Tag: Josh Rettinghouse

2025 PFL World Tournament 2 weigh-in results: Yet another new main event in Orlando

The 2025 PFL bantamweight tournament got a big change when Josh Rettinghouse wasn’t cleared to fight.

It’s been an interesting week at Universal Studios on Florida, where members of the PFL brass must be wondering if Mickey Mouse is trying to gum up the works of their operation.

The PFL’s second event of the season now has its third different main event this week after [autotag]Josh Rettinghouse[/autotag] (20-5) wasn’t medically cleared for his bantamweight fight against [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] (23-6). Rettinghouse had been a replacement for Magomed Magomedov.

Instead, Higo now will fight [autotag]Marcirley Alves da Silva[/autotag] (12-4) in the headliner. He was an alternate. Before Higo-Rettinghouse, and now Higo-Alves da Silva, were in the headlining spot, Taila Santos vs. Juliana Velasquez was the main event before Santos fell off the card.

Friday’s event, which takes place at Universal Studios Orlando (ESPN+, ESPN2), features the quarterfinals of both the bantamweight and women’s flyweight eight-fighter tournaments.

2025 PFL World Tournament 2 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 11 p.m. ET)

  • Leandro Higo (135.6) vs. Marcirley Alves da Silva
  • Liz Carmouche (126) vs. Ilara Joanne (124.8)
  • Mando Gutierrez (135.8) vs. Francesco Nuzzi (135)
  • Kasum Kasumov vs. Justin Wetzell

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Katerina Shakalova (125.8) vs. Juliana Velasquez (126)
  • Jake Hadley (135.8) vs. Matheus Mattos (135.6)
  • Jena Bishop (125.6) vs. Kana Watanabe (125.2)
  • Diana Avsaragova (125.4) vs. Elora Dana (124.6)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2025 PFL World Tournament 2.

2025 PFL World Tournament 2 headliner Josh Rettinghouse reveals retirement agreement with wife

PFL World Tournament 2 headliner Josh Rettinghouse knows it’s time to win the $500K grand prize or move on from his fighting career.

Crunching numbers by day and cracking faces at night, 2025 PFL World Tournament 2 headliner [autotag]Josh Rettinghouse[/autotag] has quite the contrast between his two careers – the latter of which he doesn’t really need.

Rettinghouse (20-5), who replaced Magomed Magomedov, finds himself elevated into the main event of 2025 PFL 2 after an injury forced original main eventer Taila Santos out of her scheduled fight against Juliana Velasquez.

A shuffle of the fight card now has Rettinghouse’s first-round bantamweight tournament fight against Leandro Higo in the marquee spot. It was an unexpected move for the certified public accountant, who fancies himself as the best golfer in MMA, but he’s excited to headline a PFL event.

“(It’s a) big opportunity, feels right in my mind,” Rettinghouse told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s exciting. It’s always exciting to be co-main, main event, on any show, but to do it on that stage is pretty cool.”

Rettinghouse, a competitor on Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” has faced a few notable opponents throughout his career such as Marlon Moraes, Sergey Morozov and Brady Hiestand. At 35, Rettinghouse knows his fighting days are numbered, but hopes to make a noise in the PFL tournament, starting with a solid opponent in Higo.

“I think it’s a great fight for me,” Rettinghouse said. “I think style-wise, it makes a lot of sense for me. I think he’s actually kind of similar. I don’t feel like he’s super dangerous anywhere. I think he’s really good everywhere; I don’t think he’s great anywhere. I think it makes for a fun fight.

“I’ve been on this kind of outside looking in for a while, and I kept telling myself as I’m kind of getting toward the end of my career, if I’m going to make a splash, it needs be against a somewhere near the top 15 echelon of fighter – and I feel he’s right on that cusp.”

If things go well in the tournament and he pockets the $500,000 winning prize, Rettinghouse plans on taking his career one step at a time from that point. However, if he loses, he has come to an agreement with his wife that he’ll most likely hang up the gloves since they’re in a comfortable place financially with their regular day jobs.

“I keep telling her if I lose, I’m basically done,” Rettinghouse said. “I don’t think really feel like I can afford a loss at this point in my career, and so, you know, as long as I keep winning, we’ll see what happens.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2025 PFL World Tournament 2.

7 former UFC fighters among notables added to XMMA 5 in South Carolina

Over a half-dozen former UFC fighters and an ex-WSOF champion have been added to XMMA’s second event of 2022.

XMMA is back and bringing another event filled with notable names to South Carolina.

This time, six UFC alumni, a former WSOF champion, and two Bellator veterans are on tap for the July 23 event. XMMA 5 will take place at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., and streams free on YouTube.

The promotion launched in January 2021 with XMMA 1 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was headlined by Andre Fialho vs. James Vick. XMMA 2 took place in July 2021 with a Ben Saunders vs. Ramsey Nijem main event. XMMA 3 followed shortly thereafter in October, headlined by Cody Gibson vs. John Dodson. XMMA 4 took place on April 2, headlined by John Dodson vs. Francisco Rivera.

Keeping with notable names as top-billing, XMMA 5 features 14 fighters who made at least one appearance in the UFC. Scroll below to see which UFC alums and other notables are currently scheduled to compete.