Bellator drops the ball again....

[skylolow]

Jake Paul signs with PFL, yet he promotes with Showtime for boxing.

How the hell did they drop the ball on not signing Jake Paul????????

Really, makes you wonder if the rumor of them up for sale is very true and expected to be announced in the coming months. It's the only thing that makes sense on why they won't of figured out a deal with Jake. Love or hate the guy, he brings eyes to whatever he does and that has been one of Bellator's biggest issues.

I thought this was a slam dunk, yet again some how Bellator drops the ball.

Kudos to the PFL and as fans we'll see where it all goes.

 

[tehMoose]

lol I bet you would be the first one to shit on Bellator if they signed Jake Paul and made circus fights...

From your 15k messages, half of them are hating on Bellator

 

[GueseGuy]

Giving out shares in the company just to sign someone? Seems kinda desperate.

 

[TorontoTO]

Showtime knows how much the Jake PPVs sold, just saying.....

Also people are so desperate to crown the new distant number 2, what a sad sport this is.

I am surprised you haven't shit on PFL for signing washed UFC guys like Thiago Santos

 

[skylolow]

lol I bet you would be the first one to shit on Bellator if they signed Jake Paul and made circus fights...

From your 15k messages, half of them are hating on Bellator

Actually, I'd be happy if they signed him. At least they'd be trying to do something to bring more attention to the product. Like I said I thought it was a slam dunk he'd fight in Bellator, stars were aligned.

Just bothers me that they have the ability to give us fans more than do and for whatever reason they choose not to. You can't sit here I say with the roster they have they could manage it a hell of a lot better and give the fans better quality events. Only other thing is which kind goes with that is the gimmick tournaments they do. It's nothing new and adds almost zero entertainment value for most fans.

They have so much to offer yet it seems like we get the bare minimum from them all to often.

 

[The Last King]

I hespect Bellator for not associating with him.

 

[skylolow]

Giving out shares in the company just to sign someone? Seems kinda desperate.

No doubt, but too launch what they are trying to do when chances are high they are already hemorrhaging money this may have made the most sense. I guess I look at it as what M-1 was doing with Fedor 12-15 years ago. Really didn't agree with that, but understood why a promotion would try it to have Fedor fight for them. Difference is Paul probably isn't making shit unless it thrives on some level and Fedor/M-1 was already guarantee millions from orgs with not a lot of financial backing at the time(kind of lopsided deal) with each fight according to rumors.

Overall, I just like that someone is willing to do something different than what the UFC does and are really trying to do something better for the fighters. Now will it all work out, highly doubt it. They need to attract more than Paul to bring people to buy PPV's a few times a year. But at least they are willing to split the pie more fairly from the start. Though chances are that pie might not be very big. But who knows maybe it gains some traction and actually becomes something worth while for free agents to look at.

 

[Go Go Plata]

If Bellator just wanted ratings, they would put on Tito vs Fedor or some other freakshow fights like they did when he first got in.

Instead, they are out trying to prove they have the best fighters in the world by challenging other promotions.

 

[Stan]

Jake Paul signs with PFL, yet he promotes with Showtime for boxing.

How the hell did they drop the ball on not signing Jake Paul????????

Really, makes you wonder if the rumor of them up for sale is very true and expected to be announced in the coming months. It's the only thing that makes sense on why they won't of figured out a deal with Jake. Love or hate the guy, he brings eyes to whatever he does and that has been one of Bellator's biggest issues.

I thought this was a slam dunk, yet again some how Bellator drops the ball.

Kudos to the PFL and as fans we'll see where it all goes.

Seriously why should Bellator waste millions on a guy that has never fought in MMA and can't beat any of the fighters you currently have on the payroll? So you would want Bellator to waste millions on a guy that might give your promotion 25 - 40 thousand extra viewers and possibly sink the ship as he might do with PFL? How much in debt will the PFL be in when they can't sell 40 thousand PPV's?

 

[USA-man]

Giving out shares in the company just to sign someone? Seems kinda desperate.

