Donn Davis discusses PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, when the talks started, why they did it, if cash was involved in deal, if Bellator and PFL will have different TV deals, why they are keeping the Bellator brand alive, when Francis Ngannou will fight for the PFL, Jake Paul, Kayla Harrison, Scott Coker’s future, uniforms, rules, broadcast team, how close they are to the UFC now, PFL’s pay-per-view price, crowd sizes, Canadian events, and more.
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Seems like a kind man
Chael! Saw you in NYC last week! Was just thinking about you on this PFL-Bellator Subject. This guy is definitely good and unless your brand loyal to Dana I could see you partnering up with them as a win-win.
Or....Maybe this can go PFl vs. UFC where the young (talent) start up challenges their older (UFC) teacher! Either way, brings popularity. Choices Win-win at the same time absorbing more eyes collectively from everywhere. Kind of like the skit you and Ariel put on recently. Could be a fun one!
Such kind words from a Gangster
Nice guy's finish last.
Seems like Ariel beat you in the debate
Truly happy for PFL and the future of both PFL/Bellator.
I’m happy for the sport
@@drunkenmmamaster4193 North American promotions to 2 , how is that good
Can't deny it sounds really exciting to keep an eye on PFL next year big things could be on the horizon.
You said same when nigganu signed
@@robot9071 wtf? Did I? How do you know? And if it's because you went and checked my account or comments somehow that's also crazy. You're either slightly crazy or you are seriously lacking fulfillment in life. Either way all the best brother 👍🤣
The regional leagues sound very interesting and a game changer.
Their event on Friday was awesome. First live pfl event I went to. They know how to put on a show
Good luck to the PFL team. Good on the management to understand what's at stake here.
For anyone who primarily watches UFC, Bellator has talent on their roster that can compete with anyone in the world. Great move from the PFL
Have you seen a Bellator card?? They're boring as F. Almost every single UFC card from first fight is an awesome fight. You're losing it buddy...
@@hellohi5447 Yeah your right but partly because Bellator was top heavy and their marketing and promotion of fighters werent great either so even if it was a good match up you didnt care because you didnt know the fighters. Hopefully merging with PFL they can cut the dead weight and have solid cards from top to bottom and really improve their production because its very bland.
It depends on the card and the fighters on the card, some Bellator cards were amazing, others not so much. Some UFC card are amazing, others I don't even bother to watch because they're not interesting.
That doesn't even make sense. How do you know they weren't good if you didn't watch them?....Because, they're not "interesting." 90 percent of UFC cards are legit all awesome fights almost head to toe. Bellator doesn't even compare. I watch both. SMH....@@evanstarkman2341
I watched bellator once. It was a 0-2 guy vs a 0-0 guy and the fight was boring. Talk about making a bad first impression.
Always been a massive ufc fan and have barely watched bellator or pfl but I’m hoping it all works out for this guy, seeing pfl being a powerhouse as well would be nice
I've been watching UFC since 1998, and if I am honest with myself, I have always been a fan of the personalities and the drama behind the scenes (fake or real). If PFL can do a good job with building up fighters and vlog type content like how UFC does it, I would definitely watch more often. I really like those "day in the life of" episodes that UFC drops during fight week.
@@Mr-E.so you’ll only watch if they copy the ufcs footsteps lmao
@@SonOftheBattleCry Damn straight
@@Mr-E.that's what I want pro wrestling to do to reinvent the sport: build up fighters through vlog content & have a madman owner/matchmaker like Dana promoting & hyping up the matches. I'm a major fan of MMA & Pro Wrestling & I personally would love to see Pro Wrestling become more combat sport oriented & drift away from Sports Entertainment.
@SonOftheBattleCry its not the ufcs footsteps lol, the ufc is the first and longest running mma promotion and the most successful by miles. They are the standard. Gimmicks like championship seasons, 'playoffs', ai scoring (lol) and "the smartcage (tm)" are merely gimmicks. Pfl will have to do something wildly different to distinguish from the ufc, but paradoxically would do well to copy many of ufcs practices as clearly they work and arent patented (vlogging, media, storytelling). It could start by actually running events that make money.
Interested how this goes, but I think simplifying the branding for the different fight cards. Bellator series, PFL season, Super fight etc. It’s confusing to keep track of and what fighter is apart of what. It’s easier to make a card and announce fights for that card. The champion vs champion is gonna be exciting to watch, should create a new unified belt.
