Cageside Press has confirmed with promotion officials that the now-former President of Fighter Operations has left the company, following an initial report by Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani.

Sefo was a PFL mainstay and a holdover from the World Series of Fighting (WSOF). A former mixed martial artist and kickboxer himself, Sefo regularly handled post-fight press conferences for the promotion during the organization’s first several years, becoming the public face of the company.

Prior to the news of Sefo’s departure, former PFL CEO Peter Murray also parted ways with the organization. Murry had recently been shifted to the position of PFL International CEO, while John Martin has taken over the role of Chief Executive Officer for the league. The PFL is the brainchild of entrepreneur Donn Davis, and was born out of the ashes of the WSOF after it was acquired by an investment group in 2017.

Both Sefo and Carlos Silva, WSOF CEO, joining the newly formed PFL, though Silva left the company several years back. In November 2023, the PFL announced they had acquired rival Bellator MMA, formerly owned by Viacom and to that point the #2 brand in MMA, behind only the UFC.

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Mousasi wound up on the outs with the promotion after it was acquired by rival PFL last year. He had previously threatened legal action if his contract was not honored; subsequently, the promotion released the high-profile fighter.

News of Mousasi’s lawsuit was first reported by John S. Nash. The lawsuit targets Bellator Sports Worldwide LLC and New Bellator LLC (a subsidiary of the PFL), as well as PFL Founder Donn Davis, PFL CEO Peter Murray, matchmaker Mike Kogan, President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo, PFL Executive Vice President Of Business Affairs Jim Branson, and PFL VP, Business Affairs & Deputy General Counsel George Pineda.

Among the claims put forward by Mousasi and his lawyers is that the PFL engaged in an “anti-competitive scheme to maintain and enhance their monsopony power.” A monsopony exists when a given market has only one buyer; the term has become well-known to MMA fans due to the ongoing UFC antitrust lawsuit, which claims the UFC has abused their monsopony status. Mousasi’s claim contends that the PFL and UFC are the only places elite MMA fighters can ply their trade, and will likely rely on the league scooping up Bellator as evidence thereof.

Whether that will fly considering it describes a duopoly (and leaves out options like ONE Championship, RIZIN, KSW, and Oktagon MMA, all of whom have provided lucrative alternatives to an albeit small, select number of fighters) remains to be seen. The suit also alleges breach of contract, however, claiming that the PFL attempted to renegotiate Mousasi’s deal after taking control of Bellator MMA.

According to the Statement of Claim filed by Mousasi and his lawyers, when the star’s manager reached out to the promoter seeking a fight, PFL’s Davis replied via email stating “I am aware of Gegard given his very high compensation. Given Gegard is not a PPV draw, and is not a Champion, his deal is very surprising. PFL is a fighter first league, so we respect and empower all fighters. If he desires to have opportunities here then I can have Mike Kogan reach out to you and work on options with you.”

Mousasi’s contract with Bellator, pre-existing the PFL’s purchase of the promotion, entitled him to a guaranteed purse of $150,000 for his first four bouts, increasing to $200,000 thereafter. He also recieved a finish bonus for $50,000 for any fights won via stoppage, and a promotional fee per bout of $600,000. Meaning that, after his fourth fight for Bellator, he was entitled to either $800,000, or with a finish, $850,000 per fight.

None of Gegard Mousasi’s claims have been tested in court. The claims include breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and a claim for relief for Monopsonization under the Sherman Act. He also claims to have been misclassified as an independent contractor.

The timing of the news of the lawsuit coincides with the PFL’s biggest even of the year, Battle of the Giants, set to feature the debut of Francis Ngannou. That takes place on October 19 in Saudi Arabia.

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“My manager tries to contact them, and they don’t even respond. There’s no effort to promote [me] or get me a fight,” Mousasi, a former Bellator middleweight champ, told MMA Junkie in an interview published earlier this week.

Not so, Sefo told Cageside Press during Friday’s post-fight press conference.

