05 — Tiers
The Six-Tier Fighter Ladder
Every tier adds a layer of proof and a layer of platform. The first two are free forever; from Contender upward a fighter runs their own small business on the platform and pays a symbolic monthly fee for the tools that come with it.
Official is the top of the ladder, not the entry point — it means federation-sanctioned, the pool PFC draws real event cards from.
1 Rookie2 Amateur3 Contender4 Ranked5 Elite6 Official
Ladder at a glance
| Tier | Name | Cost | Gate to enter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rookie | Free | Create a profile. Own pillow, home fights. |
| 2 | Amateur | Free | 15 mutually confirmed home wins (configurable) + identity verified. |
| 3 | Contender | Symbolic monthly | Registered official PFC pillow + 10 refereed wins. |
| 4 | Ranked | Symbolic monthly (higher) | Judged record above the regional ranking cutoff + clean conduct score. |
| 5 | Elite | Symbolic monthly (higher) | Top of a regional bracket or a title defence; Academy Level 2 certificate. |
| 6 | Official | Symbolic monthly + revenue share | PFC invitation only. Sanctioned fighter on federation event cards. |
Tier by tier
Tier 1 — Rookie
Free · home fights- Fights from home with the fighter's own pillow, by mutual agreement.
- Public profile with nickname, city and a home-win record.
- Appears in the local discovery grid, no boosts.
- Can receive tips.
- Academy: free starter lessons and the rules primer.
Tier 2 — Amateur
Free · verified identity- Everything in Rookie, plus a verified badge on the profile.
- Can accept refereed fights as a participant (referee supplied by the other side or by PFC).
- Win streaks and head-to-head history tracked publicly.
- First Digital Fighter Card can be minted — small print run (25).
- Academy: Level 1 course track at no cost.
Tier 3 — Contender
Paid · official pillow required- Official refereed and judged fights, results written to the permanent record.
- Power-ups unlock (profile boosts, open challenge broadcasts, rematch tokens).
- Card print run raised to 100, with fighter-chosen artwork.
- Marketing kit: auto-generated poster, social cards and a walkout graphic per fight.
- Basic fan analytics: profile views, tips, card sales.
- Academy: Level 2 track included in the membership.
Tier 4 — Ranked
Paid · regional ranking- Listed in the public regional rankings, filterable by weight and city.
- Priority placement in the discovery grid at equal distance.
- Highlight reels auto-cut from confirmed wins.
- Sponsor slot on the profile: one logo and link the fighter sells themselves.
- Card run 250, plus physical prints through Printify at fighter margin.
- Academy: coaching clinics and one live seminar per season.
Tier 5 — Elite
Paid · bracket winner- Seeded automatically into seasonal brackets and title shots.
- Fighter storefront: merchandise, signed physical cards, paid fan messages.
- Full media kit — press-ready bio, photo set, record sheet, QR profile.
- Named on the arena banner of live-scored events.
- Card run 500 with numbered rare variants.
- Academy: can teach — publish paid lessons and take a revenue share.
Tier 6 — Official
PFC invitation · sanctioned- Sanctioned to appear on PFC official event cards; the record becomes the federation record.
- Federation-managed matchmaking and contracted purses.
- Permanent legacy profile and lifetime card archive.
- Co-branded PFC marketing: event posters, broadcast graphics, fighter intro package.
- Academy: master instructor status; certifies lower-tier fighters.
- Revenue share on official event merchandise and card sales.
Promotion, demotion and integrity
- Promotion is earned by record and conduct; paying only opens the tier once the sporting gate is met.
- A lapsed payment drops a fighter to Tier 2 presentation (profile and record stay intact, paid tools switch off) — no wins are ever deleted.
- Inactivity for a full season demotes one tier; the record and card collection remain.
- Disputed or unconfirmed fights never count toward a promotion gate.