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| (Image Source: MMA Mania/Professional Fighters League) |
The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest-growing and most innovative sports league in the world, officially announced that the second half of the 2024 PFL Global Season will kick off on June 13, 2024, emanating from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S.A., with action in the Heavyweight and Women’s Flyweight division. The night’s main event will feature Heavyweight points leader Valentin Moldavsky facing Linton Vassell while rising superstar Dakota Ditcheva is set to face Chelsea Hackett in the co-main event. Elite fighters from the Heavyweight and Women’s Flyweight divisions will take to the PFL SmartCage looking to secure 2024 PFL Playoff berths and continue their journeys to PFL World Championship glory and the $1M prize.
“The PFL’s season format is the toughest test in MMA with the addition of elite athletes from Bellator, returning to Mohegan Sun, and PFL Europe looking to clinch a position in the 2024 PFL Playoffs. The PFL is excited to bring our brand of MMA to Connecticut, as well as our fans from 160 countries around the globe," said PFL CEO Peter Murray. The second half of the 2024 PFL Global Season will feature respective division points leaders Valentin Moldavsky, Daniel James, global sensation 2023 PFL Europe Champion Dakota Ditcheva, Taila Santos and Liz Carmouche. Additionally, Oleg Popov, Denis Goltsov, Jena Bishop and Kana Watanabe will return to Global Season action. The 2024 Global Season event will also see the return of Bellator athletes to the Mohegan Sun Arena. In-person tickets for the 2024 PFL Global Season event at Mohegan Sun are now available via Ticketmaster. The 2024 PFL Global Season is available live and on-demand across ESPN platforms in the U.S. and via DAZN in Canada, Europe and additional premium sports platforms internationally.
Meanwhile, PFL has also announced the matchups for PFL MENA: Riyadh, the first fight card of the inaugural season of PFL MENA. The historic season opener, which will take place at The Green Halls, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will feature fighters from the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions, competing in the patented PFL Playoff win and advance format. All four PFL MENA Season events will be live on MBC ACTION and on SHAHID, the leading TV and streaming platform in MENA (Middle East and North Africa), by MBC GROUP and will be accessible to fans across the region. In addition to PFL MENA, the PFL Global Season, PFL Europe, the Bellator Champions Series and PFL’s Pay-Per-View Superfight Division events will be available to watch on the Saudi Sports Company (SSC) via Shahid’s VIP + Sports package. All cutdowns and highlights can also seen on MBC ACTION, SHAHID & SSC. In-person tickets for PFL MENA: Riyadh are available for purchase via the WeBook.com website and application. Headlining the card will be The Kingdom’s own Abdullah “The Reaper” Al-Qahtani taking on Morocco’s Taha Bendaoud in a Featherweight main event.
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| (Image Source: MMA Mania/Professional Fighters League) |
Murray said, "PFL is all about creating opportunities, and we're proud to offer fighters in the MENA region a chance to compete. With its talented athletes, MENA is a perfect fit for PFL's season format, giving fighters a big stage to showcase their skills. By bringing top-tier events to the region, we're not only serving passionate MMA fans but also pushing the sport forward. Our goal is to grow MMA and expand PFL's reach globally, and working with SRJ Sports to build PFL MENA has been incredibly rewarding." For SRJ Sports Investments CEO Danny Townsend, “The launch of PFL MENA is another massive moment for sport in this region and we are thrilled to have played our part in making it happen. As SRJ, we’re aiming to redefine the landscape of international sport in a way that brings more and more opportunities to Middle Eastern sport and young talent and grows our shared sporting ecosystem. PFL MENA will do just that, with PFL MENA: Riyadh launching the perfect global platform to showcase the trailblazing talent coming from this part of the world.” The complete fight card for PFL MENA's inaugural event is as follows:
• Featherweight Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Taha Bendaoud
• Bantamweight Bout: Ali Taleb vs. Nawras Abzakh
• Bantamweight Bout: Xavier Alaoui vs. Rachid El Hazoume
• Featherweight Bout: Islam Reda vs. Adam Meskini
• Bantamweight Bout: Tariq Ismail vs. Jalal Al Daaja
• Bantamweight Bout: Elias Boudegzdame vs. Hassan Mandour
• Amateur Female Atomweight Bout: Hattan Alsaif vs. Nada Faheem
• Featherweight Bout: Maraoune Bellagouit vs. Motaz Askar
• Featherweight Bout: Ahmed Tarek vs. Abdelrahman Alhyasat
• Showcase Featherweight Bout: Mido Mohamed vs. Yazeed Hasanain
• Showcase Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs. Harsh Pandya
PFL MENA: Riyadh will be the first installment of the thrilling four-event sport-season format featuring the region’s top fighters and a groundbreaking initiative with SRJ Sports Investments (SRJ). The rest of the inaugural season will take place across key markets in the Middle East. PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience.
