During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the PFL is teaming up with Food Bank for New York City on a major initiative.
During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the PFL is teaming up with Food Bank for New York City on a major initiative.
The organizations will provide meals for thousands of New Yorkers who have been impacted by COVID-19. As part of its “PFL Fights for Communities” program, the fight promotion will provide 25,000 meals to those in need.
The PFL has postponed its entire 2020 season in the wake of global coronavirus shutdowns, delaying the promotional debut of former Bellator champion Rory MacDonald and the return other standouts like 2019 lightweight winner Kayla Harrison. The promotion said it has committed to a monthly cash stipend for its contracted fighters to help provide financial relief during the shutdown.
But they, and other fighters and organization representatives, are helping spread the word and encouraging others to help in New York, where food pantries have declared a state of emergency. Donations can be made at PFLMMA.com or Everyday Hero.
“Our thoughts are with all those impacted by COVID-19, and the heroes out in the front lines attacking this pandemic,” PFL CEO Peter Murray stated. “We want to do our part to show that the PFL family is in their corner and they aren’t alone in this fight. I am a lifelong New Yorker, our PFL headquarters are in Manhattan, and we’ve received tremendous support at our championship events hosted at Madison Square Garden. This is our home, and together we can make a difference, provide some comfort and make sure New Yorkers don’t go hungry.”
Food Bank for New York City has worked to end food poverty in the city for more than 35 years and is the city’s largest hunger relief organization. Every $1 donated to Food Bank provides five meals.
Most mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL is doing its best to fill the void.
Most mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL is doing its best to fill the void.
“Inside the Knockout” is a weekly show that tells the story of the best knockouts from the 2018 and 2019 PFL seasons with new camera angles and broadcast audio. The series’ latest episode – which streams live Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on the promotion’s YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels – will feature welterweight [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] and his 17-second knockout of David Michaud.
New episodes of “Inside the Knockout” will air every Wednesday. You can watch the tease to Sy’s episode in the video above.
Kayla Harrison understands why the PFL 2020 season had to be canceled, but hopes the company can put together one-off cards to keep fighters sharp.
When the 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo were postponed on March 2, [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] fully grasped the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic.
Harrison, the 2019 PFL women’s lightweight champion, earned two Olympic gold medals in judo. And having lived through such an experience, she has firsthand knowledge of both the amount of effort world-class athletes have to put into preparing for the event and the sheer scope of staging the world’s biggest sporting event.
You don’t pull the plug on such an effort lightly, so when the Games were pushed back to 2021 due to the worldwide COVID-19 problem, Harrison grasped that this was a really big deal.
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“It’s kind of when I knew it was serious, when they decided to postpone the Olympics,” Harrison recently told MMA Junkie. “I was like, OK, this is global, this is big, this is for real. That’s billions and billions and billions of dollars. They’re not just going to, they’re not going to postpone it. Like, we’re still so far away from it, unless it was very serious, there’s no way the Olympics would be postponed. So that’s when I knew it was pretty serious.”
Eventually, the chain reaction was going to spill over into MMA. That happened this week, when the PFL, which had previously postponed the start of the 2020 season, formally pulled the plug on the season in its entirety. Harrison, who had expected her first fight of the season to come in June, had been training and was surprised to hear about the news on the internet before being informed personally.
“Unfortunately, I was not aware before it became public,” Harrison said. “I actually found out in the middle of training, so that was a bummer. And my initial reaction was, I mean, I wasn’t surprised, I know it was going to be really, really difficult to hold the full season just with all the craziness that’s going on. But definitely disappointment – major, major disappointment.”
Harrison understands why the season needed to be canceled, as the logistics of pulling off full regular season and playoff rounds became too difficult to manage.
However, she hopes that before 2020 is out, the PFL will put together one-off fight cards outside of their main season-based concept, simply so that fighters don’t stagnate and lose more a year or more of their careers without competing.
“My hope is that once the country opens back, and the economy opens back up, that they’ll decide go ahead and have fights – maybe not the season, which I know is an integral part of what makes the PFL so special,” she said. “But, I think they should still give their fighters an opportunity to fight. You know, going 15 months with no action is just not feasible, I think. So hopefully they figure out a way to do one-off events. I know that they’re talking about putting out a lot of content and behind the scenes and working with ESPN to do stuff like that, but listen, as a fighter, my No. 1 goal is to fight. That’s it. It’s not really about making money, it’s not about chasing anything like that, I just want to fight and I want to keep getting better. My hope is that pretty soon I hear some news about, OK, we’re going to have some fights at the end of the year.”
