- Professional Fighters League returns on ESPN with a three-event run, beginning April 1 in Las Vegas.
- British MMA star Brendan Loughnane headlines the first show at the Virgin Hotels.
LAS VEGAS — The upcoming Professional Fighters League season will kick off its new season with a residency at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas beginning April 1.
"The Professional Fighters League is excited to return this April to Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world, to kick off the 2023 PFL Regular Season with a three-event residency at the reimagined Virgin Hotel Las Vegas," PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a statement to Insider.
"The PFL's extensive roster of world-class fighters will be on display for all US events live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+, along with international distribution to 160 countries globally for MMA fans around the world."
PFL MMA is a rising US-based combat sports promotion that operates differently from other firms like UFC, Bellator MMA, and One Championship. Rather than holding standalone matches, PFL pits fighters against one another in a league format, not unlike the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
Fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and then vie for an end-of-season championship fight that's worth $1 million to each tournament winner.
The company recently made headlines with its acquisition of social media sensation and boxing prospect Jake Paul, who will be the first in a wave of big-name signings that will compete in "PFL's PPV Super Fights."
The league will continue to operate in its traditional format, though, with reigning champion and British MMA star Brendan Loughnane headlining the first event of the 2023 season.
Loughnane, Pacheco, and Delija begin their PFL championship defenses in separate fights
Loughnane will fight the former UFC competitor Marlon Moraes in a featherweight bout April 1.
In the co-main event, 2022 light heavyweight king Robert Wilkinson takes on Thiago Santos at 205 pounds.
On April 7, the second of PFL's three events in Las Vegas this spring, 2022 PFL champ Ante Delija fights the former UFC heavyweight and Eagle FC fighter, Yorgan de Castro.
Meanwhile, Larissa Pacheco — who defeated Kayla Harrison in a stunning upset to claim $1 million last season — begins the defense of her women's featherweight crown with a potential banana skin against Julia Budd.
Then, on April 14, Olivier Aubin-Mercier — who won the men's lightweight championship in 2022 — fights Shane Burgos, who left the UFC last year with back-to-back wins over Charles Jourdain and Billy Quarantillo.
In the co-main event that night, 2022 welterweight ruler Sadibou Sy fights Jarrah Al-Silawi.
"With all six of last year's PFL world champions returning to the SmartCage, along with the league debuts of MMA stars Shane Burgos and Thiago Santos, fans will see the best this sport has to offer when the 2023 PFL season kicks off from Las Vegas on April 1," Ray Sefo, PFL President of Fighter Operations, said in a statement sent to Insider.