Not too long ago, the fighting community entered a state of disappointment as PFL and UFC put some major events on the same date. Bellator Paris: Mix vs Higo was previously set to clash with UFC 309, on 16 November 2024. But the event was cancelled. PFL, now that it acquired Bellator, even refunded the fans who bought tickets to the show. While Donn Davis narrowly escaped facing some trouble back then, things have taken a similar turn again.
This is actually natural when both promotions are the two top brands of MMA, and both happen to host their events for a similar fan base. Dana White and Co. usually put the events on Saturday nights, while Davis usually chooses to schedule the events on Thursdays and Fridays. You see, PFL’s events are additionally based on the geographical locations owing to its multiple sub-brands like PFL Europe, PFL Africa, and PFL Australia. Nonetheless, there are times when the schedule for PFL and UFC clash.
This time, as PFL Cape Town got rescheduled for 19 July 2025, the fighting community witnessed quite an uproar. The reason? It was all because the date clashed with UFC 318, which is going to feature the trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. The legendary duo had previously collided as teenagers at UFC 143 way back in 2012, with a 23-year-old Poirier welcoming a 20-year-old Holloway inside the Octagon. At the end, Poirier picked up a dominant submission win.
Their second outing came in their absolute primes as the duo collided once again at UFC 236, with Holloway reigning as the 145-pound champ and moving up to lightweight to challenge Poirier for the interim strap. A five-round war saw Poirier come out on top yet again in what many consider a modern classic. And six years removed from the rematch, the endgame is upon us.
With the BMF belt on the line and it being Poirier’s ‘last dance’ in his home state of Louisiana, the excitement around the event is pretty high. It’s no longer about a combat event, it’s about legacy! Needless to say, fight fans didn’t like it when the date collided with PFL’s event in Cape Town.
Yet again, PFL with an unforced error. Choosing to go head to head with Poirier v Holloway 3 is horrific promotion.
I’m begging you to bring me on as a consultant. https://t.co/JfdpAI1vSB
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) May 20, 2025
The news was recently shared by MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew II on X. He reacted to a post by PFL and wrote, “Yet again, PFL with an unforced error. Choosing to go head-to-head with Poirier v Holloway 3 is horrific promotion. I’m begging you to bring me on as a consultant.” And as soon as the news hit social media, the fighting community took over the comments section. Let’s see what the fans had to say.
Fight fans cast a bombastic side-eye at Donn Davis as PFL clashes with Dana White’s UFC 318
Most of the fans began casting a shadow of doubt on PFL’s strategy. And they all had one question – Was it all intentional? One of the fans wrote, “It’s getting so bad, Im starting to wonder if the mismanagement is being done on purpose.” Another fan commented, “At this point, it has to be intentional malpractice.” Needless to say, the feelings were natural since it happened more than once.
However, the fighting realm could take a sigh of relief since the timing didn’t clash. PFL Champions Series 2 was planned to go down at 10 am SAST. This, when converted to US time, is actually 4 in the morning. One of the fans weighed in on this and wrote, “It’s on in the am. Event will be over before prelims for ufc start.”
Another fan added, “It’s the morning of that Holloway/Poirier card, so there’s no crossover right?” Nevertheless, the fighting realm believed that it was even worse. A comment read, “That’s 5 am our time. Still gross. Probably worse.” The lashings for PFL continued, as the netizens weighed in on the empty calendar brackets for PFL.
Yes, unlike UFC, PFL doesn’t have Fight Night events every single week. And the fans claimed, “Just the fact that the PFL doesn’t have a card this Friday or weekend is horrendous business.” Another fan attacked Donn Davis and wrote, “@DonnDavisPFL is the absolute worst at this. How can the PFL investors not want this man removed?”
But there were a few who were unflinched. One of them commented, “It’s not the 90s anymore. You can watch things more than one thing at the same time. You can even watch things the next day!”
What are your thoughts on the clash between PFL and UFC timings? Do you think it’s actually a strategy by the PFL head to enhance his competition with White? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post UFC’s Poirier vs. Holloway III Puts PFL Under Scrutiny as Calls for “Horrific” Promotion Mount Against Management appeared first on EssentiallySports.
