Back in November 2023, the PFL officially acquired Bellator, fulfilling long-standing speculation about a potential ‘champion vs. champion’ showdown between the two promotions. That vision materialized with ‘PFL vs. Bellator: Champs’—a landmark MMA event co-promoted by the Professional Fighters League and Bellator MMA. Held in February 2024 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event marked the first major collaboration of its kind.

The pay-per-view card featured a stacked lineup of titleholders, former champions, and top contenders from both promotions. Broadcast live on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN, the event was widely regarded as a major success. Interestingly, the PFL had extended a similar offer to ONE Championship, but the Singapore-based promotion reportedly declined. Fast forward to today, using this, PFL co-founder Donn Davis took a shot at ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong on X.

Initially, X handle ‘Combat Sports Today’ posted a hypothetical “ONE Championship vs. PFL Super Card,” claiming it would be a fun watch. The imaginary card featured fights between Oumar Kane and Francis Ngannou, Stamp Fairtex and Dakota Ditcheva, and 12 other exciting matchups between fighters from the two promotions. The post had gained some traction among fans when Davis jumped in to reveal the rejected offer by One and took shots at Sityodtong.

“Interesting, Guess What … We Offered,” he responded to the post on X. “[PFL] offered [ONE Championship] to co-stage ‘Champs v Champs’ Super Event. Chatri turned it down, he said no 😂. Obviously, it is because #PFLMMA would win almost all the fights. 8 weight-classes – PFL wins 7 to 1.” Since Davis’s brutal dig at One, the promotion, nor Sityodtong, has responded to the claim made by Davis.

Regardless of missing out on a crossover event with ONE Championship—and with Ngannou yet to make an appearance in 2025—the PFL has still enjoyed a strong year. The promotion is currently wrapping up the inaugural season of its PFL Global Season World Tournament, which will award $500,000 in prize money to each winner. What’s more, continuing their success, PFL is set to stage a fight that started the Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov feud. 

PFL will have Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhugov in October

The Professional Fighting League is bringing back one of MMA’s long-standing grudge matches to life—Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhugov is officially booked for Dubai. The fight was originally supposed to happen at UFC 223 in 2018, but the fight was ditched after Conor McGregor attacked the bus, which stemmed from an altercation involving Lobov, Tukhugov, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Seven years after that, the pair of rivals will settle their score on the undercard of Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes II. Tukhugov hasn’t fought since 2023, and Lobov is returning to MMA after a stint in bare-knuckle boxing. Reports say the fight is scheduled at 165 pounds, which ensures both fighters can cut weight comfortably. Lobov addressed the fight in an Instagram post, writing, “7 years later but this fight was inevitable. #Kutuzov.”

From the looks of it, PFL may have missed out on a great cross-promotional fight, but they certainly aren’t short on blockbusters. Do you think One Championship should have accepted the challenge? If they had, which promotion do you think would have gotten the upper hand?