The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced the 2023 PFL Challenger Series Second Chance competitors and bouts. The PFL Challenger Series is an eight-part competition which will stream exclusively on Fubo Sports, the live, free-to-consumer TV network from FuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform. The Challenger Series airs live on Friday nights in primetime and is held on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, with fighters looking to earn the opportunity to compete for a world championship and $1 million winner’s purse.
In the main event, Lightweight Kendly St. Louis, who pulled off an impressive second round rear naked choke submission in the January 27 Challenger Series event, will match up with Brazil’s Paulo Laia, the first deaf fighter to compete in PFL who returns after losing a narrow-split decision to Manoel Sousa.
“The second season of PFL Challenger Series has been an incredible success and I’m excited that fight fans have another chance to watch these 10 world-class competitors step foot into the SmartCage and put it all on the line,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo.
The co-main event of the night’s action will feature another matchup of American and Brazilian fighters, with Jackie Cataline taking on Evelyn Martins, a 20-year-old phenom who fights out of American Top Team, in a Women’s Featherweight bout.
In the evening’s Heavyweight matchup, Denzel Freeman, who enters the Challenger Series with an undefeated record of 3-0, will take on fellow American Raiden Kovacs who is making his professional debut. Welterweight Quemuel Ottoni, who holds a 12-3 career record, will step foot into the SmartCage across from Chris Brown, who dropped a closely contested split decision to Carlos Leal in last year’s Challenger Series. The event’s first matchup also features competitors from the Welterweight division as Sadeck Sanon and Ali Omar will face off.
PFL Challenger Series winners will be determined by a judging panel comprised of combat sports champions and celebrity guests. The PFL is at the forefront of innovation, recently reaching an agreement with Jake Paul, who will compete in, recruit for, and promote the league’s PPV Super Fight division.
PFL is the #1 fastest growing company in MMA and the #2 MMA company on a worldwide basis. PFL is the only in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in sports-season “win and advance” meritocracy like all other major sports. The PFL fighter roster is global and world-class, with fighters from over 20 countries and 25% independently ranked in the top 25. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage powering real-time betting and next-gen viewing experience. PFL is aired primetime live in the U.S. on ESPN and ESPN+ and in 140 countries via 25 leading broadcast and streaming partners.
Fubo Sports is the exclusive home of the PFL Challenger Series. Fubo subscribers can stream the PFL Challenger Series plus more thrilling MMA on Fubo Sports as part of Fubo’s subscription packages featuring 125+ leading sports, news and entertainment channels. Fubo Sports is also available for free on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio WatchFree+, Tubi, Plex, and XUMO with even more fresh content across Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube.