PFL have announced their full card for their return to Newcastle, with Savannah Marshall set to face Mirela Vargas in the main event of the evening.The boxing champion will make her long awaited martial arts debut, having spent a number of years at the pinnacle of boxing. Marshall moves into MMA just a couple of years after her long-time boxing rival Claressa Shields, with the two looking destined to meet inside the Smart Cage in the future.
Looking to cause an upset on June 8 will be the Brazilian, Vargas. Having won her professional debut in just 12 seconds back in 2021. The 26 year old took a year away from the sport before returning in 2023 and competing twice.
In the co-main event, Kane Mousah will return to the Smart Cage for the second time, when he faces off against 2023 PFL European semi-finalist, Dylan Tuke, in a Lightweight contest.
The first round draws for the Women’s Flyweight tournament and men’s Bantamweight tournament have also been announced, with several extremely intriguing matchups being made.
Returning champion Khurshed Kakhorov will square off against Kikadze Bondo in the first round whilst 2023 finalist Frans Mlambo makes his return to the Smart Cage against Luke Shanks. Dean Garnett will make his promotional debut against Ayton De Paepe, with the final match up for the Bantamweight Championship seeing Alexander Luster facing Alperen Karabulut.
Unbeaten prospect Shanelle Dyer will start her pursuit of the 2024 Championship and $100,000 prize money, against the most experienced lady in the tournament, Mariam Torchinava at the Utilita Arena. Sammy Jo Luxton has a difficult opening assignment as she takes on the returning Lizzy Gevers. Valentina Scatizzi will look to go one step further than she did last year by winning the 2024 Championship. In her first bout of the year, she takes on Marie Loiseau. Dee Begley will welcome the unbeaten prospect, Paulina Wisniewska to the Smart Cage.
UK MMA veterans Jack Grant and Charlie Leary will look to book their place in the Welterweight semi-finals as they battle it out in the final bout of the opening round of the Welterweight tournament.
The card will also see the arrival of several new faces, with unbeaten prospects Ben Wooliss and Ibragim Ibragimov both set to make their promotional debuts, when they face Maher Belkhadir and Josh Reed, respectively. Mark Ewen will make the move from Bellator to PFL and will face Mathias Poiron in a Lightweight bout.
Previewing the stacked fight card, Head of Fighter Operations for PFL Europe, Dan Hardy said:
“We can’t wait to come back to Newcastle on June 8th, where PFL Europe officially launched in 2023. Our Bantamweight and Women’s Flyweight rosters are packed with quality and represent the best that the elite European MMA scene has to offer, and with the Regular Season format all of these fighters know what’s at the end of the line - the European title, $100k and a pathway to our Global Season.”
“But it wouldn’t be a PFL Europe event without a stacked evening of showcase bouts, and we have a great selection of future stars, simmering tensions and a local hero in Savannah Marshall making her MMA debut.”
