Changes hit PFL’s Utah debut: Salt Lake City gets ‘El Dirte’ Sanchez

The lineup for the PFL’s event a month from now in Utah has been adjusted and once again is complete.

The lineup for the PFL’s event a month from now in Utah has been adjusted and once again is complete.

Former UFC fighter [autotag]Andrew Sanchez[/autotag] (14-7), who won Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” against Khalil Rountree, will step in to give [autotag]Karl Albrektsson[/autotag] (14-5) his third opponent of the card. First, Ibragim Chuzhigaev pulled out, and now “El Dirte” Sanchez is in for [autotag]Laurynas Urbonavicius[/autotag].

The PFL makes it’s debut in Salt Lake City on June 21 at Huntsman Center. The card is headlined by a lightweight showdown between [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag]. Along with lightweights, light heavyweights are on tap trying to get to the 2024 postseason.

Sanchez went 5-5 over more than five years in the UFC, and along with the “TUF” title, had a Performance of the Night bonus for his only finish in the promotion, a knockout of Wellington Turman in August 2020.

After a two-fight skid, Sanchez won a fight under the Eagle FC banner, then stepped in on short notice a year ago for his PFL debut and took a split decision from Taylor Johnson.

With the changes, the PFL Week 5 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Mads Burnell vs. Clay Collard
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Jakob Nedoh
  • Bruno Miranda vs. Patricky Pitbull
  • Josh Silveira vs. Rob Wilkinson
  • Simon Biyong vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov
  • Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Alex Polizzi

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Brent Primus vs. Solomon Renfro
  • Tom Breese vs. Sadibou Sy
  • Elvin Espinoza vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
  • Michael Dufort vs. Adam Piccolotti
  • Sergio Cossio vs. Anthony Romero
  • Karl Albrektsson vs. Andrew Sanchez
  • Julian Ruiz vs. Brayhan Zurcher

[lawrence-related id=2732820,2732923]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 22-28)

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 a promotion from May 22-28.