The PFL continue their busy schedule with the start of their Featherweight and Welterweight regular season going down tonight (April 19) at the Wintrust Arena.
All but one of the athletes competing successfully made weight, with Laureano Staropoli coming in at 175.2lbs ahead of his Welterweight clash against Murad Ramazanov. The contest will still go ahead but Staropoli will forfeit 20% of his purse and has been deducted one point from the league standings.
In the main event, Magomed Umalatov will face former Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov. The unbeaten Umalatov enters the riding a 5 fight win streak inside the Smart Cage, with three of those wins coming inside the distance. Koreshkov also has amassed 5 victories in as many contests with big wins against the likes of Sabah Homasi and Leonardo Cavalheiro.
In the co-main event, Brendan Loughnane returns to the smart cage to welcome Pedro Carvalho to the promotion. After a hugely successful 2022 which saw Loughnane crowned PFL champion, the Brit was dumped out of the 2023 tournament when he was stopped for the first time in his career against Jesus Pinedo. Carvalho also enters the tournament on the back of a loss to Aaron Pico at Bellator 299, the SBG man will be looking to get back to winning ways and look to start the 2024 season with a big upset.
Former Bellator Welterweight Champion Logan Storley will make his promotional debut against the unbeaten Shamil Musaev. After losing his title to Yaroslav Amosov, Storley bounced back to winning ways against Brennan Ward with a second round finish. After a four fight unbeaten run under KSW, Musaev had a two year hiatus but returned to the cage in 2023 and secured a first round finish against Alexey Kunchenko at RCC 16.
Elswhere on the card, Welshman Brett Johns moves up to Featherweight in his pursuit of PFL gold. After a successful spell with the UFC, ‘The Pikey’ then made the move to Bellator, spending just over a year with the promotion. After beating David Crol at PFL Europe 4, the Welshman now finds himself as part of the PFL Regular season. Standing opposite him inside the smart cage will be the unbeaten Timur Khizriev.
In an all Brazilian affair, Goiti Yamauchi will face Neiman Gracie in the opening round of the Welterweight tournament. 19 Bellator bout veteran Yamauchi will look to work his way back into the win column after suffering a nasty first round loss to Michael Venom Page at Bellator 292. Gracie’s form has dipped of late, with the Welterweight finding himself 2-3 in his last 5 but he does come into the bout on the back of a unanimous decision win against Dante Schiro.
PFL Regular Season Chicago Main Card:
Friday, April 19 – Live on ESPN / ESPN + / DAZN
Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT
Welterweight Regular Season Main Event: Magomed Umalatov (170.3 lbs) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170.6 lbs)
Featherweight Regular Season Co-Main Event: Brendan Loughnane (145.8 lbs) vs. Pedro Carvalho (145.6 lbs)
Welterweight Regular Season Bout: Logan Storley (170.6 lbs) vs. Shamil Musaev (170.8 lbs)
Featherweight Regular Season Bout: Gabriel Braga (145.4 lbs) vs. Justin Gonzales (145.4 lbs)
Welterweight Regular Season Bout: Goiti Yamauchi (170.6 lbs) vs. Neiman Gracie (170.2 lbs)
Featherweight Regular Season Bout: Bubba Jenkins (145.8 lbs) vs. Kai Kamaka III (145.8 lbs)
Early Card:
Live on ESPN+ / DAZN
7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT
Featherweight Regular Season Bout: Adam Borics (145.8 lbs) vs. Enrique Barzola (146 lbs)
Featherweight Regular Season Bout: Timur Khizriev (146 lbs) vs. Brett Johns (145.6 lbs)
Welterweight Regular Season Bout: Laureano Staropoli (175.2 lbs)* vs. Murad Ramazanov (170.8 lbs)
Welterweight Regular Season Bout: Don Madge (169.4 lbs) vs. Brennan Ward (170.6 lbs)
Featherweight Alternate Bout: Tyler Diamond (146 lbs) vs. Otto Rodrigues (145.2 lbs)
Welterweight Showcase Bout: Romaine Debienne (170.4 lbs) vs. Thad Jean (170.8 lbs)
