PFL officials announced the news in a press release Thursday. In addition, the promotion confirmed that it had signed Taylor Guardado, Nick Roehrick, Alexei Kunchenko, Anthony Dizy and Jason Ponet. The eight fighters listed cap off the PFL roster at 60 fighters across six divisions, all competing for one million dollars (per division) at the end of the playoffs.

Tibau (35-14) should be no stranger to UFC fans, having competed inside the octagon from UFC 65 in 2006, all the way until 2018. After spending the bulk of his career working for Dana White and co., Tibau tested the free agent waters following a three-fight skid in 2018. He went on to win two bouts outside the UFC, one at the infamous Golden Boy MMA Production featuring Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. Tibau has won his last two fights, and will compete in the PFL’s welterweight division, alongside the recently signed Alexei Kunchenko (20-2), who exited the UFC last year after posting a 2-2 record.

Chris Wade (17-6), who previously fought in the PFL’s lightweight division, will drop to featherweight this year. Kaitlin Young (11-10-1), well known to fighting fans from Invicta FC and as a pioneer on the women’s side of the sport, joins the lightweight division along with Taylor Guardado (0-1).

Anthony Dizy (13-3) and Jason Ponet (20-12-1) both hail from France, and have competed in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, respectively. Dizy was most recently fighting under the M-1 banner. Ponet will be moving up to welterweight.

Finally, Nick Roehrick (9-1) will join the promotion’s light heavyweight ranks after winning his last two bouts. The 33-year old from Florida had a single UFC bout in 2017, at the Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale, where he lost to current middleweight contender Jared Cannonier.

The PFL’s 2021 season kicks off on April 23 on ESPN2/ESPN+.

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The empty Ginásio Nilson Nelson served as the backdrop to welterweights Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Alexey Kunchenko squaring off Saturday at UFC Brasilia. With the arena on lockdown due to COVID-19, it was fighters, teams, and staff only. A surreal scene for two fighters who recently had impressive win streaks snapped.

Brazil’s dos Santos had a seven-fight win streak brought to a halt by Li Jingliang last year. But even more of a shock was seeing Alexey Kunchenko’s twenty-fight run shut down by Gilbert Burns last August.

One man was set to get going again Saturday.

Dos Santos opened up the bout with some kicks, and Kunkencho attempted to counter with one of his own. Both looked to find their range, while Dos Santos was swinging heavy looking for anything to land. However, Dos Santos kept landing a low kick that was eating away at Kunchenko early. Kunchenko threw a kick of his own that was caught and Dos Santos took him down as a result. Russia’s Kunchenko scrambled back to his feet quickly, and Dos Santos looked to keep him in the clinch. However the referee would separate them after the action stalled, and the round came to a close.

The second round opened with a brilliant kick downstairs by Dos Santos that stopped the action. Ouch. The fight would continue after a brief break and Dos Santos went right back to throwing leg kicks. Kunchenko would step in and Dos Santos would counter with an attempt at a leglock; Kunchenko would slip out and return to the feet. Kunchenko would land a staggering right hand that landed clean — Dos Santos seemed hurt but Kunchenko didn’t follow up. Dos Santos engaged in the clinch, but they would be separated. Kunchenko would go right back to pushing the pressure and landing combinations. Dos Santos went up high with a head kick that was blocked, and Kunchenko landed a right hand of his own. A good second round for the Russian.

Kunchenko went right back to pressuring with the right hand early in the third. Dos Santos looked for a spinning back fist and Kunchenko responded with a right hand that landed. Dos Santos looked to keep Kunchenko at bay with the jab, but the Russian just kept bringing forward pressure and landed a leg kick of his own. Kunchenko landed a hard body kick as Dos Santos went for a leg kick of his own. Dos Santos then leaned in for another leg kick and Kunchenko landed a hard right hand. Kunchenko got into the clinch late and looked for a spinning back fist on the break. Dos Santos got a late takedown in the third, and he looked tired. The round would end as Kunchenko forced his way up. In the end, the Brazilian got the nod on all three scorecards.

CAPOEIRA! 🇧🇷@ElizeuCapoeira gets the UD from #UFCBrasilia! pic.twitter.com/pctbcNBPin

— UFC (@ufc) March 14, 2020

Official Result: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Alexey Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 

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Brazil’s Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos will have home court advantage when he takes on Alexey Kunchenko at UFC Brasilia. Combate was first to report news of the booking, which will see two hot welterweight talents looking to rebound.

