The two battled through five rounds, taking the bout to the distance, but in the end it was Du Plessis taking Strickland’s middleweight belt after bloodying the former champ over his left eye and winning a split decision.

Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon scored the bout 48-47 in favor of Du Plessis, while Sal D’Amato had it 48-47 for Strickland.

“This is history!” Du Plessis (21-2) screamed in honor of his homeland. “South Africa … we can probably hear them from outside. That country is amazing.”

It was December when Du Plessis referenced Strickland’s abusive relationship with his father. Strickland let it be known that would not be tolerated, and violent recourse would result.

At UFC 296 in December, Strickland jumped over a row of seats and threw punches at Du Plessis — which both said was nowhere near a publicity stunt.

Nothing about the fight was nowhere near a stunt, as the two traded blows, both delivering severe blows, especially in the latter rounds.

Despite the tension leading up to fight night, Du Plessis gave Strickland (28-6) his just due afterward.

“Every time he hits you with that jab it feels like someone hit you with a rock. You are one heck of a man, thank you for bringing out the best of me tonight,” Du Plessis said. “The first three rounds were give and take, but the last two, I was desperate rounds four and five.”

To which Strickland later replied: “I called it from day one — it was going to be a war.”

At FanDuel, the fight closed a pick’em with both priced at -108, which means a bettor would have to lay $108 to win $100.

Raquel Pennington (16-9-0) beat Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1) by unanimous decision to claim the vacant women’s bantamweight championship in the co-main event. Pennington was listed as the underdog in the match.

Neil Magny (29-12-0) stopped Mike Malott (10-2-1) at the 4:45 mark of the third round of their welterweight match.

Chris Curtis (31-10-0) took a split decision over Marc-Andre Barriault (16-7-0) in their middleweight bout. Curtis took two scores of 30-27 Curtis, while Barriault won 29-28 on a third scorecard.

In the first match on the undercard, Movsar Evloev remained undefeated (17-0-0) with a unanimous decision over Arnold Allen (19-3-0). All three judges scored it 29-28. Evloev, who owns the second-longest active winning streak in the UFC featherweight division (7), ran his overall UFC win streak to eight straight.

If life goes according to plan, that’s how much time Cris Cyborg, arguably the most devastating female fighter ever, has before hanging up her brain-rattling gloves for good.

Considering where the 38-year-old Brazilian intends to go by the close of business in 2025, her appearance against an unremarkable opponent inside a ballroom at the Pechanga Resort Casino on Friday night was less about her 44th professional contest – encompassing mixed martial arts, boxing, grappling and Muay Thai kickboxing – than setting up future ones.

Kelsey Wickstrum, the aforementioned unknown, a 36-year-old novice from Redding, Calif., with two professional boxing bouts on her ledger, fell face first to the canvas when a heavy overhand right thudded off her forehead.

If there was something newsworthy about the most recent sacrifice at the altar of Cyborg-induced violence, it wasn’t another knockout landing like a wrecking ball.

For Cyborg and her team, including boxing trainer Jose Benavidez Sr., the father and coach of undefeated super middleweight David Benavidez, the most important elements about her finish at 1:21 of Round 1 were 1) the setup and 2) the message it sent to other female boxers.

Returning to the dressing room shortly after dispatching Wickstrum, the first thing Cyborg said was that she saw the end materialize prior to the execution. This is a fairly recent development for a woman whose berserker style, suited perfectly for MMA, had to be tempered for boxing.

“Before I only punched hard,” she said. “In MMA, it’s not the same. In boxing, there are so many rounds you have to stay active.”

Hit, react, hit. This was the basis for much of her success while winning titles in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta.

“I always had heavy hands but I didn’t prepare the set-up,” she said. “So I’m starting to learn. The right hand I did today, I set up. I think this is more dangerous.”

For Benavidez’s part, Cyborg’s first knockout in boxing following a pair of decisions indicates that the work they’ve done together the past few months in Seattle is paying off and she’s ready for a world title fight in boxing if it presents itself.

