PFL have announced an incredible card which will pit 8 of their best against 8 of Bellator’s finest in a ‘Champ vs Champ’ card on Saturday 24th February as part of the Riyadh season.
Since acquiring Bellator, it has largely been speculated that MMA fans would be treated to a monumental PFL vs Bellator cross promotion card, and they have certainly delivered.
The card itself features many notable names. In the main event slot, 2023 PFL Heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will face Bellator Heavyweight king Ryan Bader. Ferreira enters the bout on the back of 3 impressive KO/TKO wins on his way to the 2023 title. Bader is the first man in Bellator history to become a two weight world champion. Since signing with the promotion, Bader has amassed an impressive 9 victories from his 12 bouts.
An extremely intriguing co-main event will see Impa Kasanganay face the undefeated Johnny Eblen to see if PFL or Bellator will have the superior champion at 185lbs. On the wrong side of a highlight reel knockout, Kasanganay parted ways with the UFC and signed with the PFL. Since signing, Kasanganay is unbeaten in 5. Eblen has shone since signing with Bellator as a 4-0 prospect. 10 fights later and the American Top Team man has proven his worth, earning and successfully retaining the Middleweight strap.
One of the most impressive athletes in recent PFL memory is undoubtedly Magomed Magomedkerimov. The 2018 & 2023 champion will face Jason Jackson in a 170lbs clash. Since pulling on the PFL gloves, Magomedkerimov has only tasted defeat once, in the 2021 championship final against Ray Cooper III. Jackson handed Yaroslav Amosov his first loss in 28 bouts in order to take the Bellator Welterweight Title. Prior to that, he had picked up extremely impressive wins against Douglas Lima, Paul Daley and Neiman Gracie.
Jesus Pinedo will square off Bellator stalwart Patricky Pitbull at 145lbs. Pinedo shocked a lot of MMA fans when he defeated 2022 season champion, Brendan Loughnane in the first round of the 2023 tournament. After beating Loughnane, he went on to beat Bubba Jenkins & Gabriel Alves Braga to be crowned the 2023 Featherweight champion. Pitbull has gained a huge following in his 14 years with Bellator. The Brazilian holds an impressive 23-6 promotional record and has been involved in many a classic Bellator contest.
Elsewhere on the card, Bruno Cappelozza and Vadim Nemkov will fight it out at Heavyweight. Clay Collard will look to hand AJ McKee only his second loss of his professional career whilst veterans Thiago Santos and Yoel Romero will compete against each other at 205lbs.
On the undercard, Bellator Featherweight prospect Aaron Pico will face PFL 2023 finalist Gabriel Alves Braga in a clash between two top prospects. Undisputed boxing champion Claressa Shields will make the walk to the cage for only the third time in her career against Kelsey DeSantis in a showcase Lightweight bout. Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali, will make his debut against Brit, Chris Morris as both men look to start their professional career with a win.
The 2023/24 Riyadh Season was already stacking up to be an incredible time for boxing, with numerous major bouts scheduled, but it appears MMA will also play an integral part in their plans moving forward.
PFL CEO Peter Murray said: “The Middle East is the fight capital of the world, and the Professional Fighters League is proud to bring the world’s best combat sports stars to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Riyadh Season to host the first-ever PFL PPV Super Fight mega-global event. PFL Champions versus Bellator Champions is game changing for fighters and fans. I would like to thank HE Turki Alalshikh, the GEA and SRJ for this incredible opportunity to grow the sport of MMA in the The Kingdom and around the world.”
Full Fight Card:
Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout:Renan Ferreira (PFL World Champ) vs. Ryan
Bader (Bellator Champ)
Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL Light
Heavyweight World Champ) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator Champ)
Welterweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Magomed Magomedkerimov (PFL World
Champ) vs. Jason Jackson (Bellator Champ)
Featherweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Jesus Pinedo (PFL World Champ) vs.
Patricio Pitbull (Bellator Champ)
Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World Champ) vs. Vadim
Nemkov (former Bellator Champ)
Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero
(Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard(PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee
(former Bellator Champ)
Early Card - ESPNEWS and ESPN+ (US) - 12 pm ET
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Gabriel Braga(PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico
(Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (Pro Debut) vs. Chris Morris (Pro Debut)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs.Vinicius Pereira
Since acquiring Bellator, it has largely been speculated that MMA fans would be treated to a monumental PFL vs Bellator cross promotion card, and they have certainly delivered.
