((MMA>>STREAMS!)) PFL vs Bellator: Champs 2024 Live Free Online Broadcast 24 February 2024
PFL vs. Bellator: Champs 2024 LIVE STREAM (2/24/24): Watch MMA Event online | Time, TV, channel. Two of the most prestigious MMA promotions collide when PFL Champions and Bellator Champions go head-to-head. Live from Kingdon Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event will feature seven champions from PFL and Bellator competing to see who is the best inside of the cage.
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The best fighters from two mixed martial arts leagues come together for one epic fight night with PFL (Professional Fighters League) heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira taking on Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Ryan Bader headlining the main card for PFL vs. Bellator: Champs on Saturday, Feb. 24.
PFL vs. Bellator: Champs takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with prelims starting at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT and the main card at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.
Current PFL heavyweight champion Brazilian Renan Ferreira, who is 12-0 (10 by KO), has held the title since a second-round knockout against Denis Goltsov last Nov. However, Bellator heavyweight champion American Ryan Bader, who is 31-7, is no slouch in the ring either with a hunger to be the best of the best in mixed martial arts. It’s going to be wild in Saudi Arabia!
Main Card, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT
Renan Ferreira (PFL heavyweight champion) vs. Ryan Bader (Bellator heavyweight champion)
Impa Kasanganay (PFL light heavyweight champion) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator middleweight champion)
Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson (V)
Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza (PFL) vs. Vadim Nemkov (Bellator)
Light heavyweight: Thiago Santos (PFL) vs. Yoel Romero (Bellator)
Lightweight: Clay Collard (PFL) vs. AJ McKee (Bellator)
Prelims, 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT
Featherweight: Gabriel Braga (PFL) vs. Aaron Pico (Bellator)
Lightweight: Biaggio Ali Walsh (PFL) vs. Chris Morris
Women’s lightweight: Claressa Shields (PFL) vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Flyweight amateur fight: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
PFL makes their first big move with the Bellator IP this weekend with PFL vs. Bellator: Champs.
The card features PFL champions Renan Ferreira and Impa Kasanganay taking on their Bellator counterparts Ryan Bader and Johnny Eblen. It has also been revealed that the lineal heavyweight champion of the world, Francis Ngannou, will take on the winner of Bader vs. Ferreira.
The card also features Bellator champions, Patricio Pitbull and Jason Jackson, who fight non-champions Gabriel Braga and Ray Cooper III, after their original scheduled bouts fell through.
On Saturday, some of the best fighters from PFL and Bellator MMA will meet in a card built around promotional supremacy. The PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view event is the first cross-promotional card since PFL acquired Bellator in November 2023.
The card has taken some hits with fighters falling out, but two battles of current champions remain. Heavyweights Renan Ferreira (PFL) and Ryan Bader (Bellator) are set to square off, as well as light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay (PFL) taking on middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (Bellator) at 185 pounds.
"It's a huge deal. This doesn't happen in MMA. Fans want these types of super fights," Bader said at the announcement press conference in January. "A lot of organizations don't want to risk putting their champions out there and have another organization come out and sweep them. I love that we are doing this in Saudi Arabia. The whole card, if you look at it, is stacked. I am ready to claim another belt too. I love it and I'm ready for this huge opportunity."
The undercard also features more champions, like Bellator welterweight titleholder Jason Jackson taking on former two-time PFL season champ Ray Cooper III. Another interesting matchup sees 2021 PFL heavyweight champ Bruno Cappelozza take on former Bellator light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov in his heavyweight debut. Plus, a fun showdown of former UFC title contenders is set when Thiago Santos battles Yoel Romero at light heavyweight.
Bader has been a Bellator champion since 2017, first holding the light heavyweight title and then moving up to capture the heavyweight belt. Bader's 9-2 run since leaving the UFC (he joined the promotion after winning his final two UFC bouts) has been impressive, but his two losses came by stoppage to strikes.
Ferreira's record is a little deceptive. He's officially 6-1 in PFL fights, but he also has three no contests during the run, two of which were losses that were overturned when his opponents tested positive for banned substances and the other came when it was missed that Ferreira had tapped to Fabricio Werdum's arm triangle choke before stopping Werdum with punches.
