PFL/Bellator

PFL confirms early regular-season slate, including stacked featherweight lineup

An influx of top contenders from Bellator has taken PFL’s global season roster to a new level for 2024.

by
Simon Head
March 12, 2024

After a wild night in Paris kicked off the PFL Europe schedule, the PFL has unveiled its matchups for the first three events of its 2024 global season.

The PFL will kick off their season in San Antonio, Texas on April 4 with the heavyweight and women’s flyweight divisions getting the 2024 season underway, before the promotion heads to Las Vegas for the second night of regular season action on April 12, with the light heavyweight and lightweight divisions in action.

The third date on PFL’s regular season calendar will see the SmartCage land in Chicago on April 19, with the welterweight and featherweight divisions under the spotlight.

The lineups have been confirmed for all six weight classes, with the first regular-season bouts in each division scheduled across the three aforementioned dates.

In San Antonio, former PFL heavyweight champion Ante Delija will headline against former interim Bellator heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky, while England’s former two-division Bellator title challenger Linton Vassell will look to make an impact on his PFL debut when he takes on Denis Goltzov.

The women’s flyweight division will see the PFL debut of Bellator flyweight champion Liz Carmouche, who will look to embark on her quest to capture a title in a second promotion when she faces former champion Juliana Velasquez in what will be their third successive matchup. Carmouche won both previous bouts under the Bellator banner, but Velasquez will be looking to make a statement and exact some degree of payback on April 4.

Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA

The card will also see the global season debut of PFL Europe women’s flyweight champion Dakota Ditcheva, who faces Lisa Mauldin in the featured preliminary bout of the night in Texas.

The PFL’s return to Las Vegas will be headlined by a battle of former champions, as ex-Bellator 205-pound king Phil Davis takes on former PFL light heavyweight champ Rob Wilkinson. The co-main event will see returning 2023 light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay take on former Bellator contender Alex Polizzi.

Also on that Vegas card, Clay Collard will face Patricky Pitbull, while Mads Burnell takes on Michael Dufort. Former PFL light heavyweight champions Antonio Carlos Jr will kick off his campaign against former Bellator prospect Simon Biyong, while former PFL welterweight champion Sadibou Sy is making a two-division jump in weight to compete at 205 pounds. Josh Silveira will welcome him to the light heavyweight division in Sin City on April 12.

After Vegas, the action moves to Chicago, with a mouthwatering welterweight clash between former Bellator champion Andrey Koreshkov and undefeated Magomed Umalatov set to headline in the Windy City.

The event showcases a stacked featherweight lineup for 2024, and the co-main event will see former featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane return to regular season action against former Bellator title challenger Pedro Carvalho, while other notable featherweight names ready for regular season action include former featherweight runner-up Bubba Jenkins, Bellator featherweight contenders Adam Borics, Enrique Barzola and Brett Johns.

At welterweight, former interim Bellator welterweight champion Logan Storley makes his PFL debut against undefeated Shamil Musaev, while former Bellator welterweight mainstays Goiti Yamauchi and Neiman Gracie will also face off at 170 pounds.

“The Professional Fighters League is excited to return to regular aeason action this April with three hard-hitting and crowd-pleasing events,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray.

“The PFL’s extensive roster of world-class fighters, which now includes Bellator stars, means the toughest test in MMA, the PFL regular season, just got tougher.”