“I had an offer for him [Mousasi] to fight at 205, and he turned it down. I don’t know where that miscommunication was,” Sefo responded, without naming the opponent in question. Sefo, a former fighter himself, went on to reveal that the bout would have been part of the PFL vs. Bellator Champions card.

“They asked for certain people, and those people weren’t on the card. And then of course as any card goes along, you match it today and hope for the best, hope that nobody gets injured. Throughout that Champions vs. Champions I think we had three, four guys fall out due to injuries and whatnot. Certain things had to happen and we had to pull certain people in.”

“An offer was offered to his manager, from me, and they turned it down,” Sefo added. “They said no.”

Sefo, however, believes that Mousasi and the league will be able to move forward. “Absolutely. We’ve got to sit down and work out what makes sense and go from there.”

Asked about any new talent coming into the PFL, Sefo let slip that the league had inked a deal with a top Irish prospect in Cage Warriors star Paul Hughes.

“We signed Paul Hughes already. So keep that to yourself,” joked Sefo.

With an 11-1 record and riding a five-fight win streak, lightweight Hughes has been seen as a UFC-ready talent— or perhaps PFL-ready talent in this case. He holds a win over current UFC fighter Morgan Charriere, and is a former Cage Warriors featherweight champ.

Watch the full PFL 3 post-fight press conference with Ray Sefo above.

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Earlier in the evening, Ngannou told Cageside Press that the League had “something cooking” in regards to a Pay-Per-View featuring himself and Paul, two massive signings for the league.

“Yeah. We’ve got something cooking,” Sefo said with a laugh. “It’s in the works.”

It’s expected that whenever the league opts to return to PPV, they’ll bring out the big guns. What was not expected was the face-off between Jones and Ngannou this past Friday, caught on camera by Cageside Press.

“They had nothing but respect for each other. They both said what they wanted to say. They both want to fight each other,” noted Sefo. “I believe Francis also said ‘my advice to you is, don’t let the system dictate what you do.’ And so I think Jon was appreciative of that kind of feedback if you will. I could sense there was a lot of respect there, they both want that fight. Jones’ advice to him was he’s got to make sure he wrestles and does jiu-jitsu.”

“It’s really cool to be right in the middle of it and see the respect they have for each other.” And, added Sefo, he wouldn’t know who would come out on top in that fight, “because they’re both high level athletes. So it was cool to see that kind of respect between the two.”

A budding star for the PFL is Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. He picked up another amateur win on Friday, bringing his pro debut a little closer.

“There’s a possibility that he may turn pro on our first Pay-Per-View card, but again, that just depends on him, when he’s ready,” stated Sefo. “I believe that he wants to fight again in August, in the playoffs. So I’m going to sit down with him and chat with his team and see where his head’s at, and we’ll go from there.”

Sefo also confirmed on Friday that the PFL was in talks with Bellator MMA regarding a potential sale of that promotion. “All I can say about that is yes, we are in talks, and all in due time, that will be finalized. But at the moment we’re still having conversations.”

Watch the full 2023 PFL 5 post-fight press conference with Ray Sefo above.

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“I thought everybody came to fight. Well, when I say everybody, there was one fight where I thought, ‘I have to have a few words with these two guys,’ and I don’t really want to name them— but I’m like, I pay you guys to fight. It’s called the fight game. And when people tune in, they want to see a fight,” Sefo told Cageside Press and other media outlets following the event. “They don’t want to see guys dancing around in the cage. That was the only fight I was a little bit disappointed about, but outside of that, I felt everybody brought the fight tonight.”

While Sefo didn’t want to name names, there were a handful of fights that went the distance at the 2023 PFL 3 card on Friday — and one, Raush Manfio vs. Alexander Martinez, had the crowd booing at the end of the opening round due to the lack of action.

The excitement level on Friday in Las Vegas was high, however, with a number of big finishes. And there’s no doubt more to come.

