The PFL vs. Bellator head-to-head showdown was set to unfold on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the league finally ready to showcase the depth of its roster following its acquisition of rival Bellator MMA late last year.
With the league intending to run both promotions separately for the time being, the head-to-head format was mostly about bragging rights. Though for main event heavyweights Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira, something more was on the line. As of Thursday, PFL officials had revealed that the winner of Bader vs. Ferreira would be the next man to face Francis Ngannou in MMA, after “The Predator” competes against Anthony Joshua in a high-profile boxing match next month.
While the champ versus champ format was the selling point of Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator card, in reality the format had taken some hits early on, with only two true champ vs. champ fights remaining. In addition to Bader vs. Ferreira, the other was Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen, with 205lb PFL champ Impa moving back down to middleweight to face Eblen (the PFL does not feature a middleweight division).
Our picks are in for the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions main card! See who we feels comes out on top in Riyadh on Saturday!
| Writer / Fight | Collard vs. McKee | Santos vs. Romero | Cappelozza vs. Nemkov | Cooper III vs. Jackson | Kasanganay vs. Eblen | Ferreira vs. Bader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Behunin (17-9) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jay Anderson (16-10) | | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (15-11) | | | | | |  |
| Cade Morehouse (11-9) | | | | | | |
| Jamie Theodosi (14-12) | |  | | | | |
| Eddie Law (13-12) | | | | | | |
| Patrick McCorry (11-15) | | | | | | |
| Val Dewar (9-11) | | | | | | |
| Dylan Napoleone (3-2) |  | | | | |
Let’s get the landslides out of the way: Johnny Eblen, Vadlim Nemkov, Jason Jackson, and AJ McKee were all heavy favorites in the eyes of our staff, with either no dissenting votes, or a lone vote in favor of their PFL counterparts. That, despite the massive 2023 experienced by Impa Kasanganay in particular.
The closer contests in our eyes was the main event, with four of nine writers siding with Ryan Bader, while the remaining for have Renan Ferreira punching his ticket to the Ngannou sweepstakes.
Yoel Romero vs. Thiagos Santos was little less than a landslide, with Romero favored by a 7-2 margin.