I think a lot of it had to be that way. It should be simple in about a year - cohesive branding.
Although I like this comment, we’re only seeing the concept of operations right now. As it unfolds, there may be some roll outs that show the differentiation for the fighters.
Eventually Bellator will disappear.
Came here to say the same thing. The PFL is already harder to follow with their whole point and playoff system on top of them being behind the UFC that has fights nearly every single weekend they really need to make it as easily digestible as possible and they're doing the exact opposite.
Yup, most of the comments here are correct. PFL is confusing as hell. Being “different” to challenge the UFC doesn’t mean being over-complicated. I don’t get it, and I live for MMA.
I like the way this guy thinks, don't limit the fighters let them move around, put on multiple great events, this is good for healthy competition.
They are still limited to the PFL umbrella. This is no different than UFC fighters being able to compete in ADCC or Fight Pass Invitationals. They are still locked to a PFL MMA contract.
@@DoubleDOwnage PFL repeatedly said they're interested in copromoting fights their roster wants to do, how is that locking their fighters? UFC (and ONE for now) is the only promoter out there unwilling to do this; proof is they're involved in an antitrust lawsuit and its a big piece of it.
They’re doomed
I’m liking this. This dude seems like he has the fighters/fans best interest in mind so I’m excited to see how it unfolds. Hopefully they can keep this momentum going cause it’s pretty refreshing to see a new organization start to rise up
Seems like he's good at lying like every businessman
@@tobiaspointer6662 fr lol, imagine believing he has the fighters/fans best interests. Dude is literally an investor and trying to make money.
@@tobiaspointer6662 what has he said that’s a lie?
@@lb2017blwhy would he be doing this for free? Of course he’s doing it for money. Anybody in his position would be trying to make money from it. Do you work for free? It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have fighters’ best interests in mind.
Lol, Scot Coker sounded the same way and he was about pretty shows instead of just putting on fights .
I think the best thing to do once Bellator is merged into PFL is for them do a couple key tournaments (since they're so married to the concept) throughout the year and then have regular cards with championships fights as per normal. You can't expect to build stars without title reigns.
A tournament style bracket makes sense to boost the promotion to become that.
Yeah but in my opinion should just make a new brand or using pfl name because it just make fan confuse if their still separated entity ( fan want to see best fighter of the organisation ).
It'll be great if Bellator Champion fights the PFL champion in undisputed Championship fights. Sooner or later they have to combine the rooster otherwise all this acquisition doesn't make sense if they keep running separately because none of them are making money.
"If u are doing the right thing don't worry about it." What a quote.
Why didn't they just combine PFL and Bellator into one league. Have everyone compete under one rule set and one banner.
Would be too many fighters under the tournament format, I can see why they would want to keep Bellator around but I don't think they need an international league as well
@@megaham1552do away with the tournament
PFL used to be wsof and it used to come on NBC sports for free. That's when it was the best.
They eventually will. Just trying to work out the kinks in the beginning and see what sticks with the fans.
they need to make fight library have easy access to everyone not just Americans@@rudyleal2579
Wow. Pleasantly surprised after this interview. When this was initially announced, I really didn’t like the idea of keeping the brands separate post-merger. But after hearing Don speak I’m pretty interested. It seems like he wants PFL to be a hub for MMA where fighters have options and different niches that fit their preferences and career aspirations.
I like this guy. He seems very sincere and transparent. That's what we all want as fans. Wish them all the best.
I’m down to give PFL/Bellator a great chance hearing the interview today. I haven’t seen much of the PFL other than highlights, and I’ve seen some of bellator. If they can get a good network to have these shows and then good cards, I think they can do well against ONE and UFC.
Just ordered the ppv because of this interview. Excited to check it out
@@joshuahaggard8116 🧢
@@joshuahaggard8116you're their first sale 😂
@@joshuahaggard8116sorry you paid for that ppv
Sounds like a impressive guy on a mission , looking forward to watching this unfold !
Super pumped for this. I really love the way PFL is structured, the way the stars are always on-screen and the AI judging.
AI judging? Who is doing that?