During the off-season, the Professional Fighters League signed Jake Paul, the infamous Youtube content creator turned celebrity boxer. Paul has a fight lined up with Nate Diaz in the ring this August; after that, it’ll likely be MMA next for “The Problem Child.”

Asked whether fans will get to see Jake vs. Diaz in MMA, Sefo suggested that “that’s very possible. Jake, he doesn’t post too much of his MMA training, but he does train MMA from time to time. Right now he’s getting ready for that boxing fight, but I think if Jake wins that fight, then he’s got to fight Nate in the PFL cage. That would be wonderful to see.”

Watch the full 2023 PFL 3 post-fight media appearance by Ray Sefo above.

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Needless to say, the organization, which just wrapped up their 2022 season last month, intends to continue to build through free agency — by signing both big names, and up-and-comers.

On their 2022 season, Sefo noted that “We ended up crowning six new champions, all from six different countries which was amazing. There were a few upsets that night as well. We had Biaggio Ali who started the night, and he set that bar right out of the gate with a bang. He came out, finished his opponent, the next fight, that fight got finished. I think they set the bar, and everybody turned up and really put on a great night of entertainment.”

Over the last couple of years, the PFL has signed some big-name free agents, including Anthony Pettis and the now-retired Rory MacDonald. While those have struggled, others like Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Stevie Ray have paid off, while smaller names have grown into stars, with Brendan Loughnane a prime example.

The lesson learned? “These big names, they’ve earned the right to be called stars of the sport. But what it does tell me is, we do have real talent at the PFL. We do have world class fighters. And so as we move forward, obviously for us, it’s signing whoever becomes available and becomes a free agent,” Sefo told us. “We’re open to whoever. But yeah, For us it’s signing the big names, the young up-and-coming stars, a kid that probably nobody really knows, but has an amazing record and comes out and performs. And that’s what we’ve kind of found not only through the Challenger Series, but through the season as well.”

Asked about Jake Paul, who has had a lucrative celebrity boxing career while flirting with MMA, Sefo would be interested in seeing him in the PFL cage.

“I’ve heard that he’s thinking about going and interested in going to MMA. 100%, we definitely would be interested if that’s something he wants to do,” said Sefo. Of course, at this point, it’s simply a wish. “Until we get that phone call that says ‘hey, I’m interested in doing this, this, and this,” you really don’t know, right? It’s just like air in the wind. And so you just have to wait and see what the outcome is, or what he really wants to do.”

Watch our full interview with the PFL’s Ray Sefo from the 14th Annual World MMA Awards above.

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Collard was up against Alex Martinez, and the split decision loss knocked him out of the post season.

“I thought Clay did enough in the first two rounds to win that fight. The second round could have gone either way I think,” Sefo told Cageside Press following the event at the Overtime Elite Arena. “In my opinion, Clay was winning that round, dropped him with a minute and a half, but then Alex was able to reverse him when they were on the ground. And then honestly, I thought they were done. I don’t know how Clay survived that, because that choke looked deep, and so I thought it was done. But Clay ended up weathering the storm and fought through it.”

“The fight was that close, it could have gone either way. But I thought Clay did enough to win the fight; that being said, it was a close fight anyway.”

One noticeable absence at PFL 4 was Cory Hendricks, who stepped up earlier in the season and secured five points with a win over former light heavyweight champ Emiliano Sordi. Despite being in contention for the post-season, he didn’t even get a fight on Friday.

That, Sefo said, was because things with Viktor Pesta came down to the wire. The promotion initially thought Pesta was out, until a phone call from the commission advised that if the former UFC heavyweight got his paperwork in, he’d be cleared to fight.

As a tournament alternate, that left Hendricks as the odd man out.

“That’s the tough part about being an alternate for the season, is that he was able to come in here, win a fight, and then he was off again because Pesta was cleared. And it could have been anybody in the light heavyweight division, but it’s unfortunate that he’s in that spot,” explained Sefo. “But that’s the spot, he knew from day one that he was the alternate for the season, and whatever happens, happens.”

