The PFL isn’t running events at present, but plans are being put in place to ensure the continued COVID-19 pandemic will not adversely affect the promotion’s return to action in 2021.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, PFL CEO Peter Murray revealed that the promotion is close to confirming a single-destination setup for the start of the 2021 season, which will act as the default until the option of hosting events in front of crowds becomes a stable reality.
“We are ready to go, locked and loaded for 2021,” Murray said. “Our broadcast agreements are in place. All our fighters are contracted for next season across our six weight classes. We may be announcing a couple of big needle movers in terms of star talent to enhance our already fantastic roster for next year. Our sponsors have all renewed, and we’re adding additional sponsors for 2021 and forward. And we’re also planning, should COVID protract, for a single destination and our version of the bubble to ensure we execute the season in 2021, starting in the spring.”
That final point will come as good news to the current crop of PFL fighters, who have had to sit out 2020 after the season was canceled earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But while the promotion has not been holding events, it has been working behind the scenes to ensure it can bounce back in 2021, regardless of COVID.
“We’re planning for the worst and assuming conditions will not change and there’s no fans at events,” Murray explained. “We’ll have a single destination and our version of the bubble. And we’ve had the benefit to learn what’s working and what’s not, from looking at the other sports leagues, whether that’s the NBA, the EPL or even the UFC. Our plans are in place, and we will be announcing our destination partner in the fourth quarter. If the landscape should change – and we hope it does – we can open things up to fans, but that is not the plan at this moment in time.”
Murray also revealed the promotion is looking forward to spreading its wings and taking the show overseas in 2021 and beyond, with the possibility of regular-season events and playoffs being held outside of the U.S. But the development he seemed most excited about was the prospect of holding the season-ending championship event at a major location overseas, with London shortlisted as a possible option for the organization’s finale.
“We are absolutely looking forward to getting back to more mass-scale events with fans in their seats rooting for their favorite athletes, and we believe, knock on wood, that the championship event in 2021 on New Year’s Eve could be that opportunity if it’s safe, and we have the ability to execute it” Murray said. “We are having conversations with a number of destinations in different regions, (and) London is in the top three spots where we’d like to execute the championships. If it doesn’t happen in 2021, it’ll happen in the next three years, for sure.”
Another development that should make the PFL more attractive to MMA free agents is its plan to extend the event schedule beyond its core “season” model. The current setup, with “International Qualifier Series” events preceding the PFL regular season, then the playoffs, then the championship event, will remain. But outside of that PFL season, the promotion is looking at holding additional one-off events that will allow the promotion to give its biggest stars additional fights during the PFL offseason.
Murray said that plan will likely tie in with the promotion’s plans for international expansion as it looks to widen its reach in the coming years.
“We are focused on expending our season format and executing those events in the U.S. and internationally, but you will see in the next couple of years the PFL staging major superfights and events in the pay-per-view space that we will absolutely execute outside of the U.S.” Murray explained. “It’s no different from my time with the National Football League, where I spent 13 years. I was part of the team that executed the NFL’s first regular-season game overseas with the New York Giants vs. Miami Dolphins (at London’s Wembley Stadium in October 2007). So it’s a similar playbook for how we execute it. We’ll do our own version of touring, like the English Premier League, when our season is not up and running, by taking select athletes and our champions and doing a ‘Champions’ Tour,’ if you will.”
With plans in place for a pandemic-era season in 2021, the potential for a big international event to finish, and a blueprint to expand its offering beyond its core league season format, Murray is confident the PFL will grow and establish itself as a major player not just in the U.S., but internationally in the coming years.
“Next year it’s all about growing our fan base and expanding distribution and reach for our product,” Murray said. “We envision doubling our fan base and growing our audience around the world. In addition to that, we’ll provide the fans the opportunity to discover new great fighters and crown new champions in the sport.
“This is a different opportunity and challenge to fighters. The PFL is the toughest MMA league in the world because they have to fight four or five times, in eight months, to become champion. Every fight in the PFL means something. It’s win and advance, or lose and go home. It really speaks to athletes, and that’s the ride we offer fans, the experience to go on that journey with the league and the fighters as they go through the regular season, the postseason and the championship event.”
PFL targets overseas events, ‘Champions Tour’ to expand calendar beyond season format