For the last couple of years, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has rapidly established itself as an emerging hotspot for sporting events, most especially those of the combat kind. Since 2022, some of the biggest bouts and the most high-profile matches have emanated from the largest country in the Middle East, and it’s easy to see why. 

Middle Eastern fans have proven themselves to be some of the most passionate in the world, and the energy that they bring to live sporting events is quite frankly unlike anything else in the world. It’s no surprise that some of the best athletes in the world are jumping at the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of such a market. 

This February, United States-based MMA (mixed martial arts) promotion the Professional Fighters League (PFL) will be just the latest to take their product to Saudi Arabia, and they’re pulling out all the stops. 

For the first time in history, the PFL head to Pay Per View (PPV) live from Riyadh with perhaps the biggest card in the history of the promotion, which would not have been possible if not for a groundbreaking acquisition back in December with the historic PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions

Just days before their 2023 season finale, the PFL announced that they had officially acquired once-competitors Bellator MMA in a landmark deal that included the promotion’s roster of fighters and champions. Almost immediately, fight fans began fantasy-booking cross-promotional contests. 

Months later, fans no longer needed to play armchair matchmakers, as the PFL announced that they would be staging a PFL Champions versus Bellator Champions card, featuring some of the biggest names in the collective roster. 

The card will feature three champion-versus-champion matchups as well as a handful of must-see matchups that absolutely would not have been possible around five months ago. 

But while the champion-versus-champion bouts are the marquee attractions, PFL vs. Bellator will also feature some of the biggest names in combat sports including Thiago Santos, Yoel Romero, AJ McKee, Claressa Shields, and Biaggio Ali Walsh. 

Here’s a rundown of the fight card: 

Check out the full card below: 

PPV Card

Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Renan Ferreira (PFL World Champ) vs. Ryan

Bader (Bellator Champ)

Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL Light

Heavyweight World Champ) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator Champ)

Welterweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Magomed Magomedkerimov (PFL World

Champ) vs. Jason Jackson (Bellator Champ)

Featherweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Jesus Pinedo (PFL World Champ) vs.

Patricio Pitbull (Bellator Champ)

Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World Champ) vs. Vadim

Nemkov (former Bellator Champ)

Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero

(Bellator title contender)

Lightweight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee

(former Bellator Champ)

Early Card

Featherweight Showcase Bout: Gabriel Braga (PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico

(Bellator title contender)

Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (Pro Debut) vs. Chris Morris (Pro Debut)

Lightweight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis 

Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao 

Amateur Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira

Definitely stacked card from top to bottom, the PFL did a solid job putting together a fight card that befits it’s billing in an emerging fight global fight capital like Saudi Arabia. 

PFL versus Bellator will be broadcast on ESPNews, ESPN+, ESPN+ PPV, and DAZN on Saturday, February 24th, 2024. 

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