Rizin champ Juan Archuleta explains career uncertainty after PFL-Bellator merger

December 29, 2023 8:30 pm ET

PFL’s purchase of Bellator has brought a ton of uncertainty to many fighters signed by both organizations. However, for Juan Archuleta the concern is even bigger.

Archuleta is a special case. The MMA veteran has been fighting for Bellator since 2018 and has positioned himself as one of the more well-known names in the promotion, challenging for the Bellator featherweight title and becoming champion at bantamweight. In his latest career chapter, Bellator permitted Archuleta to fight in Japan under the Rizin Fighting Federation banner – a fight promotion that’s worked with Bellator over the years in both exchanging talent and having promotion vs. promotion events.

Archuleta has fought three times for Rizin and won the 135-pound title in July. He defends it on New Year’s Eve against Kai Asakura at Rizin 45 in Japan.

This is where it gets tricky. Bellator is no longer autonomous, as rival promotion PFL recently purchased it in November. Archuleta has no idea how this will impact his status as champion at Rizin and if he’ll be able to continue fighting in Japan.

“I still don’t know,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie regarding his future at Rizin. “I’ve even asked some people like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ I even asked Don Davis, ‘Hey, man. I was promised the Patchy Mix title (fight). Is that still going on?’ And he was just like, ‘Oh there’s going to be plenty of fights throughout the year, so we’ll see.’ I’m like, ‘Well, that’s pretty gray.’ I don’t know what’s going to happen with that.”

Archuleta is solely focused on defending his Rizin belt, but he does admit that there’s an uneasy feeling given the lack of information surrounding his future.

“Definitely uncomfortable, right?” Archuleta said. “Like you said, this is my living. I was guaranteed three or four fights with Bellator, and now you’re saying there’s not going to be as many cards in Bellator throughout the year? That’s kind of strange.

“You want to take for sure money, at least for me. When you have a job, you can go, ‘OK, this is my salary. I’m going to make this throughout the year. I know for a fact this is what I’m going to make. I might have to work extra, I might have to work less, who knows.’ For me, Rizin is a little more leaning on this way. OK, I’m guaranteed fights over here, but on this side of the river, there’s no telling. You don’t even have a 135 (pound) weight class. If I go up a weight class, am I going to still be active? Am I allowed to be in the tournament? I don’t know. The uncertainty of the unknown is uncomfortable.”

Ideally, Archuleta hopes that PFL honors the existing deal he had with Bellator, meaning he could fight for Rizin while also fighting for the PFL and Bellator brands, which for now will be kept separate.

Given PFL’s message, advertising they’re a more fighter-friendly promotion than the UFC, Archuleta sees this as a possibility.

“A mix of all three is the ideal situation,” Archuleta explained. “Say I win this fight, and they say when they have their Saudi Arabia card, champion vs. champion, and we don’t have a 135-pound weight class, we would like you to fight Patchy. So I fight Patchy, and when is the next Bellator card? ‘Oh, we don’t know yet. Maybe October.’ OK, if it’s October and you need me to fight in October, I’ll fight on that card. But if you don’t know if I’m fighting until October, let me go defend my belt or go for the 145 belt in Rizin.

“You’re talking about being a global combat community, pay it forward for the fighters, let the fighters do more of what they want, this is your opportunity to show that. Show me I can have my career with Rizin as well as PFL and Bellator. This is what you’re saying you do as a promotion. Be different, be a global combat. I’m in a very awesome position to unite three organizations under one roof. No one else is going to be able to do that. So why burn this bridge or give it up just to have me there?”

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