The PFL has introduced the discharge of former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi following a contractual dispute turned public.
In the future after Mousasi (49-9-2) referred to as the promotion “the worst group” and threatened authorized motion in an interview with “The MMA Hour,” PFL Head of Fighter Operations Mike Kogan launched an announcement on social media asserting the roster transfer.
“Bellator has launched Gegard Mousasi from his settlement,” Kogan wrote. “We want him all the perfect combating in his subsequent chapter.”
Whereas Mousasi has but to remark publicly on the state of affairs, his supervisor Nima Safapour, of Moments Administration, referred to the discharge as “alleged” and disputed PFL’s “fighter first” mantra.
“We won’t touch upon the deserves of the alleged launch at the moment for apparent causes,” Safapour mentioned in a written assertion supplied to MMA Junkie. “Nevertheless, we consider there’s a larger lesson right here that our group ought to pay shut consideration to. For a corporation that repeatedly claims to be ‘fighter first,’ we now actually see how PFL treats their fighters, particularly their legends.”
PFL/Bellator Official Fighter Roster Replace pic.twitter.com/8yi9TPqE3Q
— PFL (@PFLMMA) Could 23, 2024
Mousasi, 38, has not competed since Could 2023, when he misplaced to Fabian Edwards. Following the PFL-Bellator merger in late 2023, Mousasi has aired rising frustration with the promotion.
In an April interview with MMA Junkie, Mousasi claimed PFL was not providing him fights and had requested him to take a pay reduce, one thing former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima additionally not too long ago complained of publicly.
Each PFL president Ray Sefo and PFL co-owner Donn Davis disputed Mousasi’s declare. In April, Sefo advised reporters, together with MMA Junkie, the promotion provided Mousasi, by way of Safapour, a struggle up a weight class at 205 kilos, nevertheless it was turned down.
It’s unclear the place Mousasi’s subsequent cease is from right here. He’s 40 years of age and on a two-fight skid. He fought within the UFC from April 2013 to April 2017 with a 9-3 report with the promotion earlier than he joined Bellator as a free agent. Mousasi went 7-3 underneath the Bellator banner with two reigns as middleweight champion.
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