The PFL’s regular season debut is set to take place on April 1, 2023, with the nearly-complete line-up announced on Thursday.
The previously announced card is set to take place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring featherweight and light heavyweight action. Brendan Loughnane vs. Marlon Moraes headlines, with another previously announced fight between Rob Wilkinson and Thiago Santos in the co-main event slot.
OFFICIAL: The Million Dollar Journey starts in π©ππππ¦. #2023PFL1 lineup is now set!π²π°
[ #2023PFL1 | Sat, April 1st | 9pm ET | ποΈhttps://t.co/hxZi2fDDKB ] pic.twitter.com/NjlXCtXBAD
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 16, 2023
Newly announced match-ups, meanwhile, include former featherweight champ Movlid Khaybulaev returning to take on Japan’s Ryoji Kudo. Khaybulaev missed the entirety of 2022 due to injury, and was unable to defend the title he captured in 2021 as a result.
Loughnane, who fell to the Dagestani during the 2021 post-season, claimed the championship last year.
Santos will be making his promotional debut after wrapping up his run with the UFC last year. “Marreta” faced Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship in 2019, pushing the champ to the limit but ultimately coming up short on the scorecards. The Brazilian is just 1-4 since. Wilkinson, meanwhile, is a former UFC fighter who made a stunning comeback to win the light heavyweight title in the PFL last year.
In a rematch of the 2021 featherweight semifinal, Chris Wade goes up against Bubba Jenkins on the main card.
The full PFL 1 2023 line-up as announced on Thursday is as follows:
Main Card
- Brendan Loughnane vs. Marlon Moraes
- Robert Wilkinson vs. Thiago Santos
- Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Ryoji Kudo
- Chris Wade vs. Bubba Jenkins
- Omari Akhmedov vs. Will Fleury
Preliminary Card
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. TBA
- Marthin Hamlet vs. Mohammed Fakhreddine
- Joshua Silveira vs. Sam Kei
- Alehandro Flores vs. Daniel Torres
- Jo Sungbin vs. TBA
- TBA vs. TBA β Showcase fight
