Jake Paul and the PFL made significant news Thursday, agreeing to a two-part exclusive agreement in a deal that makes Paul the first to join the new Super Fight division. In a new twist, fighters will earn 50 percent of the revenue from the pay-per-views, and Paul will also be PFL’s “head of fighter advocacy.”
PFL’s Super Division will be standalone events separate from the league season. It is a unique way to grow the PFL brand, as well as attract bigger MMA stars who otherwise would not be interested in the promotion’s multiple-fight format. Making Paul the first signing is an intriguing choice.
While the concept of the Super Fight division has potential, Paul will remain relevant inside the cage as long as he is winning. That, however, seems extremely unlikely. Similar to when CM Punk entered the UFC, fighters will be salivating at the chance to earn a hefty payday and beat Paul. He is going to need the right opponent in his first fight or two (or three) to ensure this doesn’t go off the rails too quickly.
When we spoke in October, Paul mentioned the idea of fighting as a middleweight.
“I could be somewhere between 170 and 185,” Paul told SI. “Somewhere around there. I have a wrestling background. I know a little bit of jiu-jitsu. I think it would be fun.”
Moving from boxing to MMA is an extremely wise decision for Paul. He has put himself in a position to help fighters behind the scenes, which is also great, but the likelihood of having success in the cage is extremely unlikely.
Next Week’s UFC Card Lacking Sizzle
It is not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Perhaps you are familiar with that expression. It is valid, no doubt, but the meaning changes slightly when finances are involved. The first UFC Fight Night is next week, airing on ESPN+, and the card is an underwhelming way to start the new year.
This is not to imply Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov won’t combine to deliver a solid main event. But the card as a whole, including that headline bout, is lacking any sort of significant star power. With UFC’s recent price hike on ESPN, more emphasis needs to be placed on filling pay-per-view cards with big names. The same principle should be applied to the Fight Night cards, especially with the bout on top. With a slate of fights including Dan Ige-Damon Jackson, Ketlen Vieira-Raquel Pennington, Punahele Soriano-Roman Kopylov, and Umar Nurmagomedov-Raoni Barcelos, that just isn’t the case here.
While plenty of cards this year generate legitimate interest ahead of time, this will not be one of them.
Bellator 290 Airing on CBS Should Seize Viewers’ Attention
Somewhat quietly, Bellator 290 is less than a month away.
The card airs on CBS on Feb. 4, and it will feature three bouts, two of which are title fights.
Unfortunately, Vadim Nemkov dropped out of his light heavyweight title defense against Yoel Romero, but the main event is still Fedor Emelianenko challenging Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title. Bader already knocked out the great Emelianenko once, and this is being touted as Emelianenko’s final fight, which adds more suspense to the bout. While that is unlikely to be the case—does anyone really believe Emelianenko won’t have at least one more fight in Russia?—this should still be captivating, especially if Emelianenko wins and decides to defend the belt.
The second title fight on the card is Johnny Eblen making the first defense of his middleweight championship in a bout against Anatoly Tokov. The opening fight is Sabah Homasi against Brennan Ward, whose rise and fall is a particularly gripping story.
UFC will be holding a Fight Night card later that evening, but Bellator should have enough interest in the card to hold onto viewers.
The Pick ‘Em Section
Last week: 3-2
2022 record: 149-83