Yeah i think jake paul and his partner chose pfl due to getting stake in the ownership. Wonder how much they got together and whose perecentage they bought from. I think jakes ultimate goal is to be an mma promoter like dana.

 

[GueseGuy]

No doubt, but too launch what they are trying to do when chances are high they are already hemorrhaging money this may have made the most sense. I guess I look at it as what M-1 was doing with Fedor 12-15 years ago. Really didn't agree with that, but understood why a promotion would try it to have Fedor fight for them. Difference is Paul probably isn't making shit unless it thrives on some level and Fedor/M-1 was already guarantee millions from orgs with not a lot of financial backing at the time(kind of lopsided deal) with each fight according to rumors.

Overall, I just like that someone is willing to do something different than what the UFC does and are really trying to do something better for the fighters. Now will it all work out, highly doubt it. They need to attract more than Paul to bring people to buy PPV's a few times a year. But at least they are willing to split the pie more fairly from the start. Though chances are that pie might not be very big. But who knows maybe it gains some traction and actually becomes something worth while for free agents to look at.

Yeah i think jake paul and his partner chose pfl due to getting stake in the ownership. Wonder how much they got together and whose perecentage they bought from. I think jakes ultimate goal is to be an mma promoter like dana.

Yeah I’d say this is a big gamble from PFL. Things probably aren’t great financially and they’re willing to go all in to make some cash. I understand why they’re doing it but will he actually turn this company around? I can see why Bellator doesn’t do it. They are probably stable and profitable. Probably don’t want to do anything drastic like this and potentially fuck up 15 years of work in creating a legitimate business.

 

[skylolow]

Seriously why should Bellator waste millions on a guy that has never fought in MMA and can't beat any of the fighters you currently have on the payroll? So you would want Bellator to waste millions on a guy that might give your promotion 25 - 40 thousand extra viewers and possibly sink the ship as he might do with PFL? How much in debt will the PFL be in when they can't sell 40 thousand PPV's?

Paul won't be sinking the Bellator ship, Viacom/Showtime have very deep pockets if they believe in the product. I'm guessing they just really don't believe in it and its simply because Bellator tries to just be the UFC lite or whatever outside of the few tournaments they do for the most part and gains almost zero traction in the MMA landscape for the years they've owned them. Showtime is in business with Paul already. So why won't they want him to promote another entity they own?? I can't believe they are that happy that Paul plans on doing MMA with a competitor. I'm guessing the Paul/Showtime relationship is probably on thin ice or the deal is due up shortly. I also would tend to believe the rumors of new ownership of the Bellator in 2023 could become very true and maybe that is why they didn't sign Paul. Just makes too much sense on the surface for Paul not to do MMA with Bellator when he is signed to the owners of Bellator for boxing.

 

[tehMoose]

Paul won't be sinking the Bellator ship, Viacom/Showtime have very deep pockets if they believe in the product. I'm guessing they just really don't believe in it and its simply because Bellator tries to just be the UFC lite or whatever outside of the few tournaments they do for the most part and gains almost zero traction in the MMA landscape for the years they've owned them. Showtime is in business with Paul already. So why won't they want him to promote another entity they own?? I can't believe they are that happy that Paul plans on doing MMA with a competitor. I'm guessing the Paul/Showtime relationship is probably on thin ice or the deal is due up shortly. I also would tend to believe the rumors of new ownership of the Bellator in 2023 could become very true and maybe that is why they didn't sign Paul. Just makes too much sense on the surface for Paul not to do MMA with Bellator when he is signed to the owners of Bellator for boxing.

