PFL continues to build toward the promotion’s second season, and company executives today announced 29 names that will feature in the 2019 schedule.
“We are proud that PFL is the organization fighters want to be part of, as these guys have the talent and star-power to have chosen any MMA organization,” PFL President Ray Sefo stated. “PFL has only 68 slots this year for fighters, and the harsh reality is it is highly competitive to get into this league. Fighters from around the world want to control their own destiny, and after seeing six of their peers last year cash $1 million checks and win championship belts, they have come hungry to compete.
“Storylines are forming, rivalries are brewing, training is starting … and we’re not done yet. We will continue with Round 3 of ‘The Selection’ as we finalize the PFL 2019 roster.”
At featherweight, PFL newcomers Alex Gilpin (12-1) and Luis Rafael Laurentino (33-1) join returning athletes Alexandre Almeida (20-9), Alexandre Bezerra (22-6) and Andre Harrison (20-1).
At lightweight, the PFL fighters are Nate Andrews (15-1), Loik Radzhabov (11-0) and Bao Yincang (13-5). They join retuning competitors Ramsey Nijem (10-7) and Chris Wade (14-5).
At welterweight new names include David Michaud (14-5) and Zane Kamaka (13-3), while familiar faces are John Howard (27-14-1), Handesson Ferreira (13-2-1), Sadibou Sy (7-4-1) and Bojan Velickovic (16-8-2).
Light heavyweight newcomers are Jordan Johnson (10-0) and Viktor Nemkov (27-7), alongside returning fighters Bozigit Ataev (20-3), Maxim Grishin (28-7-1), Smealinho Rama (11-5-1) and Dan Spohn (18-6).
And finally, new heavyweights Ante Delija (15-3), Ben Edwards (3-0) and Denis Goltsov (22-5) will compete alongside Muhammad DeReese (7-0), Alex Nicholson (13-7), Jared Rosholt (17-6) and Kelvin Tiller (10-2).
These athletes all join the cast that was revealed in Round 1 of PFL’s 2019 roster reveal earlier this month.
Check out the fill announcement in the video above.
The PFL’s second season kicks off May 9 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The promotion recently struck a deal with ESPN that will see events broadcast stateside on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+, with TSN broadcasting events in Canada.
For more on the PFL’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