@@starseeddeluxe Ai judging is just for show in comparison They also compare fan votes at the same time they show the rest
if you want to compete with the UFC you need to make moves, you need to take risks and most of all give a better product. This man is doing his absolute best to do that, they got Francis and now this move plus the overseas focus makes me think they are on the right path. I wish them luck. I love the UFC but they need to be pushed if anything for their fighters' sake but also because I love MMA and I would love nothing more than more promotions that can compete with the UFC, shout out to ONE I think their on the right path as well. If you are a hardcore MMA fan you are already watching PFL and ONE so lets pray they get there!
🤝🤝
💯
The guy made it clear his big names are Francis and Paul .. Francis has never even fought under their banner and is a boxer now and if he was that big of a cash cow ufc would have figured out a way to keep him. Jake also never fought under their banner and isn’t even a mma fighter. It’s a joke. ONE is big because it’s asian market and it categorizes the different arts. This guy seems nice and all but my prediction is this fails .. we’ll see
Pushed for their fighters sake? By pfl? Just to make you aware, PFL pays 3x less to it's early prelim fighters and UFC is the highest paying mma organisation on earth
I agree. I like where his head is at. PFL and ONE are the real threats to the ufc. Monopoly’s are never good. There needs to be healthy competition.
Professional Fighters League [PFL] is changing the landscape. Awesomeness. 😎
It's The Future.
They need to merge the brands, only way this has any success of gaining ground with the UFC
It will be phased.
Hopefully this is all just to maintain appearances and to honour existing legacy contracts. I suspect within 2 years it will all be just PFL.
@@DoubleDOwnage that would make sense, PFL I think from a branding point is much hotter and cleaner, all the bellator roster can benefit from it merging
This has 0 chance, but good suggestion
@@user-uc4zb2jk4jcan you explain why you believe it was zero chance?
MMA fans need to support PFL. This is a great interview.
I like this guy, breath of fresh air.
This is an owner I can get behind. I hope they can make an accessible paywall that makes sense for larger masses of fans to take part in.
Great interview. Thank you Ariel! Very informative for MMA fans.
Way too many names and leagues. Its should be PFL. Period. This guy doesnt get the fight business. He proved it with the "were all fighters" line.
I can understand why they would keep Bellator but I don't think they should bother with an international league
@@megaham1552 the international series makes more sense. Bellator does way better business in Europe than the US. Some of their best cards in the US have a hard time selling out. They take Peter Queally or James Gallagher to Ireland and sell out every time. Their London and Paris events have also done very well.
It’s not different than when Zuffa owned UFC and WEC and ran them separate for years. The same company selling you Edgar vs Maynard for the “lightweight championship of the world” was the same company selling you Pettis vs Henderson for the “lightweight championship of the world”
The vision! It's amazing 👏
I like his interviews. Very interesting, lots of insight into business, and zero arrogance.
This guy is really building something big
I like this guy! Have never seen him before. Would like to see him on more. Good energy, shares what he can and opens up more than Dana. Really like the 1 off product 8 times a year, treats, fan fights. Please change the Bellator name for the love of god.
They won't change the name. He said it's a popular 12 year old brand that has its own following. And they don't want to kill it.
I've always loved Dana and his comical personality. But hearing this man, it sets a whole new bar of honesty and transparency. Dana avoids so many answers and also insults the people asking the questions. But more so, Dana isn't making the correct fights. PFL is going to only make good fights that fans want. The UFC and Dana are trying to force Jon Jones vs. Stipe which is completely unacceptable.
I just realized the amount of hype Ngannou gained after beating Fury would greatly benefit the PFL card. Its crazy to think if they get superstar Nate in there mixed with Jake and Wilder, then PFL could seriously rival and surpass UFC main events.
Francis lost to Fury and no one watched the fight lol
Rival or surpass ufc M.E. ? Lol not happening right now lol in 5yrs maybe rival but not surpass lol
@@martyfromnebraska1045 A lot of people I know watched it for free if you know what I mean... including myself lol
@@martyfromnebraska1045most of the world says Francis won, whether they watched live or not. Francis's stock went up big time
Ok, but who is Francis fighting in PFL? That's the problem.
Never heard of this guy. Wow can't wait to see more of him. What a speaker.
Really like this man the more interviews I see of him
Their plans are very interesting. Hopefully they can pull it off. Would be great for us fans
The man’s excitement and passion is engaging. Hard not to dig the transparency of no traditional thinking and openly owning that he doesn’t have all the answers and that they’re going to experiment and I find what works. A refreshing perspective really
I like this guy. First interaction with him. I'm down to start watching PFL/Bellator soon.
