Donn Davis claims PFL PPV bigger and more expensive than UFC 306, Dana White responds

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

PFL co-founder Donn Davis is making big claims, even bigger than UFC CEO Dana White did about his debut at Sphere for UFC 306.

The PFL returns to pay-per-view on Oct. 19 for their PFL: Ngannou vs. Ferreira card headlined by Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira, with Cris Cyborg set to battle Larissa Pacheco in the co-main event. Davis claims that the card, which takes place in Saudi Arabia, is not only a better card than UFC 306, but it’s more of a financial undertaking as well.

“I think you have the most interesting men’s fight, and the most interesting women’s fight [of the year],” Davis told the New York Post. “So, first of all, I believe this is the biggest event possible in MMA because of the co-mains, this year in 2024, and that makes it, certainly, the biggest thing for PFL. The UFC is the bigger company, but we’re putting on the bigger event. So this is a big deal for us. Our No. 1 metric is putting on the highest quality MMA fight for fans in the world. We want to show fans that we can put on just as good, or better of a product than anyone else in the world. That’s metric No. 1.

“Metric No. 2, we want to do OK financially, just OK financially. The cost of this fight is astronomical. Dana White talks about his $20 million Sphere event, this is more. Fighters make more, the card here has more big fights coming. This cost to us is more than his cost to the Sphere.”

White, fresh off of the memorable spectacle that was UFC 306, was asked about Davis’ comments following Tuesday night’s Contender Series card. As expected, White had a good laugh at it.

“I didn’t even know who he was until you said it,” White responded. “Sounds like a good idea. Good for him. Good luck, hope it all works out.”