“That’s the luck of the draw I guess,” Sefo later added.

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Ray Sefo above. More coverage can be found below.

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While Collard vs. Stephens ended up being one of the best fights of 2022 so far, there was some pushback ahead of the card as to why the PFL didn’t have a defending champion like Raush Manfio or Antonio Carlos Junior headline the show.

Sefo explained his thought process following the event.

“[Manfio and Junior] are right in some ways, but when you looked at Jeremy Stephens, and I know how both these guys fight, there was no way that fight was going to disappoint,” Sefo told the media, including Cageside Press, during a post-fight scrum. “And as you saw what happened happened, right? Everybody showed up tonight and fought well, but then those two guys closed off the night the way they did. You know, afterward, Pete [Murray] and I looked at each other like, ‘Yeah, that was the right decision.’ I mean, we weren’t sure. But we were sure thinking, ‘Okay, with this fight, there’s no way this fight could disappoint.’ And thank God, they didn’t.”

After the main event, Collard called for a rematch with Manfio. Many thought Collard won their first fight, which was a very close split decision. However, Manfio didn’t seem too enthused with the idea of running it back when asked about a possible rematch.

Sefo thinks it could happen in the next round. He just has to go back and re-watch their fights.

“I just got to go back and look at how the fights panned out for everybody tonight and then look at if it makes sense for them to fight in the second round of the regular season— I’ll make it happen. But if not, then, you know, there is the playoffs, and four guys got to make the playoffs,” Sefo said. So, I think when I look at it all, I think it’s a big deal to leave [the rematch] for the playoffs. But it just depends on when I look at the card and look at all the results from tonight and then go from there.”

Watch the rest of Ray Sefo’s PFL 1 post-fight scrum above.

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Atlantic City, NJ — Following a brief presentation by PFL CEO Peter Murray, League President Ray Sefo took to the podium to address the media at the Oceans Resort Casino in Atlantic City, NJ in the wake of PFL 4 2019. July 11 was a big night for the promotion: despite a couple of fights falling off the card due to blown weight cuts, the in-cage product was outstanding. Six of eight fights ended in finishes, many in the opening round.

Kayla Harrison finished Morgan Frier in the co-main event, earning six points, and the second seed in the women’s lightweight division heading into the post-season. Welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov, meanwhile, won his 10th straight fight, seven of which have come under the PFL banner.

That fight came against Chris Curtis, and got a little heated at times. Reflecting on the bout, Sefo told Cageside Press and other media outlets that “obviously Chris couldn’t implement his game. Magomed was able to kind of pick him apart from the outside, then take him down and control him on the ground as well.”

“I think he [Curtis] got a little bit frustrated there. Listen it’s MMA, as much as Chris wanted to stand and bang, he probably needed to initiate that a little more if that was the case.” Curtis could not, and as a result, he was handed the loss by the judges.

“At the end of the day it’s an MMA fight. You can knock the guy out, you can submit the guy, you can wrestle the guy to the ground, and so on. It’s part of the game,” Sefo pointed out. He also agreed that the defending champ could very well be among the first to repeat as PFL tournament winner.

“He’s headed that way. He’s a complete fighter,” Sefo said of Magomedkerimov. “Again, this is the fight game, anything can happen. Look at what happened tonight with Ray Cooper and John Howard. John Howard, he’s a guy with experience, he’s fought in some big fights before. Ray obviously got caught. And then John was able to finish. That’s the fight game, you blink and it could be over.”

Women’s lightweight star and Olympic gold medal winner Kayla Harrison had another big performance at PFL 4 2019, and looked like she was making a statement. Addressing her performance, Sefo said, “Kayla you always expect to fight. She’s not a two-time Olympic champion for nothing. She’s always going to bring the fight, she’s always aggressive, and that’s what I love about Kayla, is that she’s got that hunger, that aggressive style with her that doesn’t matter if she’s standing or taking the fight down to the ground.”

