The PFL has announced their final roster for their second tournament in 2023.
The heavyweights and featherweights will clash on April 7 at PFL 2 at The Theater at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Champions Ante Delia and Larisa Pacheco compete in the top two fights of the evening.
See the league’s announcement of the 11-fight card below.
OFFICIALLY: #2023PFL2 installed!
[ #2023PFL2 | Sat, April 7th | 9pm ET | ️https://t.co/hxZi2fDDKB ] pic.twitter.com/OxVoXCKKmh
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 27, 2023
In the main event, 2022 heavyweight champion Delia (23-5) will take on Yorgan De Castro (9-3). Delia comes out of a first-round knockout of Matheus Scheffel, earning him the tournament title, while De Castro most recently fought for Eagle FC where he won 2-0 with victories over former UFC champion Junior dos Santos and Shawn Usher.
In the co-main event, 2022 lightweight champion Pacheco (19-4) will take on former Bellator featherweight champion Julia Budd (16-5). Pacheco ended her 2022 campaign with an upset victory over rival Kayla Harrison, becoming the first fighter to defeat a two-time Olympic judo champion.
Budd has lost her last two fights and won only once since her PFL debut at the end of the 2021 season. Her 2022 campaign was derailed by a loss to Gena Fabian, an injury forcing her to pull out of a matchup with Harrison, and then a split decision loss to debuting Aspen Ladd in the PFL season finale.
Rounding out the main card is a pair of heavyweight bouts: Bruno Cappelozza (15-6) takes on Scheffel (17-9) and Renan Ferreira (9-3) takes on league debutant Rizvan Kuniev (12-2-1).
Seven preliminary fights were also officially announced, including Ladd making her PFL regular season debut against Elena Kolesnik.
See the announced PFL 2 roster below.
Main Map (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET)
Ante Delia vs. Iorgan de Castro
Larissa Pacheco vs. Julia Budd
Bruno Cappelozza vs. Matthew Scheffel
Renan Ferreira vs. Rizvan Kuniev
Advance Map (ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 6:30 pm ET)
Olena Kolesnik vs. Aspen Ladd
Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. TBA
Martina Zhindrova vs. Amber Leybrock
Marcelo Nunes vs. Maurice Green
Denis Goltsov vs. Michal Andryshak
Amanda Lev vs. Carolina Sobeck
Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Yoko Higashi
Source: www.mmafighting.com
