RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The PFL will crown six new champions in November.
During Thursday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants pre-fight press conference, PFL CEO Pete Murray announced that the 2024 PFL Championships will take place Friday, Nov. 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The promotion currently is in Riyadh for Saturday’s event headlined by Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira. The 2024 PFL finals event will be the first time the promotion will crown its season winners at a location outside the United States. Past finals have been in New York, South Florida and Washington, D.C.
The current 2024 PFL Championships lineup currently includes:
- Denis Goltsov vs. Oleg Popov – for heavyweight championship
- Impa Kasanganay vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – for light heavyweight championship
- Shamil Musaev vs. Magomed Umatulov – for welterweight championship
- Brent Primus vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov – for lightweight championship
- Timur Khizriev vs. Brendan Loughnane – for featherweight championship
- Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos – for women’s flyweight championship
PFL season winners take home a $1 million grand prize, along with that division’s title.
PFL global and PFL MENA gold will be on the line in Saudi Arabia on November 29.
Following the conclusion of its main and regional seasons, it’s championship time for the Professional Fighters League. And before the sophomore PFL Europe champions are decided in December, the global and MENA kings — as well as a solitary queen — will be crowned.
This week, the promotion announced a stacked and lengthy lineup for the 2024 PFL World Championship later this month in partnership with Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Mixed Martial Arts Federation. The event takes place at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, Nov. 29.
In the main attraction, six global champions will be decided. The headlining spots have gone to a pair of English standouts in Brendan Loughnane and Dakota Ditcheva, who battle Timur Khizriev at featherweight and Taila Santos at flyweight, respectively.
Beforehand, the MENA titles will be wrapped around four waists, as the likes of Abdullah Al-Qahtani and Ali Taleb look to conclude their 2024 campaigns with championship glory in the Middle East.
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.
A number of intriguing showcase matchups have also been announced. Among the notable names is 2023 PFL featherweight title winner Jesus Pinedo — returning for the first time since last year’s world championship event — former Ares FC heavyweight king Slim Trabelsi, and top Bellator middleweight contender Costello van Steenis.
PFL World Championship Card (3 PM ET, ESPN+):
- Featherweight Championship: Brendan Loughnane vs. Timur Khizriev
- Women’s Flyweight Championship: Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos
- Light Heavyweight Championship: Impa Kasanganay vs. Dovletzhan Yagshimuradov
- Welterweight: Championship: Magomed Umalatov vs. Shamil Musaev
- Lightweight Championship: Brent Primus vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
- Heavyweight Championship: Denis Goltsov vs. Oleg Popov
PFL MENA Championship Card (9:30 AM ET, ESPN+):
- MENA Featherweight Championship: Abdelrahman Alhyasat vs. Abdullah Al-Qahtani
- MENA Welterweight Championship: Mohammad Alaqraa vs. Omar El Dafrawy
- Amateur Women’s Atomweight: Hattan Alsaif vs. Lilia Osmani
- MENA Bantamweight Championship: Ali Taleb vs. Rachid El Hazoume
- MENA Lightweight Championship: Mohsen Mohammadseifi vs. Georges Eid
Showcase Fight Card (9:30 AM ET, ESPN+):
- Lightweight: Mansour Barnaoui vs. Alfie Davis
- Heavyweight: Slim Trabelsi vs. Abraham Bably
- Featherweight: Jesus Pinedo vs. Jeremy Kennedy
- Featherweight: Asael Adjoudj vs. Jose Perez
- Middleweight: Costello van Steenis vs. Joao Dantas
Look at that star power!!!
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
- Brendan Loughnane (144.8) vs. Timur Khizriev (144.7) – featherweight championship
- Dakota Ditcheva (124.9) vs. Taila Santos (125) – women’s flyweight championship
- Impa Kasanganay (204.6) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (204.1) – light heavyweight championship
- Magomed Umalatov (168.8) vs. Shamil Musaev (169.8) – welterweight championship
- Brent Primus (154.3) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (155) – lightweight championship
- Denis Goltsov (245.8) vs. Oleg Popov (249.5) – heavyweight championship
The PFL schedule is nearing its conclusion for the year, with 2024 PFL Championship marking penultimate event.
It’s a significant one, too, with six new $1 million champions set to be crowned in Saudi Arabia. However, it also comes in the midst of some negative headlines for the organization, with several Bellator champions venting complaints about inactivity right around the one-year anniversary of when PFL acquired the company.
The entire situation has generated conversation about whether PFL is doing enough to be a legitimate No. 2 option to the UFC in the MMA space, or if it has come up short of co-founder Donn Davis’ mission to become a co-leader in the industry.
MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn reviewed the state of PFL and Bellator going into 2025 on his “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie staff reporter Nolan King, and you can watch the entire conversation above.
This show is boring.