Zaleski (21-6) had a seven-fight win streak snapped when Li Jingliang got the better of him at UFC Shenzhen in August. Prior to that, the Brazilian had picked up wins over Max Griffin, Keita Nakamura, Lyman Good, and others. Jingliang, the man who snapped Zaleski dos Santos’ win streak, is currently ranked 15th in the UFC’s welterweight division. The Brazilian himself sits outside the rankings.

Alexey Kunchenko had an even lengthier win streak snapped last time out. Kunchenko (20-1) was undefeated when he ran up against Gilbert Burns at UFC Uruguay. The Russian known as ‘Wolverine’ (shouldn’t that make him a Canadian then?) holds wins over Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami, both former title challengers.

UFC Brasilia (UFC Fight Night 170) takes place March 14, 2020 at Ginásio Nilson Nelson in Brasília, Brazil. The card currently breaks down as follows:

Brad Tavares vs. Antônio Carlos Júnior
Paige VanZant vs. Amanda Ribas
Johnny Walker vs. Nikita Krylov
Maryna Moroz vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Alexey Kunchenko

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Undefeated Russian Alexey Kunchenko looked to improve to 21-0, and 3-0 in the UFC, ahead of his bout with promotion veteran Gilbert Burns in Montevideo. The former M-1 welterweight champion made his UFC debut in September of last year, tallying victories over Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami in 2018. Kunchenko was initially slated to face Laureano Staropoli, but a broken nose forced Staropoli to pull out of the bout.

Burns was looking to keep the family winning streak going at UFC Uruguay. His younger brother, Herbert, earned a UFC contract at the most recent Dana White Contender Series event. The matchup with Kunchenko was Burns’ return to welterweight, following a 10-fight run at lightweight. In those 10 bouts, Burns was 7-3, winning four of his last five. He last competed at 170-pounds in his UFC debut in July of 2014.

Burns landed the first strike of note in the bout, dropping Kunchenko with a leg kick in the opening 30 seconds. Kunchenko was quick to get up, and took control of the center of the Octagon. Burns replied with another strong kick, this time to the body, as Kunchenko worked to find his range and fired off a couple of leg kicks of his own. After a couple more kicks from the Brazilian, Burns shot and landed a takedown, giving him top position as the mid-point of round one came and went. Burns kept top position for the final minutes of the round, pressing Kunchenko against the cage while working for position and throwing a flurry of strikes.

Kunchenko was more aggressive to start round two, with clear brusing on the outside of his lead left leg showing from Burns’ leg kicks. The Russian started adding combinations to his Octagon control, forcing Burns to back up and defend. The duo traded flurries without dealing any major damage, as both fighters looked to land big in the opening minutes of the second round. Burns then landed a takedown in the middle of the Octagon, taking top position with about 90-seconds remaining in the round. Much like the first, Burns finished the majority of the final minute of the round in top position, shooting for a failed submission in the waning seconds before the horn sounded.

Likely needing a finish, Kunchenko came out firing to start the third. Burns was able to quickly turn the fight into a clinch battle, following a scramble which saw the Brazilian on his back. The fight returned to the feet shortly thereafter, where Kunchenko continued to fire combinations at Burns while marching forward. Kunchenko then landed a leg kick that dropped Burns to the ground. He was in no hurry to get up, until he was forced to by the referee.

Halfway through the final round Kunchenko was targeting the leg of Burns. Burns fought through it, and landed an impressively powerful takedown with around two minutes remaining. The Brazilian attempted to take his back while forcing the Russian against the cage, as Kunchenko fired short punches and elbows to the side of Burns’ head in the clinch. Burns was content to continue to pressure Kunchenko against the cage, as the final minute of the fight ticked away. With 30-seconds left, referee Keith Peterson brought the fight back to the center of the Octagon. Once there, Burns ran out the clock, despite his clearly injured leg giving him issues.

Burns putting on a show in round 1!@GilbertDurinho #UFCUruguay pic.twitter.com/OAQ5bYowgx

— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2019

Result: Gilbert Burns def Alexey Kunchenko by unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Check out all of the results from UFC Uruguay here!

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Alexey Kunchenko was looking to add to a successful 2018 campaign at UFC Adelaide. First defeating Thiago Alves at UFC Russia, he could add another well-known name to his list with a win over Yushin Okami on Saturday. And yes, despite looking like his resume was straight out of 2009, Okami actually retains his standing in the sport. He’s had a lot of recent success, winning five of his last six bouts going into the fight against Alexey. Ergo, maintaining his good name.

That might change after UFC Adelaide, mind you. Round one was a mostly uneventful round, with both men having success. No doubt it would be a hard one to judge. Predictably, Okami tried to use his wrestling, but Kunchenko proved to have good takedown defense, and some good strength in the clinch. Round two however was when Kunchenko really turned it on.