Maybe he's not the draw you think he is? Showtime knows how much PPVs Jake sold

How come UFC, ONE and others didn't dropped the ball by signing him but only Bellator somehow did? lol

 

[careto]

Paul won't be sinking the Bellator ship, Viacom/Showtime have very deep pockets if they believe in the product. I'm guessing they just really don't believe in it and its simply because Bellator tries to just be the UFC lite or whatever outside of the few tournaments they do for the most part and gains almost zero traction in the MMA landscape for the years they've owned them. Showtime is in business with Paul already. So why won't they want him to promote another entity they own?? I can't believe they are that happy that Paul plans on doing MMA with a competitor. I'm guessing the Paul/Showtime relationship is probably on thin ice or the deal is due up shortly. I also would tend to believe the rumors of new ownership of the Bellator in 2023 could become very true and maybe that is why they didn't sign Paul. Just makes too much sense on the surface for Paul not to do MMA with Bellator when he is signed to the owners of Bellator for boxing.

Coker said he would like to promote Jake Paul in MMA and Im sure they reached out, however, they were turned off by an equity request. PFL probably accepted the proposition because their PPV massively flopped, so they are thinking Paul might bring in the PPV buys they need.

Im sure Jake Paul will help promote PFL now that he is a part owner and he will probably help with the viewership for the regular shows. However, unless he fights someone credible in MMA, I dont see a PPV making good numbers.

 

[CC27]

PFL giving him equity and splitting PPV with him sealed it. Bellator aint gonna give you all that but yeah it seemed to make more sense since he's with Showtime but PFl is making moves. Will that work out or not who knows.

For sure Bellator is still number 2 but they had a down year while PFL had an up year so the gap is closing between the two. Will PFL be able to overtake them or not remains to be seen but PFl has come further than anyone probably thought. Most thought they'd be out of business by now.

 

[careto]

Maybe he's not the draw you think he is? Showtime knows how much PPVs Jake sold

How come UFC, ONE and others didn't dropped the ball by signing him but only Bellator somehow did? lol

I can imagine the criticism Bellator would get for signging Jake Paul. They would call it a circus promotion, zero credibility, etc. amd they would probably be correct. Who can Jake Paul fight in MMA that it wouldnt be seen as a joke?

 

[TorontoTO]

I can imagine the criticism Bellator would get for signging Jake Paul. They would call it a circus promotion, zero credibility, etc. amd they would probably be correct. Who can Jake Paul fight in MMA that it wouldnt be seen as a joke?

Bellator could sign Ngannou and people will come out and complain that they are signing old HWs and UFC names

 

[careto]

PFL giving him equity and splitting PPV with him sealed it. Bellator aint gonna give you all that but yeah it seemed to make more sense since he's with Showtime but PFl is making moves. Will that work out or not who knows.

For sure Bellator is still number 2 but they had a down year while PFL had an up year so the gap is closing between the two. Will PFL be able to overtake them or not remains to be seen but PFl has come further than anyone probably thought. Most thought they'd be out of business by now.

In what sense did PFL have a good year? If anything they had the shittiest year in terms of viewership and didnt seem to have any buzz around them. They also closed the year with a good show but a massive PPV flop. Not being out of business by now doesnt mean they had a successful year.

 

[GueseGuy]

In what sense did PFL have a good year? If anything they had the shittiest year in terms of viewership and didnt seem to have any buzz around them. They also closed the year with a good show but a massive PPV flop. Not being out of business by now doesnt mean they had a successful year.

Bellator is bonafide number 2. That’s why they get the short end of the stick from ppl. People actively root against them. PFL and ONE could have the shittiest year ever but they’re still “gaining ground” even though bellator had a successful year with sold out shows all across Europe then a successful cross promotion with RIZIN. I thought it was a solid year for them and the brand definitely grew internationally. This weird narrative that they’re struggling comes from haters like Smelwani.

 

[CC27]

In what sense did PFL have a good year? If anything they had the shittiest year in terms of viewership and didnt seem to have any buzz around them. They also closed the year with a good show but a massive PPV flop. Not being out of business by now doesnt mean they had a successful year.

They got a new ESPN deal which actually makes them money, theres talk around their events, they're doing PPV, bringing in fighters. We're talking about compared to their last year not vs someone elses. This isnt did x have better year than y.

Shit even the mmajunkie guys and the "Bellator Guy" Nolan King said the same shit, they all did. Bellator is still number 2 but the gap is without a double closing.