PFL announces first events for 2023 season

After crowning six new champions in their electrifying 2022 season, the PFL are primed and ready to make an even bigger impression in 2023. The MMA trailblazers have announced their first 3 events for this year and here’s everything you need to know.

Firstly, all 3 events will take place in Las Vegas at The Theater at Virgin Hotels within a 2 week span.

PFL 1: April 1st

The first event will see featherweights and light heavyweights do battle. In the main event, 2022s featherweight million dollar man, Brendan Loughnane will take on former UFC Bantamweight title challenger and WSOF Bantamweight champion, “Magic” Marlon Moraes.

After losing in the semifinals in 2021, Loughnane made ammends this year, piecing together a tidy run of victories. Decision wins over Ryoji Kudo, Ago Huskic and Chris Wade saw the Manchester man secure his place in the finals against Bubba Jenkins. The brit used his crafty striking to pick the American apart, securing the finish in round 4 en-route to 1 million dollars and championship status.

Moraes on the other hand has struggled to rediscover his form over the last 3 years. The Brazilian has been stopped in all 5 of his last 5 outings, most recently in his PFL debut against Sheymon Moraes back in November. Of course, on his night we know just how dangerous this man can be, harbouring a tremendously dangerous kickboxing arsenal which he continuously terrorised his competition with throughout his WSOF and early UFC run. However, now struggling to find his feet and fighting up in weight, do you think Moraes can get it done?

Moving on to the Co-main event for the first card of the regular season, 2022 light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson, will welcome former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos to the PFL.

After losing to former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and parting ways with the UFC, Wilkinson put together a couple of first round victories before signing to the PFL. The Aussie tore through his opposition, finishing every one of his opponents via strikes en-route to a final showdown with UFC vet Omari Akhmedov for all the marbles. His relentless striking approach badly cut the Russian, forcing a doctors stoppage and thus crowning him PFL light heavyweight King.

Thiago Santos is another ex UFC top contender who is struggling with consistency. Ever since his split decision loss to Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight belt, Santos has gone 1-4 in his last 5. His last outing was back in August where he was finished by current UFC champion Jamahal Hill in round 4. At 39 years old and not getting any younger, Santos has a huge opportunity to invoke a second wind and reap the rewards of a gruelling career. With a style built on ferocity and power, a hungry Thiago Santos is always a dangerous opponent.

PFL 2: April 7th

The second regular season event in the 2023 season will see the heavyweights and womens featherweights competing for the first time this year. Headlining the card will be last years heavyweight champion, Ante Delija vs the newly signed Yorgan De Castro.

It was second time lucky last year for Ante Delija, finally winning the PFL heavyweight championship after falling short in the final the year before. After cruising to the final with victories over Matheus Scheffel, Shelton Graves and Renan Ferreira, Delija was matched up with Scheffel again, this time in the final, after the Brazilian had since but together an impressive run of his own. Yet again, Delija proved the victor, stopping his opponent in the very first round with a barrage of strikes to realise PFL gold. He looks to try and replicate his success this year, taking on a UFC veteran in his first regular season matchup.

Yorgan De Castro is 3-0 since his departure from the UFC in early 2021, after enjoying competition under Khabibs Eagle FC banner, where he scored a shock victory over former UFC heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos in his most recent outing in May of last year. Heavy handed and a man that relishes a brawl, Yorgan will undoubtably be a fun addition to the heavyweight division for this season.

The Co-main event for PFL 2 will see last years womens featherweight champion Larissa Pacheco, take on former Bellator featherweight champion Julia Budd.

At just 28 years old, it feels like Pacheco has been around the game for an eternity. Its scary to think how young she still is, relative to what she has already achieved, especially going forward into these future seasons, she will only get better. This will be Pachecos 4th year with the PFL, finally realising the championship and million dollar reward last year, being the first person to defeat judo ace Kayla Harrison since her transition to MMA. Despite losing to the American twice before, Pacheco continued to develop her game, iron out the creases and make the adjustments necessary to be the best. 4 wins with 3 finishes last year Is very impressive and I’m sure she will deliver again this year with the confidence of a champion.

Budd signed for the PFL in 2021 after enjoying an impressive featherweight stint under Bellator, where she reigned as the champion for 3 years before being dethroned by Cris Cyborg. The Canadian is 1-2 in the PFL, defeating Kaitlyn Young via decision in her debut, before losing decisions to Genah Fabian and UFC alum Aspen Ladd in her only two bouts of last year. A seasoned striker, Budd has all the tools to stand as a very interesting opponent for the reigning champion, both strikers, both love a finish on the feet, its a matchup that has all the makings of a very entertaining contest.

PFL 3: April 14th

Finally, PFL 3, the latest event announced by the PFL to kick off their 2023 season. This event will feature lightweights and welterweights, with the main event seeing reigning lightweight champ Olivier Aubin-Mercier take on fellow UFC alum and exciting new signing, “Hurricane” Shane Burgos.

In his second year with the PFL, former UFC lightweight contender Olivier Aubin-Mercier made good of a golden opportunity, claiming PFL gold last year after facing a who’s who of PFL lightweights. The Canadian took pipped former champs Rausch Manfio and Natan Schulte via decision, as well as divisional main stay Alex Martinez. Saving the finish for when he needed it most, OAM stopped UFC veteran Stevie Ray in the final with a picture perfect right hook, showcasing his drastically improved striking game which has seen him become an extremely well rounded fighter.

The always exciting Shane Burgos will look to announce his arrival to the PFL in a big way with a win over the champ in his maiden voyage. The fan favourite featherweight left the UFC with a record of 8-3, departing on a 2 fight win streak over Billy Quarantillo and Charles Jourdain. With an incredible chin, the heart of a lion and non stop output on the feet, Burgos is allergic to boring fights. Now taking his talents up a division, the New Yorker will have even more weight behind his already stifling strikes. If he can replicate any of the success he’s found at featherweight, this is going to be an exciting journey.

The Co-main event for PFL 3 will see welterweight champion Sadibou Sy return to action. The Swede will take on former Brave CF welterweight champion, the “Jordanian Lion”, Jarrah Al Silawi.

Sadibou is another PFL veteran, finally realising gold in his 4th year with the organisation. Known as “The Swedish Denzel Washington”, the crafty striker managed to out point the likes of Nikolay Aleksakhin, Rory Macdonald and Dilano Taylor, en-route to the end goal. Having fought everyone there is to fight in the PFLs welterweight division, often underestimated in the divisions bigger picture, it was only right Sadibou would finally reach the heights he’d been so close to reaching with a skillset much more dangerous than he’s given credit for.

Jarrah Al-Silawi earnt his shot in the PFL through a sensational first round finish over Michael Lilly in the Challenger series last year. He then made his mark in the organisation itself, defeating Brazilian MMA legend Gleison Tibau via split decision in his promotional debut, before closing out the year with a rough first round KO loss Magomed Umalatov. Al-Silawi has been around the block when it comes to fighting established MMA competition, with finishes over talents such as Ismail Naurdiev, the UFCs Carlston Harris and Ares double champ Abdoul Abdouraguimov. This is a man who can get it done anywhere, an exciting talent with a huge amount of potential under the PFL banner, but how far do you think he can go?

So what are your thoughts on the initial matchups for the PFL’s first three events of 2023? Do you like them? Who would you have paired up if not? Be sure to let us know!