Atleast don davis is giving fighters the chance to fight in both organisation and not restricting them, good work man
Havent watched a show PFL before , will definitely be tuning in for the Championship and the following season . Exciting times ahead!
Bro is waffling about being innovators, but people don’t like fights without elbows for example. Also, nobody is paying $50 for that PPV. Even not with 20 title fights.
Worst part about pfl fr
right lol would never order a pfl ppv
Yeah, no elbows is trash
It makes sense if they fight 6 times a year
@@DefendingTheTruth the season is dumb. That’s why even bellator went away from that format
Great questions and really good answers. Ariel you actually asked a lot of the questions I had about this. This interview alone really shows the masterful Journalist you have become my friend.
Who tf are you lol
Im sure you made his day with your support.
What, you didn't want Schmo or Nina Whatsherface to interview him instead and ask what his favorite color is?
Didn’t ask about health insurance for all the fighters Ariel Jake and Francis will never mention it again
How is he your friend? 😂
PFL still needs to improve their production. A while ago, there was too much quiet time during their show, they need to work on this.
Possible, I would think they are just going to grind as hard as they can until Dana retires, and that’s when they might be able achieve parity. Until then, it is going to be very difficult to challenge the Dana White show.
@@edwardseavey1172 Revenue in 2022: UFC: $387 million PFL: $8.6 million They really be a small fish
I’m happy this information is shared in this platform
I can understand keeping the brand separate at least for a while or whatever but having them under different media rights is a terrible idea when the UFC is under one banner
Exactly. UFC is synonymous with MMA. Them being under one banner is what makes UFC easy to follow.
The Chase N Status guy is everywhere at the moment
Best interview since the last DD interview🤙 the future is bright
I'm very happy for the fighters, they have a sense of security, but this merger isn't going to make Ari and UFC brass lose any sleep. Merging the #3 and #4 (I'd say ONE is #2) does not make them a threat. What it does do, it will force the UFC to raise it's game and it improves the industry, fighter pay, fighter benefits etc, which is fantastic news.
Don’t be so sure of yourself man, it depends on who they can sign and how good the fighters get in the next couple years
one fell off tbh
@@caleblaws2533 Ain’t no way any of the top 10 in each weight class (mostly in ufc) join them. I think this will be a short lived adventure. Is pfl or bellator even on tv?
Yeah, when it does they'll just buy it.
@@thetwistedfirestarter pfl is on ESPN same as ufc homie
Wow, hell of an interview !
I admire the transparency
Great content and interview
He should just merge it all into one promotion. It’s too many names and categories, it’s going to confuse most people Some of the fighters losing belts and having to pick between competing for Bellator or PFL is going to make them really want to fight elsewhere. I want PFL to do well, but this doesn’t sound good, I hope I’m wrong
Damn after this interview im definitely going to tune in
Hopefully it works out well, The fans and fighters all win from competition. Hope PFL advertise better than Bellator ever did, and make it easier to know start times.
I honestly like what they’re doing. Stateside and internationally it sounds like it will be very impactful. I just hope to have quality fighters and great production. It’s great for fighters to have choices and also as a longtime fan I like having options.
As far as quality fighters, you don’t hear many young guys hoping to be PFL champ someday lol they might have trouble with that
@@kylenordstrom3554no debate there. But imagine once word gets out that you can make the same money if not more at pfl….it’s just about having choices man.
@@kylenordstrom3554Yeah, it's a title that guys who couldn't cut it in the UFC settle for.
I hope Donn makes this work. An actual global MMA league with a world championship at the end of it would be so sick. It would make people take it far more seriously instead of the fake drama that's in the UFC. The UFC's shtick is so old nowadays.
Drama is what sells.
This was really good. Thank you! If anyone is making a movie about Donn Davis then Ray Winstone would be superb as him.
Very excited about how they flesh out the league concept now
What a great interview
great interview
39:25 amazing… ‘if you love it… the pain is worth it’. I like this guy. Even as a massive (and always will be) fan of ufc, I’m interested in seeing what this guy does with pfl. Respect to what he’s trying and Goodluck mate.
He actually made a lot of sense with the tournaments.
