Ray Sefo: 'Everybody was happy' with PFL's pay-per-view debut
"ESPN was truly happy with the show, so if they're happy, we're happy."
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LAS VEGAS – PFL president Ray Sefo considers the promotion’s pay-per-view debut a success.
The 2022 PFL Championships, which took place at Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden, featured a six-fight main card that streamed on on ESPN+ pay-per-view last month. Viewers were charged $49.99, and although the number of buys wasn’t revealed, Sefo was happy with the overall result.
“Everybody was happy with it,” Sefo told MMA Junkie on the World MMA Awards red carpet. “You’ve got to start somewhere, and we were happy with the outcome of the whole show. ESPN was truly happy with the show, so if they’re happy, we’re happy.”
In the night’s headliner, Larissa Pacheco pulled off a massive upset when she defeated two-time champion Kayla Harrison to capture the women’s lightweight title. Brendan Loughnane also broke out as a star when he defeated standout wrestler Bubba Jenkins to claim the featherweight title.
PFL’s biggest star, Harrison, suffered her first-career setback, but despite the surprising outcome, Sefo rates this season as arguably their best.
“It’s probably the best season so far,” Sefo said. “Just from the beginning to the end and the finals, everybody showed up, everybody did what they needed to do. The whole experience was truly amazing. Before the first fight we were half full. By the end of that first fight, it was completely full. Overall, I couldn’t be more happy. It was truly an amazing night.”
He continued, “There were a few upsets that night, and the fact that we ended up having six new champions, all from different countries – unfortunately we didn’t have a guy to represent the U.S. this time around, but that being said, we were truly happy with the outcome of the show.”