Until then, Harrison’s day-to-day existence really isn’t all that different than the rest of us.
“Honestly, the hardest part is just not knowing what the future holds,” Harrison said. “We have so much unanswered questions and dilemmas and everyone wants things to go to back to normal, but it’s also not really clear whether or not we’ll ever go back to that normal or if we’re going to have to establish a new kind of normal.”
PFL analyst Randy Couture doesn’t disagree with the promotion’s decision to pull the plug on the 2020 season.
PFL analyst [autotag]Randy Couture[/autotag] agrees with the promotion’s decision to pull the plug on the 2020 season.
Due to growing concerns over the global coronavirus pandemic, the PFL canceled this season with intentions of paying a monthly stipend to its remaining contracted fighters.
PFL was scheduled to start its regular season in May before moving to its usual tournament playoff format, then rounding things off with the championship finals on New Year’s Eve in New York.
While Couture, a UFC Hall of Famer, admits he’s disappointed with the news of the cancellation, he thinks if the PFL went ahead with a modified version of the season, they’d be doing a disservice to the brand.
“Well, I mean, obviously it’s disappointing,” Couture told MMA Junkie Radio. “Disappointing for the athletes, disappointing for the cast and crew, the folks that are involved. I think the positives are that they didn’t want to do it half way. We were supposed to be rolling here in May. It does look like some places and some things are gonna start opening up here in May, on the current schedule, but we’ll see.
“So I think rather than do it half way or Mickey Mouse it, trying to put together a partial season, they just decided to sack up the bats and not play with it this season with all the stuff going on. We just don’t know how this thing is going to shake out in the next six months. It’s gonna be interesting. So roll back into 2021 season the right way, the way it should be done.”
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When the PFL does return, it will be with a reloaded roster. The promotion added the likes of former Bellator welterweight champion and ex-UFC fighter Rory MacDonald, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Justin Willis during the offseason.
The PFL has pulled the plug on its entire 2020 season, with all contracted fighters expected to receive a monthly stipend
The PFL has pulled the plug on its entire 2020 season.
According to PFL CEO Peter Murray, PFL will resume operations in 2021, and all contracted fighters in the promotion will receive a monthly cash stipend to hold them over.
MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a PFL official on Monday after it was first reported by ESPN.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021,” Murray said in a release. “PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel.
“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald.”
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The promotion, which features a regular season, playoffs, and championship rounds, has historically started in late spring. It would round off with the championship rounds on New Year’s Eve in New York, awarding the winner in each weight class a $1 million prize.
PFL initially put the season on hold amid growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. It apparently decided the situation couldn’t be salvaged as the global pandemic continues to fester, ultimately decided to suspend all operations.
Murray said the promotion felt obligated to continue supporting athletes and will attempt to continue creating content until live events resume.
“For the remainder of 2020, the PFL will support our fighters with a monthly cash stipend to help provide some relief during these challenging times,” Murray said. “In addition, for sports fans who we know are looking for compelling content, the PFL will deliver new original programming across ESPN and PFL platforms. PFL will continue to be an innovator in the world of sports.”
Ray Cooper III has his eyes on multiple matchups for the upcoming PFL season.
[autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] has his eyes on multiple matchups for the upcoming PFL season.
Cooper (20-7-1 MMA, 7-2-1 PFL) won the 2019 welterweight season, capturing the title and $1 million dollars.
Heading into the semifinals, Cooper was matched up with [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag], who beat him in the 2018 finals, but an injury forced Magomedkerimov out, and Cooper never got his shot at redemption.
Instead, he faced Chris Curtis, whom he knocked out, leading to a showdown in the final with David Michaud. Cooper also took out Michaud in Round 2, and was crowned the season’s champion.
Cooper had contemplated a move up to middleweight last season, but is ultimately glad that he stuck around at 170 pounds. Though he missed out on facing Magomedkerimov in the semi-finals, he hopes to get the opportunity to run things back this season.
“It didn’t come through and I still had a bone to pick with Magomed, but obviously I didn’t get to get that matchup,” Cooper told MMA Junkie. “I’m glad I stayed at 170 and finished what I started in 2018.”
