PFL announces 2025 lightweight tournament field

Three former champions highlight the 2025 PFL lightweight tournament field.

Three former champions highlight the 2025 PFL lightweight tournament field.

On Wednesday, the PFL announced the eight-man field will consist of 2024 PFL champion [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] (24-4-2), former Bellator champion and 2024 PFL finalist [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (15-4), UFC veteran and former Cage Warriors champion [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (20-6), former Bellator title challenger [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (24-4), 2023 PFL finalist [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (25-14), UFC veteran [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] (18-7), Bellator veteran [autotag]Alfie Davis[/autotag] (17-5-1), and Bellator veteran [autotag]Jay-Jay-Wilson[/autotag] (10-1).

[autotag]Sergio Cossio[/autotag] (27-10-1) and [autotag]Robert Watley[/autotag] (15-3) will serve as the tournament alternates.

The lightweight tournament quarterfinals take place April 18 at 2025 PFL 3 from Universal Studios Florida in Orlando and stream on ESPN/ESPN+. No matchups have yet been revealed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGirz29RuUK/?img_index=1

Last year, Rabadanov and Primus advanced to the PFL lightweight championship, with Rabadanov claiming the title by third-round knockout.

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NAC hands suspensions to Bellator’s Jay Jay Wilson, UFC’s Irina Alekseeva for failed drug tests

Two fighter suspensions were issued during the latest Nevada Athletic Commission meeting on Tuesday.

Two fighter suspensions were issued during the latest Nevada Athletic Commission meeting.

Bellator lightweight [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] and UFC women’s bantamweight [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] both received suspensions for failed drug tests, the NAC announced Tuesday.

Wilson (10-1) tested positive for metenolone, an androgen and anabolic steroid prohibited on the World Anti-Doping Agency list, in a urine sample collected April 1 prior to his then-scheduled bout against Adam Piccolotti at 2024 PFL 2.

He was given a nine-month suspension retroactive to the date of the failed drug test and will be eligible to compete on Jan. 1, 2025. Wilson will also have to pay $157 in prosecution fees.

Alekseeva (5-1, 1-1 UFC) was given a 12-month suspension after testing positive for elevated testosterone, indicating exogenous administration, from a urine sample collected on June 21, 2023.

The suspension is retroactive to when she was notified about the failure, which came after a loss to Melissa Millins on Oct. 14, 2023 at a UFC Fight Night event. She’ll be eligible to compete again Oct. 15. On top of the suspension, Alekseeva was fined $157.

According to the UFC, former anti-doping partner U.S. Anti-Doping Agency handled Alekseeva’s drug test in an “unacceptable” manner that resulted in layers of confusion.

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Diego Lopes’ Dana White-approved UFC 300 fence-hopping fine reduced to $2,500

The Nevada Athletic Commission is going to have to cut Diego Lopes a check after Friday’s hearing … sort of.

The Nevada Athletic Commission is going to have to cut [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] a check after Friday’s hearing … sort of.

Lopes was fined $5,000 when he hopped over the fence after his UFC 300 finish of Sodiq Yusuff in April.

Friday, the NAC cut that suspension in half in an adjudication with Lopes. Officially, his fine will be $2,500 plus legal fees of $157.04. Because the commission already withheld $5,000 from Lopes, which was 5 percent of his $100,000 purse, he’s due the difference.

At a prior hearing, NAC executive director Jeff Mullen said UFC CEO Dana White said he’d pay Lopes’ fine. Video showed Lopes appeared to ask White for permission to jump over the fence before he did it.

“After (Lopes) won, he jumped up and gestured toward Dana White, like, ‘Can I come over? Can I come over?'” Mullen said. “And White gestured like, ‘Come over.’ Then, I immediately stood up and took a step over that way and Dana White said, ‘I will pay his fine. I will pay his fine.’ Then our inspectors came around and proceeded to (assist) as I was trying to get him back in the cage, also. Our inspectors came around and escorted him back in the cage.”

Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) knocked out Yusuff (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) just 89 seconds into their featherweight fight at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After a loss in his UFC debut, Lopes has three straight first-round finishes, all around the 90-second range.

Also at Friday’s hearing, the commission extended the temporary suspensions of [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag], [autotag]Igor Severino[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] for resolution at a future meeting.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 28-Sept. 3)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Aug. 28-Sept. 3.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 27-March 5)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 27-March 5.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 23-29)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 23-29.

Bellator 286 post-event facts: Patricio ‘Pitbull’ adds to legacy with 12th title-fight win

Patricio Freire added to his records for most wins and title-fight victories in Bellator history with a dominant defense at Bellator 286.

The final stretch of Bellator’s 2022 schedule kicked off Saturday with Bellator 286, which took place at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., and featured a 13-fight lineup.

The main event saw the most decorated fighter in company history further enhance his legacy when [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision over [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to defend his featherweight title for the first time in what’s his third title reign in the division.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 286.

Bellator 276: Exciting finisher Jay Jay Wilson explains why lightweight will likely be new home

Former featherweight Jay Jay Wilson thinks the move to lightweight for Bellator 276 might be a permanent one.

After a pair of previous fight bookings fell apart, New Zealand’s [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] is excited to fight again for a few reasons.

At Bellator 276, Wilson (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will return to action to face Gadzhi Rabadanov (16-4-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the first lightweight bout of his career. The move could very well be a permanent one for the undefeated fighter, who has enjoyed the camp leading into this fight without having to worry about the number on the scale.

“This week has definitely not been as rough,” Wilson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Thursday’s media day. “Usually by this time I’m pretty dead, but I still got energy, you know? I was hitting pads. I’ve only got about five more pounds to cut, so it’s going to be an easy, easy weight cut.”

In what would have been Wilson’s second fight of 2021, he was scheduled to face Adam Borics in the co-main event of Bellator 265. However, he missed weight and the fight was canceled after refusing the “ridiculous deal” Borics proposed that he says would have left him fighting for free.

This time around, everything appears in place, as Wilson enters his first fight of 2022. The exciting finisher has stopped six of his seven Bellator opponents, four of which were bouts that did not make it out of the first round.

Check out Wilson’s full media day interview in the video above.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 7-13.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 1-7)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Nov. 1-7.