Continuing their extended stay at Universal Studios Florