PFL Signs Eagle FC Heavyweight King Rizvan Kuniev, Two Other Regional Champions

Professional Fighters League has added champions from three regional promotions to its roster.

The promotion announced on Tuesday that it has signed Eagle FC heavyweight champ Rizvan Kuniev, Standout Fighting Tournament lightweight title holder Manoel Sousa and Jungle Fights welterweight king Quemeul Ottoni. The Ottoni signing was recently reported by Sherdog.com. It is unclear when the three new signings will make their respective promotional debuts.

“We are excited to add these elite fighters to our global roster,” PFL president of fighter operations Ray Sefo said. “The PFL will put these athletes on the global stage.”

Russia’s Kuniev will bring an 11-fight winning streak into his PFL debut. After a third-round technical knockout victory against Edivan Santos on Dana White’s Contender Series failed to net a UFC contract in September 2021, Kuniev captured the Eagle FC belt with a first-round submission of Anthony Hamilton this past March.

The 25-year-old Sousa is undefeated in nine professional outings. He claimed the SFT throne with a first-round knockout of Brendo Bispo de Souza in July 2021 before moving on to Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he has scored back-to-back finishes of Trevor Ollison and Mauro Chaulet this year.

Ottoni is perhaps best known for his submission win over Alex Peireira under the Jungle Fight banner in 2015, making him the only person to defeat the current UFC middleweight champ in MMA competition. The 30-year-old Sao Paulo native ahs won five straight fights and is coming off a championship win over Jose Diaz at Jungle Fight 107 this past May.