Gegard Mousasi, a former middleweight champion, has expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the Professional Fighters League (PFL) about his future fights, stating that he is not retired and is eager to compete again.
Gegard Mousasi wants the world to know one thing. He’s not retired, despite not stepping into the ring for almost a year.
His last fight? It was in Bellator, back in May 2023. He lost a decision to Fabian Edwards. Since then, he’s been waiting, itching to compete again.
But there’s a problem. Ever since PFL bought Bellator, Mousasi’s been left in the dark. No fights, no communication, nothing. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
“We can’t get ahold of them,” Mousasi told MMA Fighting. “They won’t respond. I’ve been training, I’ve been ready. But they don’t promote me. People think I’ve retired.”
He’s tried to fight Derek Brunson in Saudi Arabia. “Do you want to fight?” they asked. “Yeah, give me a fight,” he replied. But then, silence. Nothing.
When PFL acquired Bellator, Donn Davis, the co-founder, said they’d keep the entire roster of fighters. They even hoped that executives and team members would transition too.
Some did. Bellator matchmaker Mike Kogan, for instance, and some PR staff. But many fighters were released. Mousasi was told that the top 10 from every division would move from Bellator to PFL. As a former middleweight champion, he certainly qualified.
He’s tried to get booked on upcoming Bellator fight cards. But no luck. Maybe it’s because of the paycheck he’s contractually entitled to?
“My manager tried to contact them, nothing,” Mousasi said. “I tried to contact Mike [Kogan], but I haven’t heard back from him either. Maybe they’re trying to force me to take lesser paychecks?”
Davis declared that his new company isn’t competing for the No. 2 spot behind UFC. He prefers the term “co-leader”. But Mousasi disagrees, based on his experience.
“They want to be the No. 2 company, but they don’t act like it,” Mousasi said. “They don’t let me speak to them. They don’t respond to our emails.”
Mousasi’s manager, Nima Safapour, has tried everything to get his fighter booked. But PFL isn’t giving any definitive answers.
“Is this how we treat our legends now?” Safapour told MMA Fighting. “People’s livelihoods depend on promoters doing what they say they’re going to do. But they’ve made no effort to promote him or book him.”
Mousasi doesn’t know what’s next. But he hopes that by speaking out, he’ll get some resolution from PFL.
Ideally, he’ll get a call to fight under his existing Bellator contract terms. But he’s not sure that’ll happen.
“When you fight, you’re dependent on the promoters to give you fights,” Mousasi said. “UFC gave me a lot of fights, but paid me less. Bellator paid more, but I fought less. Now PFL, they don’t even let me know what’s going on. This is the worst, honestly.”
“I don’t know what they want to do. Just have the respect of saying, ‘We don’t want you or you make too much money.’ Give me a reason so I know what I’m up to. Like I said, no communication, and when there is, it’s like, ‘You get paid too much.'”