3 PFL vs. Bellator fights they didn't make, but should have

Last week, the PFL and Bellator finally announced the full match of their highly-anticipated supercard, which will take place at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena on Feb. 24.

The event boasts a very stacked lineup of mostly champion vs. champion fights, with the likes of Ryan Bader, Patricio Pitbull, Vadim Nemkov, Thiago Santos, Yoel Romero, AJ McKee, Aaron Pico, and Claressa Shields set to participate.

And yet there are some clashes between reputable names who are conspicuously absent but could have added to the excitement of the card.

3. Dakota Ditcheva (PFL) vs. Liz Carmouche (Bellator)

PFL does not have a women's flyweight division, but its European offshoot does. And it is currently ruled by Dakota Ditcheva, easily considered one of the most promising of the sport's prospects.

So far, she has been dominant throughout her MMA career, finishing all but one of her 10 fights. However, reigning Bellator women's flyweight champion Liz Carmouche may provide a stern test.

From nearly upsetting Marloes Coenen and Ronda Rousey at bantamweight to cutting through the competition in Bellator, Carmouche has seen and experienced it all when it comes to high-profile fights. She also presents a stylistic challenge with her grinding style, so Ditcheva will have to prove that her takedown defense is on point.

2. Brendan Loughnane (PFL) vs. Usman Nurmagomedov (Bellator)

PFL's two-time lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 season leaving the lightweight division without a champion.

Brendan Loughnane was champion of the featherweight division in 2022, but failed to make it to the playoffs in 2023. A match-up with the Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov could be interesting. Either a catchweight or Loughnane coming up to lightweight to meet Nurmagomedov.

Currently Nurmagomedov is serving a suspension for tainted supplements but perhaps that wouldn't matter in Saudi Arabia? Or perhaps they left Nurmagomedov off the card for other reasons.

We could have loved to see Patchy Mix on the card as well, but there's bantamweight division in PFL and no opponent for the high ranking fighter.

1. Kayla Harrison (PFL) vs. Cris Cyborg (Bellator)

No other PFL-Bellator crossover fight can be bigger than Cris "Cyborg" Justino vs. Kayla Harrison, Larissa Pacheco be damned.

It is two of the most dominant women in MMA competing for bragging rights, especially at women's featherweight. With the UFC all but having discontinued the division after Amanda Nunes' retirement, it is now easily the biggest fight that can be made there.

This, of course, is no disrespect to both Pacheco and Leah McCourt, who each are great competitors in their own right. But in the current money-fight era, they simply lack the name value of their presumptive opponents.