“If she happens to mount and [it] be ground n’ pound, I’d hate to be one of the ladies on the receiving end of the ground n’ pound,” he added, “because she throws some heavy leather. She’s always impressive, so it’s good to see.”

For more from the PFL’s Ray Sefo, watch the press conference video above.

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Uniondale, NY – We’ve reached the midway point of the PFL 2019 and the promotion has seen some great fights the season. PFL President Ray Sefo gave his overall thoughts on 2019 so far and specifically the Maxim Grishin vs. Jordan Johnson fight following PFL 3.

“That concludes the first round of our regular season. I hope everyone had a good time because everybody came out and put it on the line. Jason [Brown] and I kind of jinxed it. We said we’d probably have eight to 10 finishes tonight. We ended up with five. But hey, five is still good. There were some good highlights. Jordan Johnson came in tonight with an undefeated record and fell to one of our fighters. That shows where we are in the market. Who we are as the fighters we have in the league. He was an undefeated fighter and lost on a split decision. I thought the decision could have gone either way. It was a close fight. Congratulations to Maxim [Grishin] who won that fight. Now Jordan has to come back in his second regular-season fight and really battle hard to get to the playoffs because now he really has to earn points to get there. We ended up with five finishes tonight and I was hoping for five finishes. It was good to see the last few fights guys put it on the line and walk away with some high points and some finishes. It was great. I’m definitely looking forward to the second round of regular season fights in Atlantic City.”

The main event featured an excellent performance from Emiliano Sordi, who dominated last season’s light heavyweight runner up, Vinny Magalhaes, en route to a second-round stoppage. But the opportunity to perform this season almost didn’t come for the Argentinian.

“He took a page off of Sean O’Connell’s fight with Vinny [Magalhaes]. Because that looked like a replay. He came out, hit him, and just kept standing. Every time Vinny was trying to get him to the ground, Emiliano would defend and get it back to his feet and picked him apart. I think the stoppage was warranted because Vinny was taking a lot of shots. He was getting battered around the cage. But Sordi, I thought he fought well and looked great. Glad to have him back because going through the lineup at first, he was actually at the end of the lineup. Someone fell out and Sordi took that spot. I’m sure he’s happy with his performance tonight, and so are we.”

Unlike the second event, PFL 3 did not feature any excessively scary injuries. The one scare was from Alex Nicholson, who was visibly displaying pain in his midsection after his brutal fight with Francimar Barroso. Sefo gave an update on his health.

“Alex [Nicholson] said to me that he broke his rib in the first round. I told him that it’s not broken because he was talking fine. He was bending over. I’ve broken a few ribs in my day as well guys normally can’t be standing there bending over with a broken rib. Fortunately for him, he went to the hospital and got checked out and cleared. He’s all good. It’s probably just badly bruised.”

With the season halfway done, the former kickboxing great gave his thoughts on the top performers of 2019, and why his list features several returning names.

“Ray Cooper, he came out and did his thing. Sadibou Sy. When we told him we weren’t going to have the middleweight division, I thought he was going up to 205. He said no, he’s going down to 170. So my next question was, ‘Aren’t you too big for 170?’ But apparently he walks around at 185, 190. So out of everybody, I thought he was going to be the concern because he is a tall guy, but man he made weight easy. Those guys from last year. Natan [Schulte] did his thing. Lance Palmer did his thing. Rashid Magomedov again looked great. So some of the guys from last season. It’s like when I competed in K-1 where the top eight guys knew that we wanted to show the newcomers that we belonged. I think that’s what happened in this regular season. Most of the guys that came back from last year came out on top, winning their fights. I think that’s the attitude now. We’re the gatekeepers and you guys will have to earn that spot.”

Check out the rest of Ray Sefo’s post-fight presser above, including how Ronny Markes was nearly cut from the promotion.

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