“She can be a destroyer and also she can be more technical,” Benavidez said. “I think she’ll learn more with this fight. She’ll get super motivated. She’s going to get more confidence. I don’t remember when a woman got hurt like that. It was amazing. I think everyone is going to be talking about her because of the knockout.

“This was exactly what she needed.”

Boxing without a promoter, Cyborg was offered the bout at Pechanga when Bellator MMA, which had reserved the date at the venue, relinquished the site fee after being sold by Paramount Global to the Professional Fighters League in December.

What comes next will largely be determined by the PFL, which secured Cyborg’s contract as part of that transaction.

Juggling her three remaining MMA fights for PFL with aspirations of winning a boxing world title could prove challenging.

PFL hoped to book Cyborg for a pay-per-view card on ESPN+ from Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, but that wasn’t feasible because of Saturday’s commitment among other considerations, according to the fighter’s fiancee, Ray Elbe.

Last year, Cyborg was close to booking a date against Ireland’s Katie Taylor, but that fell apart when the previously unbeaten boxer lost her various titles to Chantelle Cameron by decision.

Taylor could again be on a list of possible opponents after recapturing her titles. So, too, the larger Claressa Shields. (Cyborg’s team is pushing to meet the middleweight champion at 147 pounds and would consider a boxing-MMA series since Shields is also under contract to PFL.) Other potentials include Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships flyweight title holder Christine Ferea, who challenged Cyborg in the ring after watching from ringside Saturday.

“If the weight is right, if the money is right, I’m willing to do it,” Cyborg said. “I’m fighting for 19 years. I’m going to compete for 20. I want to finish with the biggest fight of my career and continue making history.”

The Bellator MMA featherweight champion has practiced jiu-jitsu and wrestling for several years, neither of which help her in the boxing ring.

And sure, a fight is a fight, but the timing and pace of the sweet science vary from mixed martial arts, as well as the cardio. And at 38, Cyborg is still in phenomenal condition.

To the combat sports legend, the biggest challenge, as she steps back between the ropes Friday night against undefeated Kelsey Wickstrum on Friday night in the WFC 163 main event at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, is what she has also tried to implement in her MMA career of late.

“I believe it’s the patience. In MMA, I’m getting patient but the reality is, in boxing, it’s not all about punches. In boxing, it’s heart,” the hard-throwing Cyborg said in a recent interview. “In MMA, you set up the punches to say like, ‘OK, I gonna go for a takedown.’ But in boxing, the different set-up is now, ‘OK, now I’m gonna take this one because I’m gonna give another one.’”

And that patience becomes more magnified and scrutinized as Cyborg, who won a boxing exhibition and then her pro boxing debut – both via unanimous decision – in 2022, goes back to the world of two-minute rounds. Friday’s bout, which will be contested at 154 pounds, is scheduled for six rounds.

In MMA, Cyborg has five minutes to earn a judge’s 10 points per round – not that she needed in her last title defense in which she thrashed Cat Zingano for a TKO victory in 4:01 at Bellator 300 on Oct. 7 in San Diego.

“It’s different mentally and for sure it’s a different strategy,” said the Huntington Beach resident, who trained with Jose Benavidez Jr., father to former boxing champions Jose Benavidez Jr. and David Benavidez, in Seattle for this bout.

“In MMA, you can have a little bit of a break like, ‘OK, I’m gonna kick, I’m gonna do a push kick and then I’m gonna hunt for a takedown.’ In boxing, you’re like, well, you punch or you defend or you move around. Like it’s very quick.”

Wickstrum, 36, is 2-0 as a pro boxer with one knockout. Cyborg isn’t taking the Redding super welterweight lightly.

“I know she’s had some experience. I know she has heart. Technical,” Cyborg said.

All the talk, however, is about that next opponent in that other sport. Speculation is swirling over an MMA showdown with PFL star Kayla Harrison, especially after PFL recently bought Bellator.

