- George Chung
- Apr 24, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 25, 2024
After three exciting events, the first half of the 2024 PFL Regular Season is in the books, and as always, there was no shortage of stunning, shocking, and exciting moments that made fans all over the world go “WOW!”
From fantastic debuts to new contenders taking over, here are some of the biggest storylines from the first half of the PFL New season:
New Heavyweight King?
With the acquisition of Bellator last year, the PFL also welcomed some big names to their already stacked roster, and a handful of them made their PFL Regular Season debuts. Perhaps the most successful debut belonged to that of former Bellator Interim Heavyweight Champion Valentin Moldavsky, who announced his arrival in a big way in the main event of PFL: San Antonio earlier this month.
Moldavsky needed roughly half a round to demolish 2022 PFL Heavyweight Champion Ante Delija and take over the top spot in the heavyweight standings.
If this is an indicator of how dominant Moldavsky will be, we could be looking at this season’s PFL Heavyweight Champion.
Things are Getting Dangerous in the Women’s Flyweight Division
Also making its debut this season is a new weight class, the women’s flyweight division, featuring some of the most dangerous 125-pounders in the world.
Speaking of dangerous, PFL UK Champion Dakota Ditcheva made arguably the biggest splash in the division, scoring a dominant first-round TKO win in her global roster debut. Ditcheva, along with Bellator champion Liz Carmouche and former UFC standout Taila Santos are the clear favorites to capture the league’s inaugural 125-pound women’s title, and it’s gonna be exciting to see these stars go head-to-head.
Madness at 205 Pounds
It’s safe to say that the PFL’s light heavyweight division is the league’s most stacked.
After the first half of the season, FIVE fighters are tied in the standings, all with six points each. That means all five light heavyweight fights so far have ended by first-round stoppage, and that’s a pretty wild stat.
Former champions Impa Kasanganay, Rob Wilkinson, and Antonio Carlos Junior, as well as Josh Silveria and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov are all in the running for the postseason. While we’ll definitely get a clearer picture once the rest of the season plays out, it’s going to be fun to see who actually does make it to the semifinals.
One subplot that has emerged from the light heavyweight division this season is the catastrophic 205-pound debut of former welterweight king Sadibou Sy, who lost via injury at PFL: Las Vegas. If Sy misses out on the postseason, it will be the first time in his PFL career.
The Brendan Loughnane Revenge Tour
Two seasons ago, Brendan Loughnane’s story was the most compelling thing going on in the PFL. A long-time PFL fan favorite who always came up short, Loughnane finally won the big one and became the first world champion to come out of the United Kingdom since Michael Bisping.
Loughnane was on top of the world, and then the following season, saw himself getting booted out of playoff contention after getting knocked out by eventual champion Jesus Pinedo.
At PFL: Chicago, Loughnane bounced back in stunning fashion with a first-round TKO win over Pedro Carvalho and taking over the number one spot in the 145-pound standings.
Can Loughnane return to the mountaintop this year? We’ll find out soon enough.
The second half of the 2024 PFL Regular Season resumes on June 13th at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
