The MMA community was struck with monumental news on Monday when PFL officially announced its purchase of Bellator.
After months of rumors and speculation, PFL publicly revealed terms of the deal to take over control of Bellator beginning in 2024, with plans to run the promotion’s independently in the near future, but with the ability to share fighters and more intriguing details.
The industry-shifting announcement generated reactions across the board, from fans to fighters to executives and more.
Check below for the top social media reactions to PFL’s purchase of Bellator.
Donn Davis
New MMA Global Powerhouse@PFLMMA acquires @Bellator
Our Fighter Roster Equal To UFC – Both 30% Top 25 World Ranked FIghters
PFL Launch Reimagined Bellator – Bellator International Champions Series
Mega-Event For Fans In 2024 – PFL Champs vs. Bellator Champs pic.twitter.com/Ma4YUl4AUi
— Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) November 20, 2023
PFL
The MMA landscape changed forever. A new era has 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗@PFLMMA acquires @BellatorMMA creating a 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗠𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 pic.twitter.com/fWldsDNpPC
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 20, 2023
Bellator
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
We are joining the PFL family!Bellator 🤝 PFLhttps://t.co/Z21Ksw7qS3
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 20, 2023
Brett Okamoto
PFL has acquired Bellator, per the promotion and chairman Donn Davis. Bellator will continue as a separate "reimagined" brand in 2024. All Bellator fighters will be "available to compete in PFL fight franchises."
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 20, 2023
Jake Paul
This is a great day for all PFL and Bellator fighters and MMA fans. The stronger we get, the more opportunities there are for everyone. pic.twitter.com/uqIUW6XM6a
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 20, 2023
Sean O'Connell
Let’s goooooooooooo!!! Huge moves yet again https://t.co/hcBDXdbVK0
— Sean O'Connell (@realOCsports) November 20, 2023
Randy Costa
Huge for mma 📈 https://t.co/1moF3AeV9a
— Randy Costa (@RandyCosta135) November 20, 2023
Josh Thomson
Excited for the fighters and the new challenges they’ll face with the merging of rosters. What fights do you wanna see them make first? https://t.co/gcRpXnRUna
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) November 20, 2023
Jake Paul
I can’t wait to get in the cage and axe kick this fool. Nate Diaz stop making excuses. 2024. pic.twitter.com/PICjAuNe9F
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 20, 2023
John S. Nash
"The combined PFL Bellator roster now has 30 per cent of its fighters who are ranked top 25 in the world by Fight Matrix. That’s the same as UFC has in their roster.”
Going to have to double check this later, but I'm almost positive this isn't true. https://t.co/aaq6rQvlmA— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) November 20, 2023
Fight Ghost
PFL over complicating things again. Championship series, PFL vs. Bellator, blah blah blah. Stop trying to outdo the UFC with wild ideas. Hopefully some of these great Bellator fighters eventually end up in the UFC. PFL is going to have a lot of these guys sitting on the shelf.
— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) November 20, 2023
Matehus Aquino
Whatever happens next to @BellatorMMA, I hope the great crew behind the scenes keep their jobs. They do an amazing work and treat fighters with the utmost respect.
— Matheus Aquino (@MatheusDCAquino) November 20, 2023
Dan Hardy
Oh yeah!@PFLMMA + @BellatorMMA 🔥#ChangingTheGame#MMA
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) November 20, 2023
Luke Thomas
Breaking News: PFL officially acquires Bellator🚨#MorningKombat w/ @Lthomasnews & @bcampbell is LIVE: https://t.co/50RGD39POc pic.twitter.com/S3iCq1EGD4
— Morning Kombat (@morningkombat) November 20, 2023
Mike Bohn
More details on the PFL-Bellator deal, per a press release. pic.twitter.com/SsIFJ9qbUh
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) November 20, 2023
Megan Anderson
This is HUGE for the sport! It will be interesting to see how everything pans out moving forward.. https://t.co/kA9yY5Oxro
— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) November 20, 2023
Josh Gross
Bellator's roster is good but unfairly maligned.
