-4) as the proud Ukrainian chases the longest undefeated streak in MMA history (29 held by Khabib Nurmagomedov). Bantamweight World Champion Sergio Pettis (23-5) seeks to unify his world title against 135-pound World Grand Prix tournament winner and interim champion Patchy Mix (18-1). A high-stakes, five-round BELLATOR Lightweight World Grand Prix Semi-Final bout is set between former titlist Patricky Pitbull (25-11) and No. 2-ranked Alexander Shabliy (23-3). The victor will advance to face the Lightweight World Champion Usman Nurmagomedov in the finals of the Lightweight World Grand Prix. Chicago will see the return of former featherweight champion AJ McKee (20-1) back in action when he takes on top-five ranked lightweight Sidney Outlaw (17-5). Lastly, every card needs a little animosity, and there will be no shortage of that when Raufeon Stots (19-2) and Danny Sabatello (14-3) renew their feud from 2022 in a rematch during the main card of BELLATOR 301.
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BELLATOR 301: Amosov vs. Jackson will air live on SHOWTIME beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Preliminary card action is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET on BELLATOR&rsquo;s YouTube and Pluto TV channels.
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Tickets for the massive spectacle that is BELLATOR 301 are on sale now. More ticketing information can be found at Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.com.
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<a href="https://www.bellator.com/ranking">Click here</a> for additional information detailing fighter eligibility, as well as additional voting criteria.
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<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Furldefense.proofpoint.com-252Fv2-252Furl-253Fu-253Dhttp-2D3A-5F-5Fwww.bzapr.com-5Fcredentials-2526d-253DDwMF-2Dg-2526c-253DjGUuvAdBXp-5FVqQ6t0yah2g-2526r-253D3-5FJ6jNe7ZPHA4Gg-5Fe4RgtlmSNx8Q-5F9Awo3t-5FSpc8Gf8-2526m-253DjqZOeF5HzlPYVkOsG61cGpvUO0Qbzszq8ShVe4A5LI3iB-2DVB-5FZatGxplV7qQ6v2h-2526s-253DtLmxFt84ElL7kOOazMNUF7jnAwTrxxkFLclLkOmpWEM-2526e-253D-26data-3D04-257C01-257CJanem-2540bzapr.com-257C964a6bb07b31455de5a608da0230da45-257C3674bf0f3d5b41a99e3785c6140a53d5-257C0-257C0-257C637824706096613511-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C3000-26sdata-3Duvv1-252BkEUScGzIbn4H-252BnovyfRdVVJT1fmFPzTaYpoEDw-253D-26reserved-3D0&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=jGUuvAdBXp_VqQ6t0yah2g&amp;r=3_J6jNe7ZPHA4Gg_e4RgtlmSNx8Q_9Awo3t_Spc8Gf8&amp;m=WTovQZEe5sw20GFLx7u7cI_nDrP13D2xaVFLKUrMQcb8EQ0O_6tL4BlopuVugN-M&amp;s=f6ZJqliX_DoTRqdT9YRH2olAmK6AJw0oOToQ6acpRCI&amp;e=">Apply for BELLATOR media credentials</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Furldefense.proofpoint.com-252Fv2-252Furl-253Fu-253Dhttp-2D3A-5F-5Fwww.bzapr.com-5Fzoom-2526d-253DDwMF-2Dg-2526c-253DjGUuvAdBXp-5FVqQ6t0yah2g-2526r-253D3-5FJ6jNe7ZPHA4Gg-5Fe4RgtlmSNx8Q-5F9Awo3t-5FSpc8Gf8-2526m-253DjqZOeF5HzlPYVkOsG61cGpvUO0Qbzszq8ShVe4A5LI3iB-2DVB-5FZatGxplV7qQ6v2h-2526s-253DnDKVYnWW76FtaIKh6bajGQpUlEI4U2IbG-5FyGFfeRwgE-2526e-253D-26data-3D04-257C01-257CJanem-2540bzapr.com-257C964a6bb07b31455de5a608da0230da45-257C3674bf0f3d5b41a99e3785c6140a53d5-257C0-257C0-257C637824706096613511-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C3000-26sdata-3DLEZclo-252FyeaviZk94038IYoTgyW0eC0QAfNv7Hfbj6RQ-253D-26reserved-3D0&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=jGUuvAdBXp_VqQ6t0yah2g&amp;r=3_J6jNe7ZPHA4Gg_e4RgtlmSNx8Q_9Awo3t_Spc8Gf8&amp;m=WTovQZEe5sw20GFLx7u7cI_nDrP13D2xaVFLKUrMQcb8EQ0O_6tL4BlopuVugN-M&amp;s=uRKyKK-UzY-GtGUPYCyIING8-MLIgTFQyA2R8q7P6C4&amp;e=">RSVP for BELLATOR virtual media availabilities</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
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For more information on upcoming&nbsp;BELLATOR MMA&nbsp;events, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://bellator.com/">BELLATOR.com</a>.&nbsp;
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Updated schedule of BELLATOR events - click links for updated fight cards
Fri. Nov. 17 // <a href="https://www.bellator.com/event/318">BELLATOR 301: Amosov vs. Jackson</a> // Wintrust Arena // Chicago, Ill.
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About BELLATOR
BELLATOR MMA is a leading global mixed martial arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, BELLATOR events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries to an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, BELLATOR can be seen on SHOWTIME. BELLATOR is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity, and commission relations. BELLATOR is based in Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant Paramount, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
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About SHOWTIME
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount, owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME&reg;, which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and&nbsp;Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL&trade; and FLIX&reg;, as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV&reg;. For more information, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sho.com/">www.SHO.com</a>.