Report: PFL Sells $100M+ Minority Stake to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund

On Wednesday, the Professional Fighters League announced the sale of a minority stake to SRJ Sports Investments, a company launched earlier this month by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, the commitment from SRJ to the PFL is worth "more than $100 million," with one source saying it "could be worth substantially more" than that number. As part of the deal, the PFL will launch a new regional league called PFL MENA in 2024, and SRJ will be an investor in the new league to "support PFL's expansion into Saudi Arabia and the Middle East," per Raimondi.

In January, PFL announced the establishment of the PPV Super Fight Division, which will feature the likes of Jake Paul, Francis Ngannou, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Serrano, the latter of whom was signed earlier this month. Wednesday's announcement noted that the Super Fight events will be held in Saudi Arabia, with the first event expected to be held in the first quarter of 2024.

"PFL's mission is to become the global co-leader in MMA with our fighter-first mission and disruptive sport-season format," PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis said in a statement. "This investment by SRJ continues the monumental growth that PFL has experienced throughout the world, and there is no better partner in global sports than SRJ."

Over the past few years, the Saudi Arabian government has become heavily involved in sports. The agreement with the PFL is the country's first official jump into mixed martial arts, and it already has a familiarity with combat sports after hosting and financing boxing and professional wrestling events in the past.

Saudi Arabia's recent increased involvement in sports has led to accusations of sportswashing, because its use of the Saudi Public Investment Fund to involve itself in sports such as golf, soccer and Formula 1 racing and cycling is viewed as an attempt to overshadow its well-documented history of human rights violations.

As part of the announcement on Wednesday, PFL "plans to launch and develop six international regional leagues by 2026, creating the first ever 'Champions League of MMA.'" The first regional league, PFL Europe, was launched earlier this year, while PFL MENA is planned for a launch in the second quarter of 2024. PFL's "four-event sport-season format" schedule will be announced in the fall.