PFL Announces 2023 Challenger Series, Featuring Only Man To Defeat Alex Pereira
They started the Challenger Series this year.
The PFL is continuing its Challenger Series.
The MMA promotion will kick off 2023 on January 27 where a group of fighters will compete for a chance to join the $1 million season tournament. This first event will feature welterweights looking to get into the promotion, where Sadibou Sy reigns at the top as the champion since just this year.
The main event will feature Lucas Barbosa against Itso Babulaidze.
Barbosa is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert who is also a multi-time grappling champion who has wins over UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns and former Bellator champion Rafael Lovato.
Babulaidze earned a knockout in his PFL debut on a preliminary card in August.
Also on the card, current Jungle Fights welterweight champion Quemel Ottoni will face Jozef Wittner.
Ottoni is the only fighter to hold a win over UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira in MMA. He defeated him in 2015 by third-round rear naked choke.
Undefeated Cage Fury Fighting Championships welterweight champion Eric Alqeuin takes on Thad Jean.
The last bout on the four-fight card is Mostafa Rashed Neda vs Nicholas Alley.
The PFL Challenger Series will air on FUBO TV.