The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun to roll out the rosters for eight "World Tournaments" set for 2025, starting with a welterweight lineup topped by former Bellator champion Jason Jackson.
Major change is coming to the PFL this year, with the promotion making the decision to eliminate the season and playoff format from its yearly structure.
Replacing that and the $1 million prize money will be Grand Prix-style tournaments across eight divisions, with the winners of each collecting $500,000.
After confirming the dates and venue for four events that will host first-round matchups this week, the PFL announced the first full roster in a social media post.
The standout name set for the single-elimination welterweight tournament is Jackson, who memorably knocked out Yaroslav Amosov in 2023 to win Bellator's 170-pound title. After defeating Ray Cooper III last February, "The Ass-Kicking Machine" had his reign ended by Ramazan Kuramagomedov at the Bellator Champions Series event in Dublin.
The 34-year-old Jamaican will now look to return to winning ways as part of the organization's new format.
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Jackson won't be the only former Bellator titleholder in the mix. After a 1-1 season record failed to put him into the playoffs last year, Andrey Koreshkov will look to emerge victorious in his second year under the PFL banner.
Also of note is the arrival of Florim Zendeli on to the global stage. The Albanian, who is undefeated since 2021, won the 2024 PFL Europe welterweight season by choking out Daniele Miceli at last December's championship event. He'll now look to follow in the footsteps of Dakota Ditcheva by making the step up from the regional expansion.
See below for the full eight-man roster for this year's welterweight "World Tournament."
- Jason Jackson (18-5)
- Florim Zendeli (10-1)
- Andrey Koreshkov (28-5)
- Magomed Umalatov (17-1)
- Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-2, 1 NC)
- Giannis Bachar (9-2)
- Logan Storley (16-3)
- Masayuki Kikuiri (10-2-1)
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