PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE ANNOUNCES FULL CARD FOR PFL 1 FEATHERWEIGHTS AND LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS APRIL 1 ON ESPN 

• 2022 PFL Featherweight Champion Brendan Loughnane and Marlon Moraes headline PFL 1

 The Professional Fighters League, the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced the card for its 2023 Regular Season kickoff, PFL 1, taking place on Saturday, April 1 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. 2022 PFL Featherweight World Champion Brendan Loughnane headlines the card against Marlon Moraes, as he looks for his second PFL World Championship.
 

In the co-main event, 2022 PFL Light Heavyweight World Champion Robert Wilkinson returns to the PFL SmartCage against Thiago Santos. Santos will be making his highly anticipated PFL debut.
 

Further action will see 2021 PFL Featherweight Champion Movlid Khaybulaev take on Ryoji Kudo, as both fighters look to take their first step towards a berth in the 2023 PFL Playoffs.
 

In a contest between two Americans, 2022 PFL Featherweight Runner-Up, Bubba Jenkins matches up with Chris Wade, a former PFL Featherweight Finalist, for a rematch of the 2021 PFL Featherweight Semifinal.
 

“The Professional Fighters League is set to kick off the 2023 Regular Season at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Saturday, April 1 with an action-packed card live on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S., with international distribution to 160 countries globally,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “We look forward to delivering fans access to our unprecedented MMA season and follow the season-long journeys of world-class fighters competing for one step closer to the $1 million prize.”
 

“The 2023 PFL Regular Season is shaping up for our best season yet, and I’m excited to watch our Featherweight and Light Heavyweight divisions compete on April 1,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo. “From returning PFL World Champions, to league debuts from MMA stars, fight fans across the world are in for a treat starting with PFL 1 in Las Vegas.” 
 

The 2023 PFL Season will begin on April 1 on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ in primetime. The remaining PFL Regular Season events live from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will take place on Friday, April 7 and April 14. 
 

Full card:

ESPN Card:

• Brendan Loughnane vs. Marlon Moraes
• Robert Wilkinson vs. Thiago Santos
• Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Ryoji Kudo
• Chris Wade vs. Bubba Jenkins
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Will Fleury

ESPN+ Card:

• Krzystof Jotko vs. TBA
• Marthin Hamlet vs. Mohammed Fakhreddine
• Joshua Silveria vs. Sam Kei
• Alejandro Flores vs. Daniel Torres
• Jo Sungbin vs. TBA
• TBA Showcase vs. TBA Showcase

PFL is the #1 fastest growing company in MMA and the #2 MMA company on a worldwide basis. PFL is the only in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year, making PFL a “win and advance” meritocracy like all other major sports. PFL fighter roster hails from over 20 countries and 25% of PFL fighters are independently ranked in the top 25 of their weight-class. The Company leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage powering real-time betting and next-gen viewing experience. PFL airs live in the U.S. on ESPN and ESPN+ and is broadcast and streamed to 140 countries with 25 leading international media partners.