PFL President Donn Davis explains why he released Patricio Pitbull and addresses Bellator fighters’ grievances

The PFL does not seek to keep fighters under contract against their will.

Earlier this week, the PFL made waves by announcing major changes to its organization, but Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull remained unhappy after speaking out against the promotion and demanding his release. In response, PFL founder and president Donn Davis honored Pitbull’s request, granting him his unconditional release from the promotion. It’s a decision Davis explained while speaking to Mike Heck during a Town Hall session with MMA Fighting.

“Full respect to Pitbull,” Davis said. “No one has done more than him for Bellator, the company that we acquired. You even saw it in our social media post. Most fights, most wins, greatest fighter mark in Bellator history. Total respect, first point.

“Full respect, second point, we wanted him here. So we were trying to find a way for him to be here. Had he requested his release for several months? No, we were working on a way for him to be here for several months. But for several weeks, had he said: “I don’t think it’s going to work and I want to go”? Yes. So why, ultimately, did I do this? Because he didn’t want to be here.

“It’s a question of opportunity. PFL is all about opportunity. Opportunity for fans who want more MMA or different MMA. Opportunity for fighters who want a different way and a different approach from another company. It’s an opportunity, that’s all. We want people who want this opportunity. He said, “Look, I wouldn’t go anywhere other than the UFC. But can I have this opportunity? We said sure, it’s done. Nothing more than that.

However, Pitbull says that’s not exactly how things played out. After the Davis interview, Pitbull took to Twitter again to respond to the PFL president, giving his side of the story.

“Hey (Donn Davis), let’s keep it real until the end. You never officially offered me the fight with (Aaron) Pico, and I never said no. Pete (Murray) told my management that Pico was the number one pick, but he could hit free agency and if that’s the case, you’d find someone else. Also…

“You never said ‘fight for us this time and we’ll let you go.’ You said my 15 years at Bellator brought value to them and now you wanted me to bring value to PFL. And Pete said you would exercise every legal right you had to stop me from competing.

PFL acquired Bellator in 2023, with the intention of becoming the “co-leader” of MMA alongside the UFC, but its first year with Bellator fighters under contract has been difficult. While there were a few notable events, Pitbull wasn’t the only high-profile Bellator fighter to contest the PFL.

Bellator champions Patchy Mix and Corey Anderson, among others, have spoken out about the lack of fights offered by their new promotion. But Davis says sometimes things are a little more complicated than they seem.

“Most of these situations are gray, they’re not black and white,” Davis said. “So regarding Patchy, regarding any other fighter, we always want to resolve the situation. We always want to be happy. Fighters always want 10 fights a year and each fight brings in $10 million. We consider all fighters together.

“Remember, my job is PFL. My job is to organize 30 major events a year. My job is to manage 250 fighters to achieve the most success possible. It’s my job. In fact, that’s what the fans pay me for, otherwise the PFL won’t be successful. 30 events, 250 fighters, commercial success and the best and biggest fights possible. This is the job of the PFL president. So that’s what I try to do every hour of every day.

“The fighter’s job is to defend himself. Best price, most fights, whatever they want today. This is the dynamic. This is always what happens. …But above all we want all the fighters who want to be here.”

What if a fighter doesn’t? Pitbull was granted his release, but what if more Bellator fighters asked to be released so they could pursue greener pastures in the UFC?

Well, Davis certainly hopes it doesn’t come to that, but he stands by what he said.

“I believe so (Patchy Mix will stay with the PFL this year),” Davis said. “I think Patchy is going to be happy, I think Corey Anderson is going to be happy, I think the fighters are going to be very, very happy. But again, if they don’t, we’re going to help them find the solution that they want that isn’t there. This isn’t an MMA prison camp, it’s a camp of opportunity. So if the fighters don’t want to be here and believe they can do better elsewhere, it doesn’t help us to have them here. This doesn’t help us. We have a pipeline of incredible fighters. …

“Patchy is a star. We love it. I want him here. Any other fighter, we want them here. Am I really sure that this noise is an incident and that this noise will go away? I am. But could there be another fighter who is unhappy and wants to leave? This may be the case and we will live with it.