How does the Professional Fighters League work? MMA’s winner-take-all $1 million regular and playoff season explained

The Professional Fighters League is MMA’s only seasonal format consisting of qualifying and knockout rounds.

Stars in six weight divisions initially have two regular season bouts in which points are awarded for your winning method.

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The top four then advance to the playoffs, which consist of a semi-final and a final format.

Winners in each division ultimately bag the $1 million jackpot.

Here SunSport explains how MMA’s only league format works.

Regular Season

The top four in each weight class qualify for the semifinals by the points earned in their first two bouts.

The scoring goes as follows.

• Six points for a first round finish
• Five points for a second round finish
• Four points for a third round finish
• Three points for a decision win
• One point for a tie
• No points are awarded for a loss
• No points for fighters who miss weight

endgames

The top four in each weight class advance to the playoffs, where two fights stand in the way of the $1 million check.

First, the last two in each weight class will be determined in a semifinal match over three rounds.

If a semi-final ends in a tie, the three judges are asked to choose the fighter who they feel has done the most complete job of the entire fight.

The most voted fighter will advance, but the process is subject to commission approval.

If the commission does not approve the above procedure, the tiebreaker will go to the fighter who won the 1st round on the judges’ scorecards.

If the 1st round was settled as a tie, the process is repeated for the 2nd round and so on.

It eventually comes down to a five-round final bout, with the winner receiving the PFL’s $1 million cash prize.

where to watch

In the US, PFL events will be streamed live on ESPN+ and ESPN.

In the UK, the American MMA League recently signed an exclusive deal with Channel 4.

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