PFL Atlantic City fight week is here. After four months of the journey known as the 2025 PFL World Tournament, the championship phase kicks off the month of August in MMA on its first night.
There’s no better place to begin this portion of the tournament than at a place very familiar with hosting title fights on a regular basis. Friday night, the SmartCage touches down in Atlantic City, NJ for a card at the fabled Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for PFL Atlantic City, featuring 10 fights on the schedule.
This year’s eighth card of the PFL season features the first two championship fights in the tournament. Friday’s card is headlined by the 2025 PFL Welterweight Championship and the 2025 PFL Featherweight Championship.
Live coverage of PFL Atlantic City begins at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT Friday evening with the early card before moving onto late card action at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT. If you’re watching from inside the United States, the show can be seen on ESPN+. Internationally, PFL Atlantic City will be streamed over DAZN.
PFL Atlantic City Main Event: 2025 PFL Welterweight Championship: Thad Jean vs. Logan Storley
At the top of the bill on Friday night in PFL Atlantic City, the PFL Welterweight Championship is at stake when Thad Jean (10-0 MMA) meets up with Logan Storley (18-3 MMA.) As with all MMA championship fights, the main event of the evening is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
Thad Jean enters the PFL Atlantic City main event having yet to taste defeat in his professional MMA career. So far in the tournament this year, he’s stopped Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-4, 1 NC MMA) with ground and pound inside the first round on opening night in Orlando before moving onto fight in Nashville, where he outlasted Jason Jackson (19-6 MMA) by split decision.
This young man has only been professional in MMA for almost four years. Thad Jean is now on the cusp of becoming a champion in the sport. Can he score a resume-building win in the PFL Atlantic City main event?
Meanwhile, Logan Storley, a graduate of the late Bellator MMA, has posted a 4-1 record in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s won three fights in succession going into PFL Atlantic City.
His road to the final began on April 3 when he defeated Joseph Luciano (10-4 MMA) by way of unanimous decision in central Florida. From there, Storley trekked to The Music City of Nashville for another unanimous decision win over Maysauki Kikuiri (11-3-1 MMA.)
This has potential to be one of the evening’s best fights, if not one of the best fights throughout the entirety of the upcoming weekend. Tune in and watch the fireworks.
PFL Atlantic City Co-Main Event: 2025 PFL Featherweight Championship: Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Jesus Pinedo
Immediately beforehand, the other championship fight takes place at featherweight between 2021 PFL Featherweight Champion Movlid Khaybulaev (23-0-1, 1 NC MMA) and 2023 PFL Featherweight Champion Jesus Pinedo (25-6-1 MMA.) This, too, is a five-round fight at five minutes per round.
Khaybulaev is still undefeated in his professional career up to now. He’s had to go to the scorecards both times in this tournament.
During opening night in Orlando, he defeated Jeremy Kennedy (19-7, 1 NC MMA) by way of split decision after 15 minutes. In the Nashville semifinal card, the judges were all in agreement, giving Khaybulaev a unanimous decision win over Tae Kyun Kim (11-2 MMA). His opponent across the way has been a force to be reckoned with so far this year.
Jesus Pinedo has posted a perfect 5-0 record in his last five fights. His road to the championship is the easiest you’ll ever see.
Back on April 3, he stopped Adam Borics (20-3 MMA) in three minutes and 43 seconds with punches in Orlando. His June 12 semifinal versus Gabriel Braga (16-3 MMA) provided more of the same, finishing him in only one minute and 16 seconds.
This is one of those fights where you, as the viewer, have to make certain that the popcorn’s ready before the command to fight is given in the PFL Atlantic City co-main event on Friday night.
PFL Atlantic City: Showcase Bout: Asael Adjoudj vs. Yves Landu
Also on the PFL Atlantic City late card, you’ll be treated to a showcase fight in the featherweight division. Asael Adjoudj (9-1 MMA) battles Yves Landu (21-9 MMA.) It’ll be a three-round fight at five minutes per round.
This showcase fight is a rebooking of a canceled contest from the June 12 card in Nashville, which was dropped from the bout order for reasons unknown. Adjoudj comes in with a record of 5-0 as part of an eight-fight winning streak.
Last November, he scored a third-round submission by guillotine choke during the showcase fights of the PFL Championships card versus Jose Perez (9-2 MMA), an alumnus of Cage Fury. Adjoudj dropped his first professional fight and has since gotten his hand raised in victory every single time.
If he gets his ninth successive win on Friday, the end result could be a spot in the 2026 PFL World Tournament.
In the other corner, Yves Landu is sporting a 5-0 record in his own right. This year has been one filled with questions of “what could have been?” for Landu and his camp, however. Ahead of the April 3 card in Orlando, where he was to have squared off against Gabriel Braga in a quarterfinal contest, he was forced to withdraw from the tournament.
He hasn’t entered a cage since May 17 of last year during Bellator Champions Series 2 in Paris. That night, he scored a split decision victory over Jonas Bilharinho (11-3-1 MMA.) Yves Landu has been booked to fight twice so far in 2025 under the PFL promotional banner. Both planned fights have been scrubbed without a punch being thrown.
Expect Landu to fight with frustration in this showcase contest during PFL Atlantic City on Friday night.
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights are you looking forward to on PFL Atlantic City on Friday night? Let us know in the comments.
