The league on Thursday announced the headliners and co-main events for cards scheduled for April 1, April 7 and April 14. All three events will take place at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and air live on ESPN and ESPN+.
PFL 1 on April 1 will feature a featherweight showdown between 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane and former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes. In the co-main event, defending light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson will welcome 24-time UFC veteran Thiago Santos to the organization.
The following week, PFL 2 will be topped by a clash between 2022 heavyweight winner Ante Delija and Yorgan De Castro, a former UFC competitor who is coming off a victory over Junior dos Santos under the Eagle FC banner. In the co-feature, defending lightweight queen Larissa Pacheco will attempt to build on the momentum of her upset victory against Kayla Harrison when she meets former Bellator champ Julia Budd at 145 pounds.
Finally, PFL 3 will be headlined by a lightweight scrap pitting 2022 champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier against prized free agent addition Shane Burgos, who went 8-3 during his UFC tenure. The co-main event will see reigning PFL welterweight king Sadibou Sy lock horns with former Brave Combat Federation title holder Jarrah Al-Silawi.
“With all six of last year’s PFL World Champions returning to the SmartCage, along with the league debuts of MMA stars Shane Burgos and Thiago Santos, fans across the world will see the best this sport has to offer when the 2023 PFL Regular Season kicks off from Last Vegas on April 1,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo.