Jonathan Coachman: World Tournament ‘Just the Beginning’ for Revitalized PFL

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The Professional Fighters League made a major change to its format in 2025, moving away from a regular-season points system to a single-elimination tournament across eight different weight classes. PFL spokesperson Jonathan Coachman has stayed in front of it all, taking the reigns as a leading voice within the organization.

Coachman believes the 2025 PFL World Tournament serves as a blueprint for what the promotion wants to accomplish long term, domestically and abroad.

“I would use one word: vision,” he told Sherdog.com. “This has been the vision that we wanted as a company. Credibility would be another word I use to describe this year. We needed to bring credibility to the table for the fighters so they wouldn’t continue to believe the nonsense that was put out there. That has started to fade away, and now, it’s all about [the] follow-up. We have to follow this up with a great fall and ending to the tournament. We have to follow up with a great 2026 and put years back-to-back-to-back. We will start to get the fighters that we want and need, then we can start to launch all the PFL leagues all over the world. This is just the beginning.”

Putting all the pieces in place has required the PFL to plan and coordinate at a higher level.

“I love the scheduling because the fighters love it,” Coachman said. “When you’re building a team, you have to be able to admit when you’re wrong, and I can admit that I was wrong about this short schedule. If a fighter wins, it means they usually didn’t take a ton of damage and they don’t have to come out of camp. They admit it’s a very hard five months, but if they get out of it, it’s career-changing money. They can participate next year, or they can compete in the championship series. I love how it’s laid out.”

The 2025 PFL World Tournament has also served as a platform for veteran fighters, former champions specifically, to get back into the spotlight. Coachman labels the forthcoming Jesus Pinedo-Movlid Khaybulaev featherweight championship as one of the “best matchups you could have” throughout all eight brackets. Both men are former PFL champions, and both have put forth impressive performances in the tournament. Only one can add another title to his resume.

In addition, the PFL has been able to build brands for fighters on the rise. Welterweight Thad Jean and middleweight Dalton Rosta spring to mind. They have made themselves appointment viewing.

“They’re everything that we have to be about, there is no question,” Coachman said. “If you’re going to build this organization, it’s not going to happen overnight. You have to put weeks, months and years together and get behind the right fighters. If you’re looking at a guy like Jean, he’s a PFL original. He started his career here, and he wants to be here. That’s what we need. It’s not just about the money. It’s not about throwing names into a hat. It’s about winning this tournament and establishing yourselves. The thing I love about Rosta is he’s embracing being a heel, so he’s being successful while having people root against him.”

Not every fighter on the roster must take the same route to stardom. Gadzhi Rabadanov and Dakota Ditcheva serve as prime examples. Coachman admires how the two 2024 champions carry themselves.

“I really admire how Dakota is able to do that,” he said. “You can argue that she’s the most marketable female in MMA right now, and it’s our duty to help her out with that. She’s somebody who should continue to be as successful outside of the SmartCage as she is inside of it. She’s everything you could want in a superstar. Gadzhi is a guy who realized his fighting style, while it was successful, it wasn’t marketable, and what have we seen this year? Domination. Quick and violent knockouts against big names. Now, he’s in the front of the line. That’s the formula. Walk in, be entertaining, push yourself and we will push the brand.”