I’ll be a guest Celebrity Judge on the @PFLMMA Challenger Series this Friday night. Tune in on @fuboSports Network at 9pm ET and help me decide which fighter deserves a PFL contract #PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/52klQjnBb3
— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) January 24, 2023
Week 7 of Professional Fighters League’s 2023 season of the Challenger Series has found its eight participants.
The other three bouts on the lineup for the seventh 2023 iteration of PFL’s Challenger Series include: Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu rep Nicholas Kohring (13-2) vs. the returning Joey Angelo (6-1) who will be making his first appearance since 2017, Challenger Series Season 1 victor Taylor Johnson (8-3) battling recent Cage Warriors Fighting Championship California victor Trey Williams (6-3) and a pair of 3-0 knockout artists toeing the line as Monte Morrison (3-0) squares off against Roland Dunlap (3-0).
PFL’s light heavyweight division has seen arguably the most parity of any weight category since rebranding to a tournament-centric league in 2018. In the four seasons thus far, no champion has repeated, and every final has involved two different competitors. The inaugural season crowned Sean O'Connell as the champion, but not before he served as the commentator for a few matches on his respective nights of action. In 2019, after O’Connell hung up his gloves, Emiliano Sordi clawed out from the pack to wreck the opposition and claim the million-dollar prize.
The 2021 season introduced former UFC fighter Antonio Carlos Jr. to the championship club at 205 pounds, while Rob Wilkinson snagged the top spot by decimating every opponent all the way through his 2022 bracket. The winner of the Challenger Series contract may be eligible to compete in the 2023 season, depending on the victor and the remainder of the light heavyweight field.