PFL 1 Premieres May 9 on ESPN+, ESPN2 and the ESPN App Women’s Lightweight Division Debut Headlined by Two-Time U.S. Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison
NEW YORK (May 8, 2019) – This afternoon, Professional Fighters League Welterweight and Women’s Lightweight fighters slated to compete in PFL 1 weighed-in ahead of Thursday night’s highly anticipated 2019 season opener at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on Long Island, N.Y. PFL 1 begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, then the action continues on ESPN2 and the ESPN App in Spanish at 9:00 p.m. ET. All matches on ESPN+ are also available in Spanish.
PFL 1 will be highlighted by the debut of the Women’s Lightweight Division, headlined by two-time U.S. Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison taking on Brazil native, and jiu jitsu specialist, Larissa Pacheco, who enters the season with 11 career wins, all by stoppage. Former Strikeforce and Invicta FC Bantamweight champion, Sarah Kaufman, squares off against Morgan Frier, who enters the PFL season on a four-fight win streak.
2018 PFL Welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov will begin his title defense against Boston-native John Howard, who is moving down in weight to compete in a stacked division. Additionally, a Hawaiian rivalry will be settled as 2018 PFL breakout star Ray Cooper III takes on his cousin, and fellow Hawaiian, Zane Kamaka. Kamaka came in 1.8 pounds over the weight limit and will be ineligible to earn any points toward making the playoffs, regardless of the fight outcome. Cooper III will be awarded three points and can earn more with an early finish.
“The journey to a championship and million-dollar prize for our world-class Welterweight and Women’s Lightweight division fighters begins now,” said Ray Sefo, President of Fighter Operations of the PFL. “With our sports-season format, every fight counts, and tomorrow’s tone-setting matches are an opportunity for these fighters to get off to a strong start and position themselves atop the PFL standings heading into the second half of the season. There is a lot on the line and these fighters are ready and eager to step in `that cage.”
PFL 1 will air across ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+, — the leading multi-sport streaming service, in addition to TSN in Canada, and on a wide and diverse group of premier global distribution partner platforms reaching over 150 countries around the world.
Official Weights:
1. Moriel Charneski (155.0) vs. Roberta Samad (154.4)
2. Andre Fialho (170.4) vs. Chris Curtis (170.6)
3. Gamzat Khiramagomedov (171.0) vs. Glaico Franca (170.8)
4. Genah Fabian (155.6) vs. Bobbi Jo Dalziel (155.6)
5. Handesson Ferreira (170.2) vs. Bojan Velickovic (170.2)
6. Sadibou Sy (169.8) vs. David Michaud (170.8)
7. Sarah Kaufman (153.6) vs. Morgan Frier (151.6)
8. Ray Cooper (170.2) vs. Zane Kamaka (172.8)
9. Magomed Magomedkerimov (170.4) vs. John Howard (170.8)
10. Kayla Harrison (155.6) vs. Larissa Pacheco (155.6)
About Professional Fighters League
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) presents MMA for the first time in the sport-season format where individual fighters control their own destiny, competing in a regular season, playoffs, and championship. PFL’s differentiated format and exciting fights sparked breakout growth for the league. PFL events are Thursday nights primetime live on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The PFL 2019 Season features elite MMA athletes across six weight classes, including the first-ever 155-pound women’s division, with each fighter having two fights during the PFL Regular Season in May, June, July, and August. The top eight fighters in each weight class advance to the single-elimination PFL Playoffs in October, where fighters must fight twice and win twice in the same night to advance to the finals. PFL Championship is New Year’s Eve with the winners of each title bout being crowned PFL World Champion of their respective weight class and earning $1 million. Viewers will be delivered next-gen stats never before seen in MMA through the PFL’s proprietary SmartCage™ platform and Cagenomics™ technology.
PFL is backed by an investor group of sports, media, entertainment, and business titans. Watch PFL live Thursday nights in the U.S. on ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes. PFL is also available in 130 countries around the world with leading local broadcasters.
For more info visit www.PFLmma.com and follow PFL on Instagram (@PFLmma), Twitter (@ProFightLeague), and Facebook (/ProFightLeague).
