PFL reschedules 2020 season, fighters to receive monthly stipends

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has rescheduled its next season.

“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021,” PFL CEO Pete Murray announced today. “PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel.”

This was set to be the PFL’s third season. The promotion was formerly known as World Series of Fighting.

“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald,” Murray said.

“For the remainder of 2020, the PFL will support our fighters with a monthly cash stipend to help provide some relief during these challenging times. In addition, for sports fans who we know are looking for compelling content, the PFL will deliver new original programming across ESPN and PFL platforms.”

This year’s season was supposed to begin in May and conclude in December. The PFL had previously announced in March that they were delaying the start of the season and would begin when it was feasible to do so.

ESPN wrote that Murray said the PFL is “absolutely” open to holding events without fans but isn’t commenting on the possibility of holding a live, non-season event this year.