Cyborg says PFL CEO Peter Murray contacted her team about fighting Harrison on a massive PFL vs. Bellator card on Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia. Cyborg said she accepted but a contract never arrived.

PFL founder Donn Davis, in an appearance Wednesday on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, cited “injuries, schedules, conflicts and opinions” for why they’re not fighting, all while touting PFL featherweight champ Larissa Pacheco as willing to fight either of them at any time.

One key factor: PFL says Harrison has one fight left on her contract while Harrison and her team believe she’s a free agent. Cyborg, meanwhile, has her sights set solely on Harrison happening sometime this year.

Again, it’s all about patience.

“This fight has been the talk for three years, right? I don’t know what their job is to make this fight happen. I think the fans would like to see this fight,” Cyborg said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know it’s not my problem. I know she’s supposed to be the next one.”

WFC 163

What: Cris Cyborg vs. Kelsey Wickstrum

When: Friday night

Where: Pechanga Resort Casino, Temecula

How to watch: SpectationSports.Com

Due to an unspecified injury, undefeated strawweight Tatiana Suarez will not be fighting Feb. 17 at Honda Center against Amanda Lemos, with Huntington Beach’s Mackenzie Dern filling in on a month’s notice.

The news of the replacement was confirmed by a UFC source.

• For related, see: UFC 298 features Volkanovski vs. Topuria at Honda Center on Feb. 17

Suarez, a Covina native and former Northview High wrestling star, is 11-0 and has dealt with several injuries throughout her career. The 32-year-old endured a nearly four-year layoff before earning submission victories last year over Montana De La Rosa in February and former champion Jessica Andrade in August.

Dern, 30, is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Andrade at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is 13-4 in her career and has gone 8-4 in the UFC with four submission wins.

Lemos (13-3-1) is looking to return to title contention. The 36-year-old Brazilian is coming off a lopsided unanimous-decision loss to 115-pound champion Weili Zhang at UFC 292 in August.

UFC 298 will be headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski facing surging challenger Ilia Topuria, with Merab Dvalishvili taking on former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in a potential bantamweight title contender bout.

This will be the UFC’s 10th show at the Anaheim arena since it debuted with UFC 59 on April 15, 2006, at the then-Arrowhead Pond.

UFC 298

Main event: featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria

When: Feb. 17

Where: Honda Center

Tickets: ticketmaster.com

The premier MMA promotion returns to Honda Center in Anaheim with a featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and surging challenger Ilia Topuria on Feb. 17.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at ticketmaster.com.

The last time the UFC graced the region was with UFC 270 on Jan. 22, 2021, at Honda Center. That main event featured heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, in his first title defense, earning a decision over interim champion Ciryl Gane.

In two months, it will be two of the top 145-pounders in the world in the main event.

While Volkanovski has twice been unsuccessful in his recent pursuit of the lightweight title, losing a hotly contested unanimous decision to 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February and then getting knocked out by Makhachev via first-round head kick at UFC 294 in October, he has been unstoppable at 145 pounds.

The 35-year-old Australian went 7-0 in the UFC before dethroning Max Holloway four years ago at UFC 245. Volkanovski has followed that with five successful title defenses, his last one via third-round TKO over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July.

Topuria (14-0) has been on a fast track to the top of the bantamweight division. The 26-year-old Georgian, fighting out of Spain, has gone 6-0 since debuting in the UFC in 2020, with his last victory via unanimous decision over Josh Emmett in June.

The co-main event ought to be a grapplers’ delight when Merab Dvalishvili takes on Henry Cejudo in a potential bantamweight title contender bout.

Dvalishvili (16-4) has rattled off nine consecutive victories after starting 0-2 in the UFC. The 32-year-old Georgian, who fights out of Long Island, New York, defeated former champion Petr Yan via unanimous decision in his last fight in March.

Cejudo (16-3), known as Triple C after he won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling in the 2008 Olympics and then became a two-division UFC champion, continues his quest to add to his legacy. The 36-year-old Los Angeles native came up short in May when he came out of retirement for his first fight in three years. The Phoenix resident challenged 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, only to lose by split decision.