Kasanganay has been tremendous since joining PFL, but he will likely always be remembered as the guy who was on the bad end of one of the craziest knockouts in UFC history after being caught by Joaquin Buckley's jumping spinning back kick. For every great highlight, there's a man on the receiving end, however, and that doesn't have to be the end of that man's time as a legitimate fighter. Kasanganay has won six straight fights -- five in the PFL cage -- to end up in a featured bout on a pay-per-view. Kasanganay is the PFL light heavyweight champion but is moving down to middleweight for the fight.
Despite Kasanganay turning around his fortunes, he enters Saturday as a considerable underdog to Eblen. The American has never tasted defeat as a professional, with a 14-0 record. He captured the Bellator middleweight title from Gegard Mousasi in June 2022 and successfully defended the belt twice before PFL acquired Bellator.
Eblen's wrestling should dictate how the fight plays out, even as he has a tendency to engage in striking despite his top-tier grappling skills. The more Eblen allows Kasanganay to stand, the more Kasanganay has the chance to score the upset. But Eblen usually flips the switch at the fight time and should be able to grind out a win on the ground.
Bellator welterweight champion Jackson was set to face PFL welterweight king Magomed Magomedkerimov before Magomedkerimov withdrew in January. Cooper won two PFL tournaments and lost in the finals of another. His fortunes have not been so good as of late, with two losses in his three most recent fights. Jackson, meanwhile, has won seven straight fights, most recently knocking out Yaroslav Amosov to capture his title in the final Bellator fight of the pre-PFL era.
Nemkov gave up his Bellator light heavyweight title to seek new success at heavyweight. He's in for a stiff test against Cappelozza, who has 14 knockouts in 15 career victories. Nemkov is the better fighter and brings an 11-fight winning streak into a fight against Cappelozza, who has not recorded a win in nearly two years.
The event is possible following the PFL’s purchase of Bellator. It features four world title fights, with PFL and Bellator champions facing off. Champion vs. champion fights include those at heavyweight, middleweight, featherweight, and welterweight. Notably missing is light heavyweight. Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov has vacated his belt to focus on the heavyweight division. He faces the PFL's Bruno Cappelozza.
I’m getting older, and every fight is getting harder for me to cut weight, Nemkov told MMA Junkie. Let’s say that before I felt comfortable when I was training at 103kg (227lbs). Now, I feel even more comfortable at 106-108kg (233-238lbs). When I train right now, it’s 103kg. I feel less strong and dangerous. It’s not the same as I am at 106-108kg… It’s a new challenge for me. I’ve done everything I can at light heavyweight. Now, it’s a new challenge to go up in weight and get another title. At 205, I don’t see anything new for me.
Boxers will take over the event. Clay Collard faces former Bellator champion A.J. McKee, while multi-time undisputed champion Claressa Shields returns to the SmartCage, facing Kelsey DeSantis. Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, makes his pro debut after competing in multiple amateur bouts.
Saudi Arabia will host its first major MMA event this weekend when the Professional Fighters League (PFL) pits a number of its champions against Bellator fighters.
PFL acquired Bellator in November and the first card in the Gulf State is something to behold. Throughout the card, there are champions against champions.
Stars of the PFL in Clay Collard, Ray Cooper III and Thiago Santos feature, while big Bellator names in Patricio Pitbull, Johnny Eblen, Yoel Romero and Ryan Bader also feature. Claressa Shields, arguably the biggest star in women’s boxing, will represent the PFL in her return to MMA.
The heavily-anticipated PFL Champs vs Bellator Champs event is finally here. Live from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the best of the best amongst these two promotions will go to battle on a card that kickstarts the groundbreaking union.
The entire event has several reasons to tune in but the main event will be a heavyweight clash between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader, ending off the thrilling card. With each being the 265-pound titleholder in their respective promotions, this will be a true test to see who is the best.
The stakes for that main event have been amped up as it was confirmed just 48 hours prior to the event that the winner of this fight would go on to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The PFL awaits the arrival of Ngannou into the Smart Cage and, following the PFL vs. Bellator event, there will be a clear answer of who the opponent will be (although the date is still yet to be determined).
The co-main event will witness 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay go up against Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. The two will meet at 185-pounds, which is a division that Kasanganay will be re-entering for the first time since 2022.
The remainder of the PFL vs. Bellator card is filled with several other dream matches, pitting the promotions' divisional bests to the test. The fight night is an early one for those in the US but it sure will be one that fight fans will not want to miss, as this event could single-handedly shift the entire MMA landscape.