PFL CEO John Martin Spotlights Big PFL Summer Series, Teases Possible New Global Destinations
It has been almost a year since John Martin became PFL’s CEO, and the changes are demonstrable, but also in a context where the future seems even brighter. Touching upon this confluence of encroaching into that one-year anniversary in the position while also acknowledging all there is much to look forward to with the kickoff of PFL’s Summer Series tonight in San Diego, Martin said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Well, I appreciate you saying [that]. It’s been almost a year since I’ve been here and coming into this year said 2026 is really going to be more of a focus for the PFL in the United States than previously. We’re right now on the cusp of what we’re calling the Summer Series. So, we’ve got in the next eight weeks, we’ve got six events across six cities in the US and it’s going to be the busiest time of our event calendar.”
“I’m really pleased with where the promotion is right now. I think we’ve got four championship fights over the Summer. I think we’re going to showcase the best and the brightest of the promotion. [We] want to engage the fans and keep them engaged.”
When asked if the ramping up of the US events was because there was a deficit of US events or if it was because there’s a dearth of American stars that PFL wants to showcase, Martin stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I think it is a little bit different and I don’t know 100%. In the past the PFL was really defined in the US about the world tournament. It was a lot of fighting in just a few months time and then the rest of the year there were no more events in the US. I think part of making a bigger statement in the US is about keeping more of a constant flow of events to keep fans engaged. For example, the first event we had in 2026 in the United States was in Pittsburgh and prior to that we had not held a US event in almost eight months.”
“That’s way too long to be out of the market because let’s face it, people are busy. UFC is in the market all the time and we have to be here on more of a consistent presence. So that’s what I wanted to do. But we’re still holding and we will continue to have events outside the US which have tended to be bigger, bigger in scale. So in addition to bringing more emphasis to the US, I wanted to also showcase some of the most elite fighters that we have. Some of them for the first time fighting in the United States.”
“So that’s why when you look at this Summer Series, I think we’ve got a good blend of US stars, starting with this Saturday with AJ McKee. But then you look at Johnny Eblen and Impa Kasanganay who are going to be fighting in Austin. We’ve got a nice balance and blend, but then you look in New York and we’re going to have Usman Nurmagomedov and Dakota Ditcheva who are not American. So I think it’s about the the elite quality of fighters, but of course diversity of countries is great.”
PFL is entertaining multiple new global markets for the future
Dakota Ditcha fighting Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York seems like a measure to expose the UK star to more of the domestic North American audience. Addressing that Ditcheva wants to fight in the UK but also wanting to serve the master of exposing her to that aforementioned domestic audience, Martin quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, we talk to her all the time, too. Obviously, she’s a big star for us. I mean, she may be the most in demand women’s fighter in the world right now. She’s 15-0 and has destroyed everybody that’s been put in front of her. She’s a rising star coming off of a lengthy couple of injuries. The first time I had met her was in Dubai at an event and I know she’s expressed a real desire to fight there.”
“She just recently bought some property in and around the UAE. The Dubai events have been, we’ve had more than 10,000 people in an arena that each of the times we’ve been there. Of course, growing up in Manchester, that would certainly be a place she’d be very very interested in fighting. But I talked to her about the desire of getting her more exposure in the US because I still think, no disrespect to those other territories, but if you want to be a successful global promotion, the US is a critical component for that.”
“Even if you think about within the US, I mean New York is such a massive market. I grew up on Long Island, so I have a personal bias to be able to bring the PFL to Long Island with one of our best cards, maybe our best card ever, is going to be a privilege for me. I think it’ll be good for her and good for her exposure and good for her career.”
In terms of untapped global markets, in terms of the analytical pieces, there are many variables in terms of what goes into assessing a viable territory. When asked if it was star-predicated in terms of a big regional fighter thriving from that area or if it is more related to there being an absence of the sport there, and PFL can fill a gap in that sense, Martin said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“It’s interesting, in some respects, we do look at all of that right. We look at, have we been there before? If we have, how is it done? A lot of it also we’re beginning to respond to incoming asks and incoming demand. I’ve had expressions of interest from Mexico City, from Sao Paulo, from Argentina, from Russia, from Singapore, just to name a few. Those are all places that we haven’t been to yet.”
“This year we went to Madrid, Spain. We had Costello Van Steenis, a Spaniard at the top of the card. I think it’s especially fun when you could bring a local fighter into a new place where you think there’s pent-up demand for MMA. Since we left Spain, we’ve gotten now increasing interest from other places in Spain, not even Madrid. That is heartening to me because it means what we’re doing people like and they want to see more of it.”