This is gonna be fire 🔥.
On par with the UFC...Well, at least the guy has a sense of humor.
This fella look like GTA 5 character Lester Crest.
This guy comes across really well,excited!
12:27 I LOVE the honesty
Delighted, this is a win for MMA fans! I haven’t watched a PFL event yet, however I think Bellator are great and god knows they have done much more for European fighters than the UFC ever has! I’ve been to several Bellator cards in Dublin over the years, I just hope that they continue to bring the international series to Europe 👍👍
I like this man, Donn Davis really humble and you can tell this man care about the fighters.
This guy is a lot of talk can’t wait to see how this all plays out
Please buy up Glory as well 👏🏽
Seriously epic
Scott is the best at interviews bar none.👍
Good stuff
As Eric Bischoff always says you can be better than, less than or different then. I love the approach of different than and focusing on what your brand will bring to the market rather than dumping on your competitors. This is how you build genuine goodwill to allow your brand a chance to stumble while you grow
Can’t wait to see what happens with the companies.
First experience of Donn Davis and he seems a like a good egg. Interested to see how this developes
Great day to be a MMA fan
Actually, love the energy
This guy is good! Interesting to see "How this plays out" looks to be a real player in the game!
I just do not get the season thing. Hard to imagine top fighters wanting to be involved in it. I would love to dig through the data that is getting them to that conclusion.
Gonna start watching 💋
I’m hoping is going to be successful
seems like a dope idea, going in the right way
When watching the first time my kind keeps running across someone i was thinking Ol Don Davis reminds me of. Today i rewatched and realized who it is. Anyone see and hear Paul Giamatti from Shoot’em up and many other great movies?
Make PFL cards in Canada for a fair ticket price and you have the market! 💯
First I’ve ever seen this guy.. seems like a real good dude.. Definitely going to support PFL.. the UFC needs actual competition..
Aerial, can you ask how they plan to raise the profiles of the fighters?Apart from on your show, I don't get any other insight into PFL and Bellator fighters. That's one thing that really distinguishes the top tier UFC fighters
Exciting!
Dude understands fighters because he’s a fighter himself, he said lmao. He thinks investing money is the same as fighting in a cage.
Dork lol
Terrible marketing plan. They should mimic the UFC structure and make proper rankings. That's what gets people involved.
Comes across as a really good guy, also glad Ariel asked about the branding, I thought it made sense to scrap the Bellator branding and unify the brand against the UFC moving forward. Bellator has some great fighters but the brand's seemed stagnant for some time, whereas PFL has that new kid on the block feel to it (in a good way). I'm in the UK and would love to give PFL more of a try, I probably won't whilst it's aired through DAZN though.
No elbow no go.🔥
I love competition in any Industry so I wish the PFL news merger success for both fans and fighters!
"We'll see how all of this plays out"
Sounds exciting..
Wish them good luck 🤞🏽🙏🏽
I love this guy!
Hopefully they can succeed, it's good for fighters to have competition in pay.
Please make a PFL streaming service 😭 I’m not gonna buy multiple streaming services to use at max once a week
Excited for this, we need a ufc competitor, I will buy the next ppv on principle
One championship is that once you watch an event especially kickboxing or Muay Thai title fight you’ll never miss one again it’s the highest level of striking you’ll ever see
Lets go PFL!!
I'm unsure how to feel after this interview with regards to bellator. Making it like PFL and doing 6/7/8 big shows a year I'm not sure I like. I think the industry needs a big company running fairly regularly but this is huge and we will see what happens next
He's really sticking to the idea that PFL is a season based sports league. So it is the PFL season, staddled by 2 PFL super PPVs, then 8 matchmaker cards(Bellator) throughout the year to use the roster that way. My confusion is what they are going to do when they find out that all established fighters will prefer to participate in the matchmaker model because seasons are crazy, once you've made it
@@blahblahbag8715”super ppvs” 💀💀
@@blahblahbag8715i think the idea is that the season is good to create stars and interest, then when the fighter is more established they can do the other stand alene fight Cards. If you look at ufc which had 100s and 100s of fighters under contract, most fans knows just about the top 5 or top 10 depending on the divison, and if we re talking about how many fighters draw fan interest which translates to ppv's, gate, Merch, SoMe engagement, etc. You can prob count them on two hands