 |
| (Image Source: Sports Bytes Philippines/Professional Fighters League) |
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is thrilled to announce the official bracket and matchups for the First Round of the 2025 PFL World Tournament, taking place at Universal Studios Soundstage 19 at Universal Orlando Resorts in Orlando, Florida on April 3, April 11, April 18, and May 1. The 2025 PFL World Tournament will be aired live on ESPN platforms in the U.S. while fans in Canada and across Europe can catch the action live on DAZN. The tournament will also be streamed in 190 countries through 20 premium media partners including Setanta Sports in the Philippines.
One Shot. The annual single-elimination tournament will feature brackets at Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, Featherweight, Bantamweight, and Women’s Flyweight. The PFL World Tournament spans an action packed five months. 64 of the best fighters from around the world will compete to win MMA’s toughest test - win three straight times in five months to become PFL Tournament Champion. The First Round fights and the Semifinal fights will be three five-minute rounds while the Finals are five five-minute rounds. All events and all fights now allow the use of elbows. The PFL World Tournament will payout over $20M (20 million dollars) in total prize money including a $500,000 bonus for every winner. The full fight cards for the First Round are as follows:
2025 PFL World Tournament 1 First Round (April 3, 2025)
Main Card (10:00 pm ET)
Welterweight First Round Bout: Jason Jackson (18-5) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (28-5)
Featherweight First Round Bout: Jesus Pinedo (23-6) vs. Adam Borics (19-2)
Welterweight First Round Bout: Magomed Umalatov (17-1)vs. Logan Storley (16-3)
Featherweight First Round Bout: Jeremy Kennedy (19-4) vs. Movlid Khaybulaev (21-0-1)
Early Card (7:00 pm ET)
Welterweight First Round Bout: Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-2) vs. Florim Zendeli (10-1-1)
Featherweight First Round Bout: Gabriel Braga (15-2) vs. Yves Landu (21-9)
Welterweight First Round Bout: Giannis Bachar (9-2) vs. Masayuki Kikuiri (10-2-1)
Featherweight First Round Bout: Nathan Kelly (11-3) vs. Taekyun Kim (10-1)
Welterweight Alternate Bout: Joseph Luciano (10-2) vs. Thad Jean (8-0)
Featherweight Alternate Bout: Fred Dupras (8-1) vs. Nathan Ghareeb (10-3)
2025 PFL World Tournament 2 First Round (April 11, 2025)
Main Card (11:00 pm ET)
Bantamweight First Round Bout: Magomed Magomedov (20-3) vs. Leandro Higo (23-6)
Women’s Flyweight First Round Bout: Taila Santos (24-4) vs. Juliana Velasquez (13-3)
Bantamweight First Round Bout: Savarjon Khamidov (16-0) vs. Jake Hadley (11-4)
Bantamweight First Round Bout: Ciaran Clarke (10-0) vs. Kasum Kasumov (16-1)
Early Card (8:00 pm ET)
Women’s Flyweight First Round Bout: Liz Carmouche (22-8) vs. Ilara Joanna (12-9)
Bantamweight First Round Bout: Ali Taleb (11-1) vs. Zebenzui Ruiz (12-3)
Women’s Flyweight First Round Bout: Kana Watanabe (13-3-1) vs. Jena Bishop (7-2)
Women’s Flyweight First Round Bout: Elora Dana (7-0) vs. Diana Avsaragova (6-1)
Bantamweight Alternate Bout: Francesco Nuzzi (10-1) vs. Matheus Mattos (14-3-1)
Women’s Flyweight Alternate Bout: Ekaterina Shakalova (8-2) vs. Saray Orozco (8-6)
2025 PFL World Tournament 3 First Round (April 18, 2025)
Main Card (7:00 pm ET)
Middleweight First Round Bout: Impa Kasanganay (18-5) vs. Fabian Edwards (13-4)
Lightweight First Round Bout: Alexander Shabliy (24-4) vs. Brent Primus (15-4-0, 1 NC)
Lightweight First Round Bout: Gadzhi Rabadanov (24-4-2) vs. Marc Diakiese (18-7)
Lightweight First Round Bout: Mads Burnell (20-6) vs. Jay-Jay Wilson (10-1)
Early Card (4:30 pm ET)
Middleweight First Round Bout: Sadibou Sy (17-8-2, 1 NC ) vs. Dalton Rosta (9-1)
Middleweight First Round Bout: Josh Silveira (13-4) vs. Mike Shipman (17-4)
Lightweight First Round Bout: Clay Collard (25-14) vs. Alfie Davis (17-4-1)
Middleweight First Round Bout: Aaron Jeffery (15-5) vs. Murad Ramazanov (12-2)
Middleweight Alternate Bout: Khalid Murtazaliev (17-3) vs. Jordan Newman (7-0)
Lightweight Alternate Bout: Sergio Cossio (27-10-1) vs. Robert Watley (15-3)
2025 PFL World Tournament 4 First Round (May 1, 2025)
Main Card (10:00 pm ET)
Light Heavyweight First Round Bout: Phil Davis (24-7, 1 NC) vs. Rob Wilkinson (19-3,1 NC)
Heavyweight First Round Bout: Valentin Moldavsky (13-4) vs. Sergey Bilostenniy (13-3)
Light Heavyweight First Round Bout: Antonio Carlos Jr (16-6, 2 NC) vs. Karl Moore (12-3)
Light Heavyweight First Round Bout: Karl Albrektsson (14-6) vs. Simeon Powell (10-1)
Early Card (7:00 pm ET)
Heavyweight First Round Bout: Alexandr Romanov (18-3) vs. Tim Johnson (18-11)
Heavyweight First Round Bout: Linton Vassell (25-10) vs. Oleg Popov (19-1)
Light Heavyweight First Round Bout: Sullivan Cauley (6-1) vs. Marcelo Nunes (11-2)
Heavyweight First Round Bout: Pouya Rahmani (4-0) vs. Abraham Bably (5-1)
Light Heavyweight Alternate Bout: Alex Polizzi (11-4) vs. Rafael Xavier (13-8)
The PFL also announced the dates and locations for the Semifinals of the 2025 PFL World Tournament. Following the First Round, the action intensifies as the single-elimination tournament advances to the Semifinals in June, with events in Nashville, Wichita, and Chicago. Tickets for all three events will be available through presale on March 18, 2025 exclusively for PFL newsletter subscribers — one day before the start of the general on-sale on March 19, 2025. VIP experiences will be available at all three events, offering fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the fights from cageside seats while enjoying premium perks. These include access to the dedicated PFL VIP entrance, exclusive hospitality, special photo opportunities, and more.
PFL returns to Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on June 12, 2025 for the 2025 PFL World Tournament 5 Semifinals. Tickets range from $35 to $300 and will be available at Ticketmaster.com. Eight days later, the PFL makes its debut in 'Cowtown' as the 2025 PFL World Tournament 6 Semifinals takes place at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas on June 20, 2025. Tickets will be available through Selectaseat.com with prices ranging from $40 to $250. The last Semifinal event is scheduled for June 27 and will be held at Wintrust Arena, located in the heart of Chicago, America’s “Second City”. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com with prices ranging from $50 to $350. Sign up for the PFL newsletter at https://pflmma.com/newsletter to receive an exclusive access code before tickets go live to the general public on March 19th.