Another name Cooper is targeting is the newly signed [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag], and he has a specific reason for wanting to fight him.
“That’s my main concern right now with Rory MacDonald entering the season, but whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to go out there in the same way I go out there and take them out. But with Rory, it’s kind of personal. He took out B.J. Penn, and I’m going to get him back for that.”
With the PFL currently on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, the promotion is yet to determine a date for the next event.
Mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL will help fill the void with its “Run it Back” series.
Mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL will help fill the void with its “Run it Back” series.
“Run it Back” features PFL fighters looking back on their million-dollar championship victories. The third episode – which streams live Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on the promotion’s YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels – will feature reigning 2018 light heavyweight champ [autotag]Sean O’Connell[/autotag].
This week’s episode features Sean O’Connell reliving his 2018 PFL heavyweight championship win over Vinny Magalhaes by third-round TKO. The PFL play-by-play announcer will be joined by MMA legend, Jeremy Horn, to break down the fight from their perspective, providing unfiltered commentary on the biggest win of O’Connell’s MMA career and his decision to retire on top.
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New episodes of “Run it Back” will air each Thursday through May 11. Future featured fighters still to come are Emiliano Sordi (April 23), David Michaud (April 30), Natan Schulte (May 7) and Lance Palmer (May 14).
You can watch a teaser clip from O’Connell’s episode in the video above.
With the UFC on hold, title pictures aren’t going to change much in coming weeks, but the pause in action does allow for some assessment.
While the UFC’s indefinite postponement of events means title pictures aren’t going to change much over the coming weeks, the brief pause in action does allow for some assessment.
Of come particular interest is the promotion’s 135-pound division, where [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] currently reigns as champion, earning him the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings. “Triple C,” of course, was expected to face former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] at next month’s UFC 250 in Brazil. However, travel restrictions implemented as a response to the ongoing global pandemic ruled Aldo – who sits at No. 5 in the featherweight list – out of the event when it was expected to be relocated to the U.S.
While it’s still not certain if the May 9 event will carry on at all, with the UFC being asked to stand down for the time being by their broadcast partners at ESPN and Disney, UFC president Dana White has stated that’s the day he hops to get his organization back in action
In the meantime, former UFC champion [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag], who is currently not ranked due to having more than 24 months of inactivity, appears to be the leading candidate for Cejudo. Former lightweight champ [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag], who’s currently No. 9 at featherweight, has also volunteered his services, and Cejudo seems to like the idea of facing fighters who have previously held the belt. However, ranked bantamweight contenders such as No. 3 [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], No. 4 [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] and No. 5 [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] each believe they are deserving of a look, as well.
Plenty of options for the “King of Cringe,” though it seems Cruz has the inside track. Is he the most deserving?
Relive dangerous Dagestani Movlid Khaybulaev’s vicious PFL knockout of Damon Jackson with new footage and audio.
Mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL is doing its best to fill the void.
“Inside the Knockout” is a weekly show that tells the story of the best knockouts from the 2018 and 2019 PFL seasons with new camera angles and broadcast audio. The series second episode – which streams live Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. ET on the promotion’s YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels – will feature 2019 featherweight quarterfinalist Movlid Khaybulaev and his stunning 10-second knockout of UFC and LFA veteran Damon Jackson at PFL 2019, Week 2.
New episodes of “Inside the Knockout” will air every Wednesday. You can watch the tease to Khaybulaev’s episode in the video above.
Ray Cooper III relives his 2019 PFL championship in the debut episode of “Run it Back.”
Mixed martial arts action is on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, but the PFL will help fill the void with its “Run it Back” series.
“Run it Back” features PFL fighters looking back on their million-dollar championship victories. The second episode – which streams live Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on the promotion’s YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels – will feature reigning welterweight champ [autotag]Ray Cooper III.[/autotag]
After falling short in the 2018 final, Cooper found redemption in 2020 by defeating David Michaud by second-round TKO to claim the title and $1 million. Cooper will look back on his memorable season with PFL play-by play announcer Sean O’Connell.
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New episodes of “Run it Back” will air each Thursday through May 11. Future featured fighters are Sean O’Connell (April 16), Emiliano Sordi (April 23), David Michaud (April 30), Natan Schulte (May 7), and Lance Palmer (May 14).
You can watch a teaser clip from Cooper’s episode in the video above.