Another former local fighter is also on the card in a clash with possible title implications. Covina native and former Northview High wrestling star Tatiana Suarez puts her 11-0 record on the line against Amanda Lemos in a battle of highly ranked strawweights.

Long touted as a potential champion, Suarez, 32, has dealt with several injuries throughout her career. After a nearly four-year layoff, she emerged victorious with submissions of Montana De La Rosa in February and former champion Jessica Andrade in August.

Lemos (13-3-1) is looking to right her career and return to title contention. The 36-year-old Brazilian is coming off a lopsided unanimous-decision loss to 115-pound champion Weili Zhang at UFC 292 in August.

UFC 298 will be the promotion’s 10th show at the Anaheim venue since it debuted with UFC 59 – with Tim Sylvia knocking out heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the main event – on April 15, 2006, at the then-Arrowhead Pond.

UFC 298

Main event: featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria

When: Feb. 17

Where: Honda Center

Tickets: ticketmaster.com

• 

  Regis Prograis, left, falls down next to Devin Haney during the WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, left, attempts a jab at Regis Prograis during a WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, left, avoids a punch from Regis Prograis during the WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, right, lands a punch to Regis Prograis’ face during the WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, left, lands a jab on Regis Prograis during the WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, left, lands a body blow to Regis Prograis during a WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

• 

  Devin Haney, left, throws a punch at Regis Prograis during the WBC super lightweight title boxing bout Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN (Associated Press)

SAN FRANCISCO — Devin Haney beat Regis Prograis by unanimous decision in his division debut to win the WBC super welterweight title in his hometown on Saturday night.

Haney (31-0) remained unbeaten with a slow but dominant victory over Prograis in front of a sellout crowd at Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors.

All three judges scored the bout 120-107 in Haney’s favor. Prograis (29-2) lost for the first time since October 2019.

It was Haney’s first fight as a super welterweight after vacating his undisputed lightweight crown. Haney made the decision to move up after having trouble making weight at lightweight.

The San Francisco native was cheered wildly while repeatedly landing a stiff left hand and several hard right hooks that kept Prograis from finding a rhythm.

He dropped Prograis in the third round with a stinging straight right hand.

Prograis couldn’t avoid Haney’s crisp right hand to the head that repeatedly landed and opened a small cut on his nose in the sixth round.

Prograis, who was criticized following a lackluster win over Danielito Zorrilla in June, picked up the pace in the latter rounds but it wasn’t enough. Haney continued to pepper Prograis and staggered the former champ with three consecutive hard right hooks in the ninth.

The win opens the door for Haney to take part in big money fights now. Among those being rumored for his next fight are Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia.

In the co-main event, Liam Paro beat Montana Love by TKO in the sixth round to win the WBO Intercontinental super lightweight championship. Paro dropped Love twice earlier in the round with a left uppercut and a left to the head before the referee stopped the fight.

Also on the undercard, Japan’s Miyo Yoshida won the women’s IBF bantamweight title by unanimous decision over defending champion Ebanie Bridges. Former Olympic champion Andy Cruz, in his second professional fight, defeated Jovanni Straffon by TKO in the third round to win the IBF and vacant WBA Continental Latin-American lightweight titles.

The UFC lightweight is as widely respected for his in-cage talents as his easygoing personality, not to mention his willingness to take on anyone.

So after losing a No. 1 contender fight just six months ago, Dariush didn’t flinch when accepting a fight against a lower-ranked yet fast-rising 155-pounder like Arman Tsarukyan.

“He’s young. He’s very talented, very skillful. And you know, he’s capable of becoming champion,” the fourth-ranked Dariush said. “And I know a lot of people would say you should avoid a guy like this, but I want to make sure I face them before I retire. Because I want to fight the best guys in the world. When I’m done fighting, I can say I fought the best guys. I didn’t skip nobody.”

