The PFL is an MMA promotion that tries to separate themselves from the pack by having a regular season, playoffs, and seasonal champions in MMA. Real sport with merit dictating advancemnt, not promoter whims. This week, however, the PFL meddled with this format bringing its integrity into quesiton.
By way of background Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio had a lackluster bout. They are apparently close friends and did not exactly try to murder each other in a fight which resembled more of a sparring session. Schulte won a decision. Under the PFL’s season point system he earned the right to enter the playoffs where he can compete for their million dollar prize. The promotion, however, decided to eject him from his deserved spot and replace him with a potentially bigger star . They claim Schulte’s win did not meet their ‘standards’.
The issue this triggers is one of rights. These are based on commission rules, regulations and fighter/promoter contracts, not the whims of arbitrary standards.
The PFL released the following statement justifying their move.
PFL contracts may say that athletes have to use their best efforts to secure a win. But more importantly their contracts say the advancement in their season and playoff format will be governed by the PFL Official Rules. These rules suggest formal commission results are what matters.
The rules clearly state that points (which determine entitlement to advance under their format) will be based on commission rulings. Here the Georgia commission declared Schulte as the official winner of a bout. Commissions have discretion to overturn a bout result if they believe athletes were not honestly competing. It is a power commissions hold, not promoters. If the commission uses this power then the PFL’s position makes sense. It is reported that the commission are not questioning the integrity of the bout.
At least one acting athletic commissioner has publicly taken issue with the PFL’s move calling it arbitrary.
The Promoters official season rules go on to give them power to change them on a whim with the very first rule being that ‘The PFL may amend these rules at any time‘. From their press release it does not appear they used this power.
The PFL rules have another odd clause talking about the role of commissions noting that they are primary however the promoter retains their own ‘discretion‘ when it comes to awarding points reading as follows:
Fights throughout the 2023 PFL Season will be held in various jurisdictions, and each fight will be
governed by the regulations and rules of the commission for the jurisdiction in which the fight takes place.
Should an inconsistency arise at any point throughout the season between the application of the league
rules and applicable commission rules, the commission rules will take precedence, with the exception of
variances approved by the commission. League points, standings, tiebreakers and playoff brackets for
intra-league purposes are within the discretion of the league
Schulte’s manager has publicly voiced criticism of the PFL’s move.
I have asked the PFL to clarify their reasoning based on their official rules but they have yet to reply.
Seperate from all of this a legal history lesson is worth sharing. When Mike Tyson lost his title to Buster Douglass both were under contract with Don King Promotions. The Promoter allegedly protested the ‘long count’ when Douglas was dropped. Here are judicial comments finding that a promoter tring to undo the validity of a bout outcome of someone under contract with them may be a breach of duties of fair dealing:
It is unclear if the PFL has the contractual right to do what they did but their reasoning is at best flimsy. What is clear is if the PFL has their way their product does not have the iron clad integrity of advancement through merit alone.
Combat Sports Law 