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| (Image Source: MotoPH/Professional Fighters League) |
The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, announced the card for its 2023 Regular Season kickoff event PFL 1 taking place on April 1, 2023 (Saturday) at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ in North America and DAZN and various broadcast and streaming partners worldwide. The league also announced the full roster for its inaugural season of PFL Europe, which kicks off on March 25, featuring some of the finest and most promising fighters from different parts of the continent.
2022 PFL Featherweight World Champion Brendan Loughnane headlines the PFL1 card against Marlon Moraes as he looks for his second PFL World Championship. In the co-main event, 2022 PFL Light Heavyweight World Champion Robert Wilkinson returns to the PFL SmartCage against Thiago Santos. Santos will be making his highly anticipated PFL debut. Further action will see 2021 PFL Featherweight Champion Movlid Khaybulaev take on Ryoji Kudo, as both fighters look to take their first step towards a berth in the 2023 PFL Playoffs. In a contest between two Americans, 2022 PFL Featherweight Runner-Up, Bubba Jenkins matches up with Chris Wade, a former PFL Featherweight Finalist, for a rematch of the 2021 PFL Featherweight Semifinal. PFL CEO Peter Murray stated, “We look forward to delivering fans access to our unprecedented MMA season and follow the season-long journeys of world-class fighters competing for one step closer to the $1 million prize.”
“The 2023 PFL Regular Season is shaping up for our best season yet, and I’m excited to watch our Featherweight and Light Heavyweight divisions compete on April 1. From returning PFL World Champions, to league debuts from MMA stars, fight fans across the world are in for a treat starting with PFL 1 in Las Vegas,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo. Also included in the PFL1 fight card are Omari Akhmedov vs. Will Fleury, Marthin Hamlet vs. Mohammed Fakhreddine, Joshua Silveria vs. Sam Kei, and Alejandro Flores vs. Daniel Torres while slated to be in action in the said event are Krzystof Jotko and Jo Sungbin plus an undisclosed showcase set to be announced soon.The remaining PFL Regular Season events live from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will take place on April 7 and 14.
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| (Image Source: Planet Sport/Professional Fighters League) |
On the other hand, PFL Europe is PFL’s first international league and will showcase the very best MMA athletes across Europe. PFL Europe will hold quarterly events throughout 2023 beginning in Newcastle on March 25. The ground-breaking league will feature 32 of Europe’s top fighters from 14 countries competing across four weight divisions. After four Regular Season events, four PFL Europe Champions will be crowned with each Champion taking home $100,000. Champions also have a chance to earn a spot on the PFL Global Roster and the $1 million global season prize. PFL Europe Regular Season events will take place from the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle (England) on March 25th and the Verti Music Hall in Berlin (Germany) on July 8th. The winners of each Regular Season event will advance to the 2023 PFL Europe Play-off at the Zenith in Paris (France) on September 30th and finally four PFL Europe Champions will be crowned at the 3Arena in Dublin (Ireland) on December 8th.
PFL Europe 1 (Regular Season) will feature the Men’s Light Heavyweights and Women’s Flyweights. Headlined by rising stars Simeon Powell and Dakota Ditcheva, also competing are hard-hitting Norwegian Kenneth Bergh, Francesco Nuzzi with a seven-fight winning streak and Holland's rising star Lizzy Gevers. PFL Europe 2 (Regular Season) will see Lightweight and Bantamweight divisions shake out in Berlin. The Bantamweight division features the unbeaten Ali Taleb from Sweden and Frans “Black Mamba” Mlambo who fights out of SBG Ireland under John Kavanagh. Former Cage Warriors Champion Dominique “Black Panther” Wooding will compete alongside Germany’s Farbod Iran Nezhad, currently on a three-fight winning streak, striking specialist Khurshed Kakhorov and Italian Francesco Nuzzi, who has won his last eight fights. In the Lightweight division, Ireland’s John Mitchell and Dylan “The Nuke” Tuke will form part of a division that also includes France’s Geysim Derouiche who is unbeaten in over five years and undefeated Liverpool sensation Connor Hughes. Sefo commented, "We are excited to kick off PFL Europe’s inaugural season with the best European roster of fighters. PFL Europe will see the best in MMA action in a true season format, where fighters must win to advance.” Here is the full roster of fighters competing in the inaugural season of PFL Europe.
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| (Image Source: MMA Sucka/Professional Fighters League) |
Men’s Light Heavyweight division:
• Simeón Powell (UK)
• Mohamed Amine (Holland)
• Kenneth Bergh (Norway)
• Jakob Nedoh (Slovenia)
• Anthony Salamone (France)
• Daniel Ladero (Spain)
• Damien Remy (France)
Women’s Flyweight division:
• Dakota Ditcheva (UK)
• Clara Riciguolo (France)
• Griet Eechkout (Belgium)
• Mafalda Carmona (Portugal)
• Cornelia Holm (Sweden)
• Marta Waliczek (Poland)
• Lizzy Gevers (Holland)
• Valentina Scatizzi (Italy)
Men’s Bantamweight division:
• Ali Taleb (Sweden)
• Dominique Wooding (UK)
• Francesco Nuzzi (Italy)
• Frans Mlambo (Ireland)
• Farbod Iran Nezhad (Germany)
• Kenji Bortoluzzi (Switzerland)
• Khurshed Kakhorov (Germany)
• Mokthar Benkaci (France)
Men’s Lightweight division:
• Acoidan Duque (Spain)
• Aleksandr Chizov (Latvia)
• Connor Hughes (UK)
• Dylan Tuke (Ireland)
• Geysim Derouiche (France)
• John Mitchell (Ireland)
• Radu Maxim (Italy)
• Jakub Kaszuba (Poland)
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the #1 fastest growing company in MMA and the #2 MMA company on worldwide basis. PFL is the only in MMA with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in sports-season “win and advance” meritocracy like all other major sports. The PFL fighter roster is global and world-class with fighters from over 20 countries and 25% independently ranked in the top 25. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage powering real-time betting and next-gen viewing experience. PFL is aired primetime live in the U.S. on ESPN and ESPN+ and in 140 countries across the globe via 25 leading broadcast and streaming partners.
