PFL 1 Lineup Undergoes Multiple Changes, Including Addition of Blagoy Ivanov

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Updated PFL San Antonio Fight Card

•Bruno Cappelozza is OUT. Blagoy Ivanov steps in and will now face Sergei Bilostenniy

Advertisement

•Denise Keilholtz is OUT. llara Joanne steps in and will now face Talia Santos

•Kaytlin Neil v Vega Arteaga off the card
New Matchup:… pic.twitter.com/r9GzPJJotn

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 26, 2024

The card for Week 1 of the upcoming Professional Fighters League season has undergone several changes, the organization announced Tuesday.

UFC and Bellator veteran Blagoy Ivanov will replace Bruno Cappelozza and face Sergey Bilostenniy in a preliminary heavyweight bout. Meanwhile, Ilara Joanne will step in for former Bellator title challenger Denise Kielholtz and lock horns with ex-UFC contender Taila Santos in a flyweight clash.

Finally, a proposed bout pitting Kaytlin Neil against Veta Arteaga has been removed from the event, while a bantamweight showcase fight between Bryce Meredith and Ty Johnson has been added to the card.

PFL 1 takes place on April 4 at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas and features heavyweights and women’s flyweights. In the main event, Ante Delija will meet Valentin Moldavsky.

A veteran of 26 professional bouts, Ivanov will return to action for the first time since July 2023, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Romanov at UFC on ESPN 48. The 37-year-old Bulgarian previously competed for World Series of Fighting and the PFL from 2015 to 2017, winning WSOF heavyweight gold in June 2016. He is coming off a 3-5 stint with the UFC.

Bilostenniy, meanwhile, split a pair of fights under the Bellator banner in 2023, most recently scoring a first-round stoppage of Kasim Aras this past September. The 28-year-old Russian owns an 11-3 mark overall, with eight victories coming via knockout or technical knockout.