Dariush looks to get back on the title track Saturday when he takes on the eighth-ranked Armenian sensation in the UFC on ESPN 52 main event in Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

The Placentia resident is aware of the risk though. A second consecutive loss, which has never happened in Dariush’s 14-year pro career, would all but dash his hopes of wearing UFC gold around his waist.

“In terms of status, this doesn’t get me anywhere. If I win this fight. I don’t think I’ll move anywhere in terms of rankings,” Dariush, 34, said. “But in reality, I didn’t come here for rankings. I came here to be the best fighter in the world against the best guys in the world. And I think he’s one of them.”

At UFC 289 in June with the promise of a title shot on the line, Dariush squared off against former champion Charles Oliveira. About a minute before the opening round was over, Oliveira snuck a leg kick over the southpaw’s left hand and cracked him on the temple. Dariush was wobbled and Oliveira began to pick him apart before Dariush went down, the fight ending with 50 seconds left in the round after several Oliveira hammerfists.

Dariush doesn’t mince words when assessing the defeat.

“I just, man, I didn’t perform. That was the worst performance I think I’ve ever had,” Dariush said. “And, you know, congratulations, Charles. I hate making excuses. But that’s the best I can give you. That was not a good performance. I didn’t do anything well.”

Instead of a back-to-the-drawing-board approach with Master Rafael Cordeiro at MMA Kings in Huntington Beach, Dariush (22-5-1) knew he had lost before and always rebounded.

He chose to see the opportunity as more of “a spiritual-mental thing” for him to overcome.

“I went back and I spent more time in prayer, meditation, and spent more time with my family and, you know, really do everything I’ve been doing (but) just do it better,” said Dariush, who is an Assyrian Christian. “So that’s how I would say I didn’t change much. I just continue to dig deeper into what I have.”

The loss ended an eight-fight winning streak for Dariush. One could argue the 27-year-old Tsarukyan, who offers elite grappling, is also riding an eight-fight streak save for a five-round, unanimous-decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot in June 2022 that many pundits saw in favor of Tsarukyan.

In what will be his first five-round fight, Dariush is a +245 underdog against Tsarukyan (20-3). With 42 victories between them and 15 of those coming via first-round finishes, this could be a barnburner from the get-go.

“I think fireworks for sure. There’s no way this fight is just, you know, a slow flight,” Dariush said. “He’s skilled everywhere. I’m skilled everywhere. It’s just gonna be a clash of styles.”

Tsarukyan already had some fireworks this week after approaching and getting into a shoving match Wednesday with fellow lightweight Bobby Green, who was in the middle of a phone interview with the Southern California News Group.

Dariush says he’s never had an altercation with another fighter, his closest drama coming when teammate Marvin Vettori got into a heated exchange and Dariush tried his best to play the role of middleman.

“Naturally, fighting is the most … it’s different. It’s the first answer, like, in situations like that,” Dariush said. “So even though I’m very mellow, it’s easier to go into fight mode than it is to go into mediator mode. That’s the closest I’ve been.”

UFC on ESPN 52

When: Saturday

Where: Moody Center, Austin

How to watch: prelims (1 p.m., ESPN+); main card (4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+)

Even if he’s kind of tired of it.

“I’m kind of like burned out on fighting right now. Because it’s been like five fights in 12 months, so just a little burned out,” Green said. “Exhausted with the fighting, but I am holding strong and do what I do best.”

Soon after, Green’s patience was put to the test Wednesday. Just five minutes into his phone interview with the Southern California News Group, Green had words and an altercation with members of fellow lightweight Armen Tsarukyan’s team that resulted in security intervening. Needless to say, the interview was over.

pic.twitter.com/W4fYUuWAcy

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) November 30, 2023

As for Saturday’s fight, that one is on and it promises to be an entertaining 155-pound tussle as Fontana’s Green takes on San Bernardino native Jalin Turner in the UFC on ESPN 52 co-main event at the Moody Center.

One would think their paths have certainly crossed in Inland Empire MMA circles, but Saturday will be the first time. Not that they didn’t try as Green, 37, was once prepared to take Turner under his wing.

