The second go-round for welterweights and light heavyweights in this year’s Professional Fighters League season will take place at PFL 5 on June 17.
On Wednesday, PFL officials announced that this year’s PFL 5 card would be topped by a welterweight showdown featuring UFC alumni Rory MacDonald and Gleison Tibau. MacDonald (22-6-1), a former Bellator MMA champion who signed as a key free agent for the PFL prior to the coronavirus pandemic, earned a first round submission against Curtis Millender at PFL 2 back in April. That victory earned Canada’s “Red King” six points towards the post-season, and cemented him as a leading favorite to win the division this year.
Tibau (35-15) dropped his season opener at the same card, losing via unanimous decision against João Zeferino. That snapped a two-fight win streak Tibau put together on the regional scene, after exiting the UFC in 2018 on a four-fight skid.
Last year’s welterweight champ, Ray Cooper III, will feature in the PFL 5 co-main event, where he takes on Nikolai Aleksakhin.
The full PFL 5 card, which takes place in Atlantic City, NJ and airs on ESPN+ and ESPN 2, breaks down as follows:
Main Card
Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau
Ray Cooper III vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin
Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn
Cezar Ferreira vs Chris Camozzi
Preliminary Card
Antonio Carlos Jr vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Marthin Hamlet vs. Cory Hendricks
Joao Zeferino vs. Jason Ponet
Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Curtis Millender
Tom Lawlor vs. Jordan Young
Sadibou Sy vs Aleksei Kunchenko