The card itself features many notable names. In the main event slot, 2023 PFL Heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will face Bellator Heavyweight king Ryan Bader. Ferreira enters the bout on the back of 3 impressive KO/TKO wins on his way to the 2023 title. Bader is the first man in Bellator history to become a two weight world champion. Since signing with the promotion, Bader has amassed an impressive 9 victories from his 12 bouts.
An extremely intriguing co-main event will see Impa Kasanganay face the undefeated Johnny Eblen to see if PFL or Bellator will have the superior champion at 185lbs. On the wrong side of a highlight reel knockout, Kasanganay parted ways with the UFC and signed with the PFL. Since signing, Kasanganay is unbeaten in 5. Eblen has shone since signing with Bellator as a 4-0 prospect. 10 fights later and the American Top Team man has proven his worth, earning and successfully retaining the Middleweight strap.
One of the most impressive athletes in recent PFL memory is undoubtedly Magomed Magomedkerimov. The 2018 & 2023 champion will face Jason Jackson in a 170lbs clash. Since pulling on the PFL gloves, Magomedkerimov has only tasted defeat once, in the 2021 championship final against Ray Cooper III. Jackson handed Yaroslav Amosov his first loss in 28 bouts in order to take the Bellator Welterweight Title. Prior to that, he had picked up extremely impressive wins against Douglas Lima, Paul Daley and Neiman Gracie.
Jesus Pinedo will square off Bellator stalwart Patricky Pitbull at 145lbs. Pinedo shocked a lot of MMA fans when he defeated 2022 season champion, Brendan Loughnane in the first round of the 2023 tournament. After beating Loughnane, he went on to beat Bubba Jenkins & Gabriel Alves Braga to be crowned the 2023 Featherweight champion. Pitbull has gained a huge following in his 14 years with Bellator. The Brazilian holds an impressive 23-6 promotional record and has been involved in many a classic Bellator contest.
Elsewhere on the card, Bruno Cappelozza and Vadim Nemkov will fight it out at Heavyweight. Clay Collard will look to hand AJ McKee only his second loss of his professional career whilst veterans Thiago Santos and Yoel Romero will compete against each other at 205lbs.
On the undercard, Bellator Featherweight prospect Aaron Pico will face PFL 2023 finalist Gabriel Alves Braga in a clash between two top prospects. Undisputed boxing champion Claressa Shields will make the walk to the cage for only the third time in her career against Kelsey DeSantis in a showcase Lightweight bout. Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali, will make his debut against Brit, Chris Morris as both men look to start their professional career with a win.
The 2023/24 Riyadh Season was already stacking up to be an incredible time for boxing, with numerous major bouts scheduled, but it appears MMA will also play an integral part in their plans moving forward.
PFL CEO Peter Murray said: “The Middle East is the fight capital of the world, and the Professional Fighters League is proud to bring the world’s best combat sports stars to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Riyadh Season to host the first-ever PFL PPV Super Fight mega-global event. PFL Champions versus Bellator Champions is game changing for fighters and fans. I would like to thank HE Turki Alalshikh, the GEA and SRJ for this incredible opportunity to grow the sport of MMA in the The Kingdom and around the world.”
Full Fight Card:
Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout:Renan Ferreira (PFL World Champ) vs. Ryan
Bader (Bellator Champ)
Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL Light
Heavyweight World Champ) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator Champ)
Welterweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Magomed Magomedkerimov (PFL World
Champ) vs. Jason Jackson (Bellator Champ)
Featherweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Jesus Pinedo (PFL World Champ) vs.
Patricio Pitbull (Bellator Champ)
Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World Champ) vs. Vadim
Nemkov (former Bellator Champ)
Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero
(Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard(PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee
(former Bellator Champ)
Early Card - ESPNEWS and ESPN+ (US) - 12 pm ET
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Gabriel Braga(PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico
(Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (Pro Debut) vs. Chris Morris (Pro Debut)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs.Vinicius Pereira