“We had the same manager and we’re supposed to train one time. He had car issues and he didn’t show up and then we never seen each other since,” Green said.

“Kind of like show him to make sure that he had all the proper tools to be in this game. And then he didn’t make it to that practice after that.”

Turner, 28, concedes a bum tire resulted in the missed opportunity and says he never heard back from Green. So that was that – until a week ago.

With Green’s original opponent Dan Hooker sidelined after breaking his arm again, Turner answered the call to fight Green on short notice. He described it as a hard sell from the UFC brass.

“First time offered, no. Second time. Third time, it was kind of like, ‘Well, you can’t keep denying opportunities like this fight.’ So whatever, let’s get it,” Turner said.

In a way, Turner (13-7) feels like it’s poetic justice after Hooker originally broke his arm in their fight in July.

“I guess at the end of the day, it was my fault that Hooker couldn’t perform because I’m the one that did the damage,” said Turner, who now lives in Orange County and is represented by Tiki Ghosn’s Arsenal Sports Agency. “So yeah, I had to come in and clean up after that.”

The fight against Hooker was Turner’s second consecutive split-decision loss, the first coming against Mateusz Gamrot in March to snap a five-fight winning streak in which Turner had finished all five opponents.

Turner believes he won the Gamrot fight and admits he probably came up short in the Hooker fight. Despite the losses, he doesn’t feel the need for an overhaul.

“Something I gotta do is just do something more spectacular toward the end of the rounds than at the beginning of each round,” Turner said. “Everything will still be in my favor, so nothing too crazy, no big drastic change. And honestly, I want to go get the finish regardless of what happens anyway. I want to maintain my finish streak.”

Green (31-14-1) is on the other side of it, coming off two Performance of the Night victories. Known for his impressive stand-up, Green earned his first submission victory in 10 years with an arm-triangle choke on Tony Ferguson in July – “I think it just solidifies me as a complete mixed martial artist” – followed by a 33-second knockout of Grant Dawson just eight weeks ago.

“Always great when you can walk outta there. I call it a flawless victory,” said Green, who dropped Dawson with a straight left and finished him with seven unanswered punches on the ground.

Turner is respectful of Green and his striking – “I see his hands, pretty elusive, good movements, good counters” – and contends he’s got his own skills to match.

When asked if this were a fight for the King of the IE, Turner laughed and demurred.

“If it was for that, we would have a full camp, you know, I mean for everything,” he said. “But yeah, I’m gonna go get my hand raised regardless of circumstances, you know?”

UFC on ESPN 52

When: Saturday

Where: Moody Center, Austin

How to watch: prelims (1 p.m., ESPN+); main card (4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+)

The Professional Fighters League has purchased rival MMA company Bellator from Paramount Global in its boldest attempt yet to make a dent in the industry leader, the UFC.

PFL did not disclose financial terms in Monday’s announcement.

“This really makes PFL now a global powerhouse and poised to become a co-leader,” in MMA, PFL Chairman Donn Davis told The Associated Press. “The first five years of the company, our mission was to be the No. 2 company in MMA and we achieved that. We now set a new goal. How do we become the co-leader?”

The deal was aided in part by Saudi Arabia’s recent purchase into PFL. The purchase was relatively modest — $100 million according to the Financial Times — but even in a minority role, Saudi-backed SRJ Sports Investments ensured mixed-martial arts events will take place in that country.

“Their vision is the same as our vision, to become a co-leader in MMA,” Davis said. “Their economic and financial support is helpful for us to be able to achieve this. The Bellator fighter roster is fantastic. But we have to reinvigorate the Bellator business and, with our capital, we’ll be able to do that.”

While the PFL has a unique MMA competition format that includes a regular season, a postseason and a championship event, the Bellator brand will continue in a series of one-off cards in 2024. PFL will launch the “Bellator International Champions Series” next year.

The Champions Series was expected to consist of eight fight events.

