Dana White comments on Patricio 'Pitbull,' other Bellator notables asking for PFL release

LAS VEGAS – Dana White isn’t surprised to see several big-name Bellator fighters frustrated over their current situations with PFL.

Bellator champions Patchy Mix, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire and Corey Anderson recently expressed their discontent with PFL over lack of fights. After PFL acquired Bellator in November 2023, the promotion’s plan was to have eight Bellator Champions Series events throughout the year, with each featuring at least two championship bouts.

However, that wasn’t the case in 2024 as five events took place, with only one including multiple title fights. During the UFC 310 post-fight news conference, White was asked about Freire’s desire to sign with the UFC and other Bellator stars asking for their release from PFL.

“The last couple months we’ve been talking a lot about the PFL,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “They’re canceling a lot of shows. I know a lot of guys that are supposed to fight aren’t fighting. You guys know what the f*ck is going on. When you see that start to happen, you’re running out of money, things aren’t looking good, and you’re going to have people that want to jump ship.”

Dana White reacts to Bellator champs requesting releases from PFL and says “things aren’t looking good” going into 2025. pic.twitter.com/4oM5L35dlw

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 8, 2024

Freire (36-7) hasn’t competed since defending his featherweight title with a TKO win over Jeremy Kennedy last February. Mix (20-1), who’s coming off a title defense over Magomed Magomedov in May, has been left in the dark after his title defense against Leandro Higo in November was canceled. Meanwhile, Anderson (18-6) has been left without a fight since winning the vacant 205-pound belt against Karl Moore in March.

“These guys want to fight,” White said. “You have a very limited time of opportunity when you’re a professional athlete and even less when you’re a fighter. So I’m sure you’re going to see a lot of that, and we’ll see how this plays out over the next several months going into 2025.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.