RIYADH: As part of Riyadh Season, the Professional Fighters League and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority will host what is described as an unprecedented pay-per-view mega event, in which PFL champions will take on Bellator champions in a Super Fight at the capital’s Kingdom Arena on Feb. 24.
The card features four main fights in which current PFL and Bellator champions will face off. It also features two compelling match-ups of previous PFL and Bellator title challengers.
The first-ever PFL pay-per-view Super Fight event will feature a total of seven fights, beginning at 11 p.m. Saudi time, and be available to buy on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN.
GEA Chairman Turki Alalshikh said: “Riyadh Season is putting on some of the biggest fight events around and the PFL champions vs. Bellator champions certainly belongs in that category.
“We are delighted to be the host for this first-of-its-kind event, which will see some of the most exciting match-ups and break new ground in the world of combat sports.”
PFL CEO Peter Murray said: “The Middle East is the fight capital of the world, and the Professional Fighters League is proud to bring the world’s best combat sports stars to the Kingdom for Riyadh Season to host the first-ever PFL PPV Super Fight mega-global event.”
An event in which PFL champions take on their Bellator counterparts is a game-changer for fighters and fans, he added.
Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said: “We are delighted to once again partner with Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season for the PFL champions vs. champions event.”
Before the main card, three major showcase bouts will take place on a preliminary card that will be broadcast on ESPNews and ESPN+, starting at 8 p.m. Saudi time.
The event follows PFL’s recent acquisition of Bellator. Newly designed Super Fight Championship belts will be awarded to the winners of the three-round fights in which elbows are legal and winner takes all.
In the main event, heavyweights will collide when PFL’s Renan Ferreira (12-3), fresh off an emphatic second-round technical knock out victory at the 2023 PFL Championship meets the first fighter in Bellator history to become champion in two weight divisions simultaneously, Ryan Bader (31-7).
Newly crowned PFL light heavyweight kingpin Impa Kasanganay (15-3) returns to 185 pounds for the first time since joining the organization as he challenges the man many fans consider the best middleweight on the planet, undefeated Johnny Eblen (14-0).
Two-time PFL champion Magomed Magomedkerimov (34-6), currently on a six-fight unbeaten streak, will put his run of success on the line against Bellator welterweight titlist Jason Jackson (17-4). The Jamaican recently put an end to the longest winning streak in mixed martial arts (27) when he won the title from Yaroslav Amosov.
At featherweight, the pride of Peru, Jesus Pinedo (23-6-1), returns to action fresh from his 2023 PFL Championship victory to take on one of Bellator’s most successful fighters of all time, Brazil’s Patricio Pitbull (35-7), the current Featherweight Champion and former Lightweight Champion.
In addition to the four bouts featuring current PFL and Bellator champions, former heavyweight champ Bruno Cappelozza (15-6) will welcome former Bellator light heavyweight title holder Vadim Nemkov (17-2) to the 265-pound limit.
A pair of former No. 1 contenders are also set to square off at 205 pounds, when Brazil’s Thiago Santos (22-11) takes on former Olympian Yoel Romero (15-7).
Rounding out the PPV bill, the always exciting Clay Collard (24- 11) will challenge former Bellator Featherweight Champion A. J. McKee (21-1) in a special lightweight showdown of striking specialists.
On the preliminary card, top PFL featherweight contender Gabriel Braga (12-1) will face off against his Bellator counterpart, Aaron Pico (12-4). Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, makes his pro debut at 155-pounds in a bout against Chris Morris, also making his pro debut.
The event also marks a return to the PFL SmartCage for Claressa Shields, considered by many the world’s greatest women’s boxer.
Pay-per-view Card (available on ESPN+ PPV and DAZN from 11 p.m. Saudi time):
Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Renan Ferreira (PFL world champ) vs. Ryan Bader (Bellator champ)
Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL light 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)
Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee (former Bellator champ)
Early Card (available on ESPNews and ESPN+ from 8 p.m. Saudi time):
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Gabriel Braga (PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (pro debut) vs. Chris Morris (pro debut)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
