Riyadh Season has revealed that the Skilled Fighters League (PFL) and the Basic Leisure Authority (GEA) will host an unprecedented pay- per-view mega occasion – PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions – from the state-of the-art Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 24. This unprecedented Champions vs Champions combat card options 4 co-main fights of present PFL Champions vs present Bellator Champions. As well as, the cardboard options two compelling match-ups of earlier PFL title challenges vs earlier Bellator title challengers.
The primary-ever PFL PPV Tremendous Combat occasion will characteristic seven matchups between present and former champions, in addition to title challengers from PFL and Bellator, and will likely be accessible on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN starting at 3 pm ET. As well as, three main showcase bouts will happen through the preliminary card airing within the U.S. on ESPNEWS and ESPN+ within the U.S. starting at 12 pm ET.
In at the moment’s panorama of combat video games, followers wish to see the very best fights potted in opposition to the very best. With PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, combat followers are going to obtain that on February 24 when two MMA giants descend on Saudi Arabia to see who comes out on high. Newly designed Tremendous Combat Championship belts and the way forward for PFL and Bellator spotlight this spectacle of three-round tremendous fights the place elbows are authorized and the winner-takes-all.
In the primary occasion, heavyweights collide when PFL’s Renan Ferreira (12-3), contemporary off his emphatic second spherical TKO victory through the 2023 PFL Championship meets the primary athlete in Bellator historical past to develop into champion in two weight divisions concurrently, Ryan Bader (31-7).
Newly topped PFL Mild Heavyweight kingpin Impa Kasanganay (15-3) returns to 185- kilos for the primary time since becoming a member of PFL when he challenges the person many followers take into account to be the very best middleweight on the planet, undefeated Johnny Eblen (14-0).
Two-time PFL champion Magomed Magomedkerimov (34-6), who’s at the moment within the midst of a six-fight unbeaten streak places his present run of success on the road in opposition to Bellator welterweight titlist Jason Jackson (17-4), the proud Jamaican not too long ago put an finish to the longest successful streak in MMA (27) when he gained the title from Yaroslav Amosov.
At featherweight, the satisfaction of Peru, Jesus Pinedo (23-6-1) returns to motion contemporary off his 2023 PFL Championship victory to tackle one in all Bellator’s most profitable fighter of all- time, Brazil’s Patricio Pitbull (35-7), the present Bellator Featherweight Champion and former Light-weight Champion.
Along with the 4 bouts that includes present PFL and Bellator champions, former heavyweight champ Bruno Cappelozza (15-6) welcomes former Bellator Mild Heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (17-2) to the 265-pound restrict after they conflict on February 24. A pair of heavy-handed former No. 1 contenders are additionally set to sq. off at 205-pounds when Brazil’s Thiago Santos (22-11) goes up in opposition to former Olympian Yoel Romero (15-7).
Rounding out the PPV portion of the spectacle will see the all the time thrilling Clay Collard (24- 11) problem former Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee (21-1) in a particular light-weight showdown of hanging specialists.
In the course of the Champions vs. Champions preliminary card, high featherweight contender from PFL Gabriel Braga (12-1) and high featherweight contender from Bellator Aaron Pico (12-4) will sq. off, whereas Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of the long-lasting boxer Muhammad Ali, makes his professional debut at 155-pounds. Champions vs. Champions additionally will mark the return to the PFL SmartCage for Claressa Shields, the world’s biggest girls’s boxer, rounding out an excellent assortment of expertise in MMA and fight sports activities.
HE Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Basic Leisure Authority (GEA), stated: “Riyadh Season is placing on a few of the greatest combat occasions round and the PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions definitely belongs in that class. We’re delighted to be the host for this primary of its sort occasion, which can see a few of the most enjoyable matchups and break new floor on the planet of fight sports activities.”
PFL CEO Peter Murray stated: “The Center East is the combat capital of the world, and the Skilled Fighters League is proud to carry the world’s finest fight sports activities stars to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Riyadh Season to host the first-ever PFL PPV Tremendous Combat mega-global occasion. PFL Champions versus Bellator Champions is recreation altering for fighters and followers. I want to thank HE Turki Alalshikh, the GEA and SRJ for this unimaginable alternative to develop the game of MMA within the The Kingdom and world wide.
Danny Townsend, CEO at SRJ Sports activities Investments, stated: “Understanding that the fervour for fight sports activities runs deep throughout Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA area, we’re thrilled to carry Champions vs Champions to Riyadh subsequent month, for what guarantees to be an unforgettable night time of combat motion. Champions vs Champions will likely be a very international sporting spectacle, watched by thousands and thousands of followers world wide, and performed out in entrance of one in all fight sports activities’ greatest but nonetheless quickest rising worldwide audiences. For us as SRJ Sports activities Investments, backing the expansion of game-changing manufacturers like PFL is middle to our ambitions of unlocking international alternatives via sports activities which have sturdy regional relevance right here within the MENA-region, contributing to the broader sports activities economic system and galvanizing the subsequent era of Saudis.”
Shay Segev, DAZN Group CEO, stated: “We’re delighted to as soon as once more associate with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season for the PFL Champions vs Champions occasion. The PFL is without doubt one of the most enjoyable and revolutionary sports activities manufacturers round. This, coupled with HE Turki Alalshikh’s imaginative and prescient, will make 24 February an evening to recollect. Combat sports activities followers the world over will quickly be capable of tune in for a very distinctive run of exhibits dwell from Riyadh on DAZN, together with this PFL Mega occasion”.
PPV Card – ESPN+ PPV and DAZN – 3 pm ET
Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Renan Ferreira (PFL World Champ) vs. Ryan Bader (Bellator Champ)
Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL Mild Heavyweight World Champ) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator Champ)
Welterweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Magomed Magomedkerimov (PFL World Champ) vs. Jason Jackson (Bellator Champ)
Featherweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Jesus Pinedo (PFL World Champ) vs.
Patricio Pitbull (Bellator Champ)
Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World Champ) vs. Vadim Nemkov (former Bellator Champ)
Mild Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero
(Bellator title contender)
Light-weight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee (former Bellator Champ)
Early Card – ESPNEWS and ESPN+ (US) – 12 pm ET
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Gabriel Braga (PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico
(Bellator title contender)
Light-weight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (Professional Debut) vs. Chris Morris (Professional Debut)
Light-weight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Newbie Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
As a part of the historic funding settlement introduced final 12 months, Skilled Fighters League and SRJ Sports activities Investments (“SRJ”) will host a number of PFL PPV Tremendous Combat Division mega-global occasions in Saudi Arabia every year.
Riyadh Season attracts folks from everywhere in the world to expertise a variety of worldwide martial arts and boxing occasions. It additionally gives varied leisure choices and worldwide experiences. In the course of the winter months, guests can get pleasure from hundreds of live shows, exhibitions, and different occasions in Riyadh. This distinctive leisure consists of participation from celebrities and well-known manufacturers. To e book tickets for occasions and experiences within the area, you should use the WeBook utility via this hyperlink: http:// onelink.to/wbkapp.
