Outside Source
Unlike the Ultimate Fighting Championship or most other mixed martial arts leagues, PFL did not follow the conventional model of having a single undisputed title per weight class. PFL produced a tournament format where fighters would compete for an opportunity to reach a major pay day in the tournament or playoffs finale. Added to this were PFL regional tournaments, clash of champions and world tournaments.
However, the organization has decided to move away from the format and stick to the convention of the best fighting the best. Martin thinks that the tournament structure was hard to follow for fans. According to the new PFL CEO, the old way became more confusing after the acquisition of Bellator MMA. Martin claims it was primarily designed to stand out from their rivals. However, Martin now believes his roster is good enough to compete with the UFC without having to use a complicated matchup format.
“The tournament structure was asking a lot of the fans… But that largely, in some respects was created through the Bellator acquisition,” Martin told Ariel Helwani. “So you were merging together different formats. Bellator had champions that were different than the PFL champions. So, I thought there was an opportunity to simplify. It seems like the reaction has been quite positive… I said, let’s just simplify it because the fighters are good enough. We could put on some pretty world-class events without having to make it overly complicated. So, I just think that there’s a reason why the formats work in combat sports, and I think now is the time for us to more conform.”
“The tournament structure was asking a lot of the fans… I thought there was an opportunity to simplify. It seems like the reaction has been quite positive.
I said, let’s just simplify it because the fighters are good enough. We could put on some pretty world-class events… pic.twitter.com/4wHxYNM3s3
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 4, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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