PFL absorbed a Bellator roster that included name fighters such as Cris “Cyborg” Justino, Sergio Pettis and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.

Davis said the company first approached Paramount about a deal in January. Bellator now becomes one of five live fight franchises of the Professional Fighters League: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator.

PFL also planned to stage a PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions card in 2024 that would include champions in all seven weight classes.

PFL completes its season Nov. 24 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., in a card headlined by the return of two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.

Bellator ran its final card Friday night under the Paramount umbrella on Showtime. There are no other immediate shows planned until next year. Davis also did not reveal the fate of Bellator’s media rights.

Paramount has a minority stake in PFL. It was not immediately clear if Bellator President Scott Coker would remain involved with the company.

“We respect Scott and we respect his long-time leadership in MMA,” Davis said. “We have opportunities for Scott and the entire Bellator team to join us. We’ll be making announcements in the coming weeks after our championship about that.”

UFC, which sold for $4 billion in 2016, certainly isn’t anywhere close to ceding its spot as the global MMA leader. White openly scoffed at UFC 295 at the idea of ever co-promoting a card with PFL.

PFL, whose cards are carried on ESPN platforms, has former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and YouTube influencer and celebrity fighter Jake Paul on its roster.

Davis said two PFL pay-per-view events are planned in 2024 with Ngannou and Paul each scheduled to headline one of those cards.

Ngannou impressed last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a 10-round boxing loss to reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Davis said it was “100%” that will Ngannou will fight in PFL next season in “either MMA or mixed rules for PFL.”

UFC’s former owner Zuffa LLC. purchased MMA company Strikeforce in 2011 and ran it as a separate company. Only two years later, Strikeforce was dissolved and all fighter contracts were terminated or absorbed into the UFC.

Davis said there are no plans to eliminate the Bellator brand.

“They’re all part of PFL now,” Davis said. “There are not Bellator fighters and PFL fighters. They’re all PFL fighters now and they’ll fight across all of our products.”

From 2019-21, the MMA star blazed his way through the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, finishing all four of his opponents – three in the first round – en route to winning $1 million and becoming the 145-pound champion with his first-round submission of titleholder Patricio Pitbull in the final at Bellator 263 on July 31, 2021, at The Forum.

After losing the belt via decision in a rematch with Pitbull in April 2022, McKee moved up to the 155-pound division, defeated Spike Carlyle 13 months ago in his hometown of Long Beach and Roberto de Souza at the end of 2022 in Japan, and took aim on another bracket bonanza.

Only this time, just days before his first-round fight in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix in July, McKee was diagnosed with a staph infection on his knee and forced to withdraw from the tournament. A highly anticipated bout with former lightweight champion and Patricio’s older brother, Patricky Pitbull, who fights Alexandr Shabliy in a tournament semifinal Friday, was left unchecked on McKee’s hit list.

Now fully healed, McKee (20-1) believes he might be able to do enough in Friday’s fight with Sidney Outlaw (17-5) – who lost his spot in the grand prix due to a positive drug test – at Bellator 301 in Chicago to slide his way back into the tournament. Questions surround the final, however, as lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, who advanced via a unanimous decision semifinal victory over Brent Primus at Bellator 300 last month in San Diego, has since been suspended after he also tested positive for a banned substance.

The bigger uncertainty is the future of Bellator itself. Rumors have swirled of a potential sale and only churned harder after Showtime announced last month that it was getting out of the boxing and MMA games.

In an exclusive interview Thursday, the 28-year-old Long Beach Poly High graduate discussed his upcoming fight, the featherweight and lightweight tournaments, the staph infection, his opponent and what his future might look like.

Q: How do you feel going into this one?

A: Good, great. Just like the first round of the tournament for me, you know, looking to just go out there, finish this dude, make a big statement and keep my fingers crossed and hope I can get back in that tournament.

Q: We all know what you can do in a tournament. That featherweight tournament run you went on, I don’t know if there’s another MMA fighter who has had a better tournament run.

