Donn Davis, founder of the Professional Fighters League, has announced that he is stepping down from the promotion effective immediately.
Davis started the PFL eight years ago, building it around what was then known as the World Series of Fighting format.
And after several years spent trying to compete with and challenge the UFC, the 63-year-old surprised many on Wednesday afternoon when he revealed he was leaving his role with immediate effect.
Donn Davis announces he is leaving the PFL in bombshell statement
A few years on from buying out Bellator and shutting it down, the PFL had been sticking with their league structure to stand apart from other promotions in the sport.
But earlier this year, they announced plans to move away from that approach and start putting on traditional fight cards like everyone else.
With hopes high for a big year ahead, Davis announced his departure in a statement posted on social media.
The PFL founder stated: “From the moment I founded the Professional Fighters League eight years ago, it has been my life. My vision was to create an innovative and premium MMA company as a valuable alternative for those who want it or need it.
“We started with nothing – except universal skepticism. Against all odds, we succeeded. Now PFL is the clear No. 2 MMA company worldwide and the only other premium product. From zero fighters to 80 of the top 300 world-ranked fighters under exclusive contract. From zero live events to 24 per year on four continents.
“From zero distribution to 190 countries with 20 major media partners. From zero viewers to an average of 2 million linear and streaming global viewers per event. From zero social followers to 30 million active across all platforms.
“I care deeply about each employee, value highly every investor, respect greatly our fighters, and sincerely appreciate all our fans who supported this company. I gave you everything I’ve got… PFL has changed the great sport of MMA for the better – through meaningful innovations, unique global expansion, and fighter empowerment – and the company is just getting started. I’ve loved fighting to build PFL,” he concluded.
Davis responsible for key moves as PFL founder
While much of his influence was felt behind the scenes, Davis played a direct role in some major signings during his time leading the PFL.
Among them was the addition of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2023, who quickly became one of the most recognisable faces within the organisation.
Before that, Davis brought on board Jake Paul. The internet celebrity and boxer has not fought under the PFL banner, but he did help promote their fighter-first image.
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