The Professional Fighters League is back!
PFL took all of 2020 off after the pandemic shelved plans for another season of tournaments. This year they’ll be based out of the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey (at least for the regular season).
In the main event of the 2021 season opener, former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis takes on UFC and pro boxing veteran Clay Collard in a lightweight matchup. The co-main sees two-time PFL champion Natan Schulte take on former Bellator and UFC fighter Marcin Held in another lightweight bout.
Lance Palmer is no stranger to winning the PFL prize and he’s back for more when he takes on Bubba Jenkins in the featherweight division.
The deal for the regular season is that everyone competes twice, with three five-minute rounds (but no elbows), and the points system works as follows:
Win – 3 pts
First round stoppage – 3 bonus pts
Second round stoppage – 2 bonus pts
Third round stoppage – 1 bonus pt
Draw – 1 pt for each fighter
Loss – 0 points
Week 1 is all about the featherweights and lightweights, and Bloody Elbow is the place to be to discuss the event. The prelims begin at 5:30 PM ET on ESPN+ and followed by the main card at 9 PM ET on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. International viewers can find their outlet here.
The fight card is as follows:
Main Card (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 9 p.m. ET)
Clay Collard def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Marcin Held def. Natan Schulte via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Movlid Khaibulaev def. Lazar Stojadinovic via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bubba Jenkins def. Lance Palmer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)
Brendan Loughnane def. Sheymon Moraes via KO (punch) – Round 1, 2:55
Raush Manfio def. Joilton Lutterbach via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Akhmed Aliev def. Mikhail Odintsov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Chris Wade def. Anthony Dizy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tyler Diamond def. Jo Sung Bin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexander Martinez def. Loik Radzhabov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
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