A: Yeah, I don’t even think I can honestly top that one honestly. But coming full circle, you know, this is an opportunity. I was aware that I was the alternate for this tournament when I had to pull out due to the staph infection. So it would be a very, very peculiar thing if I ended up back in the tournament and fighting in just the finals. But I mean, at the same time, I’ll have had three fights at the lightweight division, you know what I mean? I’ve proven that I can hang with the big boys. I’m hungry. And I want that hit list, you know. I don’t want just a regular world title, but I want the one with eight names on it. Especially knowing that my name is on that title.

Q: Right. And it’s been a crazy tournament. Whereas the 145-pound tournament everything pretty much went smoothly, even though there were more fighters spread out over so much time, that was pretty seamless. This tournament’s just been kind of chaotic, right?

A: It’s a bit more hectic. But things work out in mysterious ways, you know? The staph infection, I just, I swallowed that pill and it’s like you’re out of the tournament. But you know, the man upstairs works in mysterious ways. So I just stay focused on Him and stay focused on what I need to do and strange enough opportunities arise.

Q: The staph infection – were you in Nashville prior to leaving for your fight in Japan when that happened?

A: So I was in Nashville two weeks prior to the fight. I felt it Friday after training. And then I was like, I’ll be good. And then we took off Monday and when I got to Nashville on Monday, as soon as I got off the plane, I went straight to the ER and got on antibiotics. And it just got worse there in Nashville.

Q: Did you ever make your way overseas?

A: No, I didn’t even get the opportunity to go overseas. Yeah, I didn’t even get the opportunity. The plane ride over to Nashville is what pretty much told me, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna make it.’

Q: I’ve seen your pictures of the staph infection. Explain to me a little bit how it feels and then how it progresses and how bad it got.

A: The crazy part about it, I actually caught it very early on. I caught it literally as it was as bad as it was starting to progress. So it was probably one of the most excruciating pains I felt. My glands swelled up. I could feel my heartbeat in my gland. Like I felt it initially was I had gotten an ingrown (hair). And then it was hurting. And then I was just like, ‘Now something else is wrong.’ And then when I got on that plane, that was the icing on the cake.

Q: Yeah, it’s amazing what high altitudes do to injuries and afflictions, right?

A: Yeah, it’s crazy. And then just to think that was like a four- or five-hour flight. To have to sit on a plane for 16 hours to Japan and deal with that, and then have to get there and cut weight. My dad was like, ‘Let’s be smart about this.’”

Q: What do you see in a guy like Sidney Outlaw?

A: Great wrestler. He takes any fight and fights anybody and everybody, but these are the fights that scare my father and I, just because he has nothing to lose and everything to gain, you know? So for me, I would say it’s scary a little bit.

Q: There’s a lot of talk, obviously, about Bellator and what’s going on with its future. How do you see the future of Bellator and the future of A.J. McKee?

A: This has always been my home, you know? Everybody in the organization we’ve worked diligently with and by their sides. So I have a love and a passion for everyone here and it’s … everybody’s really uncertain at the moment, which is kind of scary. Nobody knows what’s happening, what’s going on. So it’s scary, but one thing’s for sure. We’re gonna walk through the storm. Always, you know? That’s what we do. And I’m not too worried about it.

Q: That would be pretty crazy if you find a way into the tournament somehow.

A: I mean, well, that’s the thing. Usman tested positive for whatever it is. I don’t know if it’s a steroid. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but from my understanding I was an alternate when I pulled out. I am not quite sure what would be next. But like I said, if I’m not going to be in that tournament, my personal opinion would be that Brent Primus should be advanced. But I’m also still biased. I want to be back in the tournament. So I don’t really want him to be put in, especially since he did lose the chance. So I think for the entertainment aspect, it would be a crazy, crazy plot twist if they throw me into the tournament and they allow me to finish my hit list.

Bellator 301

When: Friday

Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago

How to watch: Prelims (2 p.m., Bellator MMA YouTube channel, Showtime Sports YouTube channel, Pluto TV); main card (6 p.m. Showtime)