PFL's roster has bright spots but lots of holes to fill.
Even if rosters are combined, the entrenched fan impression is only UFC matters.
Meanwhile, fighters now have one less real option to negotiate deals with.
Big time TBD.
— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) November 20, 2023
Leah McCourt
— Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) November 20, 2023
Kai Kamaka
Cool. Now since we can. Let’s do PFL/Bellator in Hawaii, Ray headlining a card and I’m right there fighting below ‘em on the card. Dream come true.
— Kai Kamaka III (@kaiboikamaka) November 20, 2023
Patricky Freire
It’s sad to see @BellatorMMA as we know it ending. Bellator is a big part of my story. I hope the future is bright and to see what @PFLMMA has in store for us, and that Mike Kogan and the team stay.
— Patricky Freire (@PatrickyPitbull) November 20, 2023
Leandro Higo
I’m curious about the future of the @BellatorMMA Bantamweight division and what’s next with @PFLMMA. The Bellator crew was great, I hope they and Mike kogan are still part of the promotion.
— Leandro Higo (@LeandroHigoMMA) November 20, 2023
Francis Ngannou
Game changers @PFLMMA 👏🏿
Congratulations on a game-changing announcement in the MMA space. The opportunities for PFL & Bellator athletes under this banner are endless pic.twitter.com/B8x4Rhb2Uz
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) November 20, 2023
Simon Samano
Immediate: Are there enough “PFL vs. Bellator” fights to compete against UFC?
Longterm: Is a PFL-Bellator dual organization attractive enough to make fighters want to join it over UFC?
Pivotal questions that ultimately will determine if today’s news is a game changer. https://t.co/2Mg4gV2VRn
— Simon Samano (@SJSamano) November 20, 2023
Patricio Freire
I’m looking forward to see how things will be handled and the matchups ahead between @BellatorMMA and @PFLMMA fighters. I hope PFL is smart and Mike Kogan and the staff comes along with the deal.
— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) November 20, 2023
Spinning Back Clique
PFL
PFL MMA 🤝 @BellatorMMA
Here’s everything you need to know about the 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗠𝗔 pic.twitter.com/Mkr0nRZ6NX
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 20, 2023
Robert Joyner
Sporticodotcom reports:
"A price tag of $500 million had been floated as a potential valuation for Bellator, but PFL acquired the promoter for less than $100 million, according to sources"— Robert Joyner (@robnashville) November 20, 2023
Archie Colgan
Things are going to get interesting. 🫡👊🏾 https://t.co/qT1kcSGOQw
— Archie Kwame Colgan (@king_colgan) November 20, 2023
Michael Page
Scott Fontana
Wrapped up a conversation with PFL chairman Donn Davis a few minutes ago regarding the Bellator acquisition. Some noteworthy info below 🧵
— Scott Fontana (@Scott_Fontana) November 20, 2023
Josh Thomson
If you could play match maker for the day…
What fights would you like to see @PFLMMA make now that it’s acquired @BellatorMMA ?I’ll start first…
– Jason Jackson vs Sadibou Sy
– Amosov vs Magomedkerimov
– Kayla vs Cyborg
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) November 20, 2023
Neiman Gracie
should i go to @PFLMMA tournament or keep challenging for @BellatorMMA title ?
— Neiman Gracie (@NeimanGracie) November 20, 2023
Logan Storley
I love what Mike Kogan and his team have built with the Bellator roster. Hope he stays on and I’m excited about the future of @pflmma.
— Logan Storley (@storleystorm) November 20, 2023
Tom Lawlor
THREAD: I took a ton of notes on the big @pfl acquisition of @BellatorMMA from @DonnDavisPFL appearance on @arielhelwani today. A really solid interview you should check out here: https://t.co/TAoH2VxsN2 pic.twitter.com/I9XxTlojNl
— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor トム・ローラー (@FilthyTomLawlor) November 20, 2023
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