The fighters set to compete for gold at this year's PFL World Championship stood toe to toe days out from their title showdowns in the Middle East.
After completing its main and regional seasons, it’s championship time for the Professional Fighters League. Before the sophomore PFL Europe champions are crowned next month, the global and MENA kings — as well as one queen — will be decided.
A long lineup featuring plenty of notable names is set for the 2024 PFL World Championship this Friday, Nov. 29 at the King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Following a series of showcase fights and four MENA finals, six global champions will emerge on the main card, where the headline spots have gone to a pair of UK standouts in 2022 PFL featherweight king Brendan Loughnane and last year's PFL Europe flyweight champ Dakota Ditcheva, who are slated to collide with Timur Khizriev at featherweight and Taila Santos, respectively.
Ahead of the main and co-main events, those fighters faced off under the observation of former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy this week, as did heavyweights Denis Goltsov and Oleg Popov, light heavyweights Impa Kasanganay and Dovletzhan Yagshimuradov, welterweights Magomed Umalatov and Shamil Musaev, and lightweights Brent Primus and Gadzhi Rabadanov.
Before those matchups play out inside the SmartCage, MENA gold will be wrapped around waists for the very first time, with the likes of Abdullah Al-Qahtani and Ali Taleb looking to end their 2024 campaigns with title glory in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the showcase bouts that will kick off proceedings at 7:15 AM ET on ESPN+ will include the return of 2023 featherweight title winner Jesus Pinedo, the next fight for top Bellator middleweight contender Costello van Steenis, and an outing for undefeated heavyweight Slim Trabelsi.
For the first time, the PFL championship matchups will see the fighters permitted to throw elbows, which have previously been banned throughout the season and playoff format.