The PFL has introduced new weight classes for 2025, and their tournament format has undergone a shift. Gone is the “season” that saw fighters awarded points for wins and stoppages. In is a “win and move on,” traditional MMA grand prix style. Adding bantamweight and middleweight this year, the PFL will offer eight weight classes in all, and welterweight is the first to have its roster announced.
The eight-man PFL World Tournament will commence in April, with some familiar names among the 170lb ranks. Among them, former Bellator MMA welterweight champs Jason Jackson and Andrey Koreshkov, interim Bellator welterweight champ Logan Storley, and 2024 PFL finalist Magomed Umalatov.
Notably, Storley is the only American in the mix. The full PFL welterweight tournament roster breaks down as follows:
- Florim Zendeli (10-1-1) of Albania
- Andrey Koreshkov (28-5) of Russia
- Jason Jackson (18-5) of Jamaica
- Magomed Umalatov (17-1) of Russia
- Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-2, 1NC) of Russia
- Giannis Bachar (9-2) of Greece
- Logan Storley (16-3) of the United States
- Masayuki Kikuiri (10-2-1) of Japan
Opening round match-ups have yet to be announced. $500,000 in prize money await the winner of each tournament, and while that is down from the $1 million afforded to previous winners, this year, that total is on top of purses won throughout the season. In previous years, the $1 million purse included all prize money collected throughout the season.
The PFL season kicks off on April 3, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
