The Professional Fighters League will be returning for their second season, which will begin on May 9th, 2019. After a successful first season, PFL recently announced a broadcast deal with ESPN. ESPN released the first batch of PFL fighter announcements for season two, and the welterweight division really stands out.
PFL Season Two Welterweight Fighters
Magomed Magomedkerimov
Magomed Magomedkerimov comes into the second season of PFL as the promotion’s welterweight champion. In the season one finals, Magomedkerimov was the underdog against breakout star Ray Cooper III. The former won the fight via a second-round guillotine, earning the belt and the one million dollar prize. Magomedkerimov was 5-0 in PFL’s inaugural season. His holds a notable win over Cooper and two over Bojan Velickovic. Magomedkerimov is currently on an eight fight win streak and looks to extend the streak and keep his belt in the process.
Ray Cooper III
Ray Cooper III was the breakout star of PFL season one. Arguably the breakout star in all of MMA in 2018. Cooper suffered a letdown in the finals of last year’s season of PFL. He was very confident throughout the entire season, starting with his shocking dominant first win over Jake Shields. Until his loss to Magomedkerimov, Cooper was 4-0 in the promotion. All four of his wins came via TKO, two of them in the same night. Back for PFL season two, Cooper will be looking to make his way back to the top, avenge his loss to Magomedkerimov, and claim the welterweight throne.
Louis Taylor
Louis Taylor was the PFL season one middleweight champion and will be making the move down to welterweight for season two. There will be no middleweight division in season two. Thusly, Taylor is looking to become the first double champion in PFL’s short history. He holds a record of 5-0-1 in the PFL. His only non-win was a technical draw in the semifinals, where he advanced to the finals due to the first round tiebreaker. With Taylor’s division one wrestling background, he could have the tools to defeat Cooper and would be an interesting matchup for Magomedkerimov.
Other Divisions and Champions Announced
Along with the welterweights, the champions and finalists from the four remaining men’s divisions were announced. In the heavyweight division, Phillipe Lins. Light heavyweight also only sees only returning fighter, Vinny Magalhaes. Champion Nathan Schulte and finalist Rashid Magomedov of the lightweight division return. While Lance Palmer (season 1 champion) and Steven Siler (season 1 finalist) round off the first wave of announcements in the featherweight division.
Future Announcements
More announcements coming in the future regarding season two fighters. PFL released the upcoming dates which include multiple rounds of announcements. The second round of announcements takes place on March 18th. This second round of announcements features new challengers and returning contenders.