It looked like Okami was beginning to get desperate in the second. Alexey Kunchenko came forward with big combinations and continued to put pressure on the older fighter. Okami began recklessly shooting for takedowns, all of which Kunchenko stopped. Kunchenko landed some really good shots moving in, which combined with the near-perfect takedown defense, was quickly allowing him to run away with the fight. A near-knockdown ended the round.

Round three saw the striking clinic by Alexey continue, with the Russian landing some great combinations. He repeatedly found a good home for the right hand. Even landing a couple of headkicks, the pressure was on Okami. The Japanese veteran even paid whenever he did find a way to get Alexey to the fence, eating tons of elbows when looking for the clinch. Kunchenko ended the bout by landing repeated blows, looking for the finish.

Kunchenko landing here in round 3 has Okami staggered. #UFCAdelaide pic.twitter.com/FJJPjBwOmt

— UFC (@ufc) December 2, 2018

He didn’t get it, but put on a great performance nonetheless. Add Kunchenko as one to watch in 2019.

Alexey Kunchenko def. Yushin Okami by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) 

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The UFC’s next trip to Australia has added a pair of veterans in an intriguing welterweight match-up. On Wednesday, the promotion announced that Yushin Okami would meet Alexey Kunchenko at the event. UFC Adelaide (UFC Fight Night 142) goes down December 2 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

岡見勇信がオーストラリアでアレクセイ・クンチェンコと対戦することになりました✨
日本時間12月2日（日）開催🗓️📝@_Yushin_Okami_
「彼との対戦はただの通過点に過ぎず、私のゴールはその先なのです。どうぞご期待ください」

コメント全文👉 https://t.co/dD7XlOiSyv pic.twitter.com/LmBIT7f9Ty

— UFC Japan (@ufc_jp) October 17, 2018

Okami (35-11) is no doubt best known for his middleweight run in 2010, where he picked up a trio of wins that included victories over Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt. That culminated in a title shot against Anderson Silva the following year. After losing that, and his next bout to Tim Boetsch, Okami would win three straight, then suffer a loss to Jacare Souza in 2013 that saw him cut from the promotion. At the time, UFC President Dana White said the move was made because Okami had become a “gatekeeper.”

Outside the UFC, Okami would then compete in the WSOF/PFL, Deep, and Pancrase. He fought for the WSOF middleweight championship against David Branch (now also fighting for the UFC) in 2014, only to be finished via TKO. Overall, he went 5-2 outside the promotion before being invited back in 2017 to take a short notice fight against Ovince St. Preux at light heavyweight. After losing his return fight, Okami dropped back to welterweight, where he had been competing since 2015, earning a victory over Dhiego Lima at UFC on FOX 29.

Alexey Kunchenko (19-0), an undefeated M-1 champion, made his UFC debut in September, earning a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Thiago Alves. He holds thirteen knockouts to his name.

UFC Adelaide is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Tai Tuivasa and Junior Dos Santos. Mark Hunt also takes on Justin Willis on the card, in what could be Hunt’s final appearance in the UFC.

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Thiago Alves entered UFC Fight Night 136 as a former welterweight title challenger who held wins over the likes of Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, and Karo Parisyan. However, leaving the prime of his career, he’d taken on the considerable challenge of welcoming new fighters to the UFC. His task at UFC Moscow was to meet former M1-Global champion Alexey Kunchenko, who was making his octagon debut. Undefeated through 18 fights, a win over Kunchenko could boost Alves back into some key fights.

That wasn’t to be, however. Alves vs. Kunchenko was a fight that didn’t feature much throughout the first two rounds — with the exception of some nice leg and body kicks by both fighters. The Russian fans were unsurprisingly vocal about the lack of action early. Going into the third round it was really anyone’s fight, however in the third Alexey Kunchenko showed his skill and showed why he has lots of potential in the UFC. He turned up the pace, keeping Alves on his heels.

Finishing strong, with about 90 seconds left in the third round Kunchenko threw Alves down and scored an important takedown. The third round seemed to be the most clear round of the fight, thanks to Kunchenko’s pressure and takedowns. It certainly felt like the round secured the bout for the Russian fight.

Not the most entertaining fight to start the card off, but it’ll be interesting to see where Kunchenko goes from here in a crowded welterweight division. The victorious fighter went so far as to admit in his post-fight interview that the action was on the dull side, but noted (via translator) that he did what he needed to do to secure the win over an experienced veteran in Thiago Alves.

Alexey Kunchenko def. Thiago Alves by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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