Douglas Lima won’t be joining his former foe Gegard Mousasi in free agency.
The PFL’s acquisition of Bellator MMA hasn’t gone without some problems. The PFL purchased their rival promotion last year and are currently handling around 200 fighter contracts, plotting their next move. Several Bellator stars have spoken out against the PFL as a result of their inactivity including three-time welterweight champ Lima earlier this month.
“…I’m on the sidelines for a year now, what heard was my purse was too “high” and PFL didn’t want to pay and honor my last fight on my contract,” Lima wrote on ‘X‘.
Last guy I beat is fighting for the belt now. Solid win Costello great job. I’m on the sidelines for a year now, what heard was my purse was too “high” and PFL didn’t want to pay and honor my last fight on my contract.👎👎 so yeaaa @BellatorMMA @PFLMMA
— Douglas Lima (@PhenomLima) May 17, 2024
Another former champion in Gegard Mousasi went through a similar situation with the PFL, threatening legal action against the promotion as they reportedly weren’t going to honor the terms/financials of his Bellator fight contract. The PFL didn’t hear the end of it from the fans and ultimately decided to release Mousasi from their roster on Thursday following their dispute.
Where exactly does that leave Lima? A staple of the Bellator promotion, the Brazilian eventually ironed things out with the PFL brass and secured a new multi-year fight contract in the process, according to a statement from PFL’s director of fighter operations Mike Kogan, who announced Mousasi’s departure the week prior.
PFL/Bellator Official Fighter Roster Update pic.twitter.com/7zFJnJen9w
— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 28, 2024
The last we saw of “Phenom” Lima was at Bellator 296 last May, where Lima defeated likely next title challenger Costello van Steenis by unanimous decision. With 22 Bellator fights under his belt, Lima is expected to to fight again this fall with no confirmation on whether his return will be in Bellator or the PFL Smart Cage.
Douglas Lima has defeated he likes of Rory MacDonald, Michael “Venom” Page, and Andrey Koreshkov twice in his Bellator tenure, which has been extended all the way back from 2011.
