Instead, the league’s next season, still expected to air on ESPN, will take place in 20201.

“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021.  PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel,” the league wrote in a statement.

The big news beyond that is that fighters will get paid, although how much is not known and may be based off existing contracts. In its press release, the promotion stated that it will “pay its league fighters a monthly cash stipend to help support them and their families throughout 2020.”

It also intends to produce “new original programming for distribution across ESPN platforms and PFL channels.”

The league’s 2019 season was its first on ESPN. The merit-based tournament format has proven popular with hardcore MMA fans, who prefer to see winners earn title shots, rather than the process being based on a quasi-official popularity contest. The 2020 season had some fresh faces attached to it, including Canadian fighters Rory MacDonald and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. In addition, returning stars like Kayla Harrison and Lance Palmer were expected to take part.

In a statement included in Monday’s press release, promotion CEO Peter Murray was quoted as saying

“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald.

“For the remainder of 2020, the PFL will support our fighters with a monthly cash stipend to help provide some relief during these challenging times. In addition, for sports fans who we know are looking for compelling content, the PFL will deliver new original programming across ESPN and PFL platforms.

“PFL will continue to be an innovator in the world of sports.

Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus.”

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The Professional Fighters League, which runs a merit-based, tournament format through a “regular season” and “playoffs,” airs on ESPN (TSN on Canada), with a million dollars going to the winner in each weight class at the end of the season.

2020 was to be the league’s third season. The promotion was formed out of the ashes of the World Series of Fighting, with Ray Sefo also serving as an executive. This year, the likes of Rory MacDonald and Olivier-Aubin Mercier were expected to join the league, in addition to returning favorites like Kayla Harrison and Lance Palmer.

No date has been set for the PFL’s potential return. Murray’s statement can be read in its entirety below:

“The Professional Fighters League is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 global crisis closely and assessing its impact on the PFL 2020 Season.

The health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and league personnel remain our top priority.

In light of this unprecedented pandemic, we are adjusting our plan for the rest of this year and look forward to starting our next season as soon as it is feasible. We are committed to continuing to evolve and grow the sport of MMA.”

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Jordan Young, Johnny Case, Clay Collard, Cindy Dandois, and Laura Sanchez have also been added to the fold, with additional fighters to be announced at a later date.

One name that will absolutely stand out to fight fans is Mohammed Usman. That’s the brother of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Mohammed is getting a step up this year, and will join the PFL’s heavyweight division. Thus far, he’s 6-1 as a pro, with his only loss coming to current UFC fighter Don’Tale Mayes.

Johnny Case (27-7-1) is a former UFC athlete, who was last seen competing for RIZIN FF in their lightweight grand prix.

Marcin Held has spent time in both Bellator and the UFC. The Polish fighter, just 28-years old, has been competing since he was 16, and holds a record of 26–7. He left the UFC off a win over Nasrat Haqparast, and has won his last four fights, the other three coming under the ACB and ACA banners.

Justin Willis (8-2) was a one-time veteran of the World Series of Fighting, the PFL’s predecessor. He moved on to the UFC, going 4-1 at heavyweight. However, he was cut off an uninspiring loss to Curtis Blaydes last March.

Bubba Jenkins (14-4) is best known for his lengthy Bellator MMA run, but most recently, he’s been fighting for Brave CF. He happens to be their reigning featherweight champion.

Cindy Dandois (15-5) has competed for the UFC, Bellator, and RIZIN — a single fight for each promotion. She also had a three-fight stint for Invicta FC from 2014 to 2016. Coming off a three-fight win streak on the regional scene, she’ll join the PFL’s lightweight division.

Jordan Young (11-1) is something of a surprise addition to the PFL. Young had been a highly touted Bellator prospect, with just a single loss in his pro career, back in November to Julius Anglickas. He’ll represent a solid addition to the league’s light heavyweight division.

Clay Collard (18-8, 1NC) is a former UFC fighter and current SteelFist lightweight champion. Laura Sanchez (1-0), meanwhile, is the least experienced addition, having turned pro earlier this year. She’s a Team USA amateur MMA World Champ, not to mention a former Division-1 basketball player.   

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The signing sees the merit-backed league, with year-long tournaments and million-dollar prizes, bolster the Canadian portion of its ranks.

Welcome to PFL, @oliaubin! 🇨🇦

Full audio via @arielhelwani / @espnmma #HelwaniShow https://t.co/LfXDzGwGvv pic.twitter.com/Sr9066qESl

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 5, 2020

Last season, Jesse Ronson, Sarah Kaufman, and Bobbi-Jo Dalziel represented the red and white inside the PFL. But during this off-season the league has picked up both OAM and Rory MacDonald. That’s a solid one-two punch if the promotion decides to head north of the border for a show, which feels like a very real possibility.

There’s no word on the status of Kaufman and Dalziel, mind you. Ronson recently fought for Ontario’s BTC promotion, earning his first win since the PFL last year.

As for Aubin-Mercier, the lightweight joins the PFL after hitting a three-fight skid inside the octagon. OAM started his UFC tenure strong, going 7-1 after losing on the TUF: Nations finale to Chad Laprise in 2014. But the quirky French-Canadian then ran into Alexander Hernandez, Gilbert Burns, and Arman Tsarukyan. He also fought out his UFC deal, making him a free agent — but one on a skid.

He’ll look to bounce back in the PFL cage, and capture a million bucks in the process. This week, the PFL announced that all six 2019 champions would return for the 2020 season: Kayla Harrison, Lance Palmer, Natan Schulte, Ray Cooper III, Emiliano Sordi, and Ali Isaev.

Other competitors for the 2020 tournament have yet to be announced. Schulte won the lightweight tournament, which is where Aubin-Mercier is expected to compete.

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Following an early report by ESPN, the Professional Fighters League has announced an International Qualifier Series that will groom talent for the upcoming PFL 2020 season. In a press release Wednesday, the PFL revealed that fighters in five key markets would compete in single-night, two-fight tournaments with winners earning a spot in the league.

The fights in question will be held in February and March in United Arab Emirates, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Australia. Broadcast plans are yet to be finalized. Only one promotion involved was revealed in Wednesday’s press release, however. Per that release, the PFL International Qualifier Series featherweight tournament will take place in Abu Dhabi in partnership with UAE Warriors.

“We’re excited to accelerate growth outside of the United States through the International Qualifier Series, a global fight twice in one-night tournament designed to identify and recruit the best MMA fighters from five priority markets around the world,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “We look forward to working with UAE Warriors in the Middle East, a region with an affinity for combat sports and an impressive crop of high-caliber fighters. This is a unique challenge, and we’ll see if these athletes have what it takes to fight for the PFL and compete for a title and million-dollar prize.”

While only UAE Warriors was announced by the PFL, Russia’s RCC announced on Instagram that they will take part in the qualifier series.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B75dfKSBiwz/

The Professional Fighters League’s regular season begins in May, 2020, with a million dollars once again on the line for the winner in each weight class.

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