PFL/Bellator
PFL 3: Welterweights and featherweights step up in Chicago
The PFL’s talent-stacked welterweight and featherweight divisions will get their 2024 seasons underway on a packed night of fights in Chicago.
-
by
Simon Head
The latest PFL Regular Season event will see the promotion’s 170- and 145-pound divisions get their respective campaigns underway at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Friday night.
Headlining the event is former Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov, who will make his PFL Regular Season debut when he takes on undefeated 14-0 Magomed Umalatov in an all-Russian showdown.
Koreshkov hasn’t lost since a split-decision defeat to Lorenz Larkin back in 2019, with “Spartan” racking up a five-fight win streak since then, including avenging that loss to Larkin, again via split decision, in his last outing back in July 2023.
Umalatov has been perfect inside the cage throughout his 14-fight MMA career, and only an enforced withdrawal prevented him from competing in the playoffs in New York last year.
Now “Prince” is back, and he’s looking to become king of the PFL’s 170-pound division. Defeating one of the most respected veterans on the PFL’s welterweight roster in his first bout would go a long way to achieving that aim.
The co-main event will see the return of former featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane, with the 2022 champion looking to bounce back after his shock exit from the 2023 season.
Loughnane will take on PFL debutant, and former Bellator featherweight title challenger, Pedro Carvalho. “The Game” will bring plenty of intensity and personality to the PFL’s featherweight season, and he knows that defeating a former champion on his PFL Regular Season debut would send a real message to the rest of the competition at 145 pounds.
The two weight classes offer arguably the most stacked weight classes on the entire PFL roster, with a host of big names vying for superiority as the season gets underway in the Windy City.
The featherweight division includes former Bellator standouts Adam Borics, Enrique Barzola Timur Khizriev and Brett Johns, plus former Brave CF champion Bubba Jenkins, while the welterweight lineup includes former Bellator interim champion Logan Storley, former title challenger Neiman Gracie, and all-action fan-favourite Brennan Ward.
They will all kick off their respective campaigns on Friday night as they look to steal a march on their rivals by securing quickfire finishes. It should deliver an action-packed night of fights.
PFL 3: Official fight card
MAIN CARD
- Andrey Koreshkov vs. Magomed Umalatov – welterweight season
- Brendan Loughnane vs. Pedro Carvalho – featherweight season
- Logan Storley vs. Shamil Musaev – welterweight season
- Gabriel Braga vs. Justin Gonzales – featherweight season
- Goiti Yamauchi vs. Neiman Gracie – welterweight season
- Bubba Jenkins vs. Kai Kamaka III – featherweight season
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Adam Borics vs. Enrique Barzola – featherweight season
- Timur Khizriev vs. Brett Johns – featherweight season
- Laureano Staropoli vs. Murad Ramazanov – welterweight season
- Don Madge vs. Brennan Ward – welterweight season
- Tyler Diamond vs. Otto Rodrigues – featherweight alternate bout
- Romain Debienne vs. Thad Jean – welterweight showcase bout
A sports editor and MMA reporter with 25 years' experience in sports media, Simon has covered mixed martial arts since 2009 for a host of national and international outlets, including UFC, BBC Sport, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport and the Daily Mirror.