PFL CEO Peter Murray Touts Company’s Revamped Format

The Professional Fighters League will undergo a complete makeover in 2025, as it moves away from its traditional season format and into a single-elimination World Tournament covering eight weight classes. Each bracket involves eight fighters, with plans to award a championship title and $500,000 awarded to each winner. The intrigue of building the next generation remains the primary focus for the organization.

The PFL’s new format, carried by the slogan “One Shot,” offers the promotion the opportunity to showcase its best talent while limiting outlying factors. One major addition: the use of elbows, which had previously been banned outside of season championship fights. PFL CEO Peter Murray indicated the organization would stay true to its roots despite the changes.

“When we launched the company in 2018, we were the first ones to establish and present the sport where fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs and championship, merit-based, and that continues,” Murray told Sherdog.com. “We’re all about fighters first, empowering fighters through their own journey, giving them the platform, consistent top competition [and] the opportunity to earn their way to become champion. That’s what the PFL was built on.”

Murray pointed to the competitors themselves as the driving force behind the decision to switch gears.

“It came from insights from fighters, who historically just felt that the options that were out there didn’t give them the full ability to manage their career [and] control their destiny,” he said. “It was great. [After] six seasons of the season format, we were thinking about continued innovation [and] how to make the product better but also listening to athletes. We talked to many athletes about the season’s format—the toughest test in MMA, as we like to say, [with] four fights over eight months. It’s pretty grueling to get through.”

Another major difference in the revamped PFL format: the World Tournament will run from April to August, which will be known as “Champions Month” under the new schedule.

“The fighters give up the entire year to basically train, prepare, repair, reset [and] go again and again, so that went into the thinking,” Murray said. “In addition to just freshening up the product and experience for fans, grand prix tournaments are fun—single elimination, just one shot. I think everybody can relate.”

Murray believes the new-look PFL could inspire more up-and-coming martial artists to eventually take part in a tournament. Knowing that one loss results in elimination means fighters must put all they have into each and every fight.

“They get one shot to advance, or it is lose and go home,” Murray said. “I think it adds more excitement to the experience for the fans. Fighters get up for this. [With] the point system—[and] I really loved it—fighters basically got two tries to get into the postseason. Even if they didn’t finish or they lost one fight, they could still get in. We eliminated that. It raises the intensity, and what I like about this schedule is we have compressed the season for the tournament from eight months to five months. As a marketer or programmer, I think it puts us in a position to capture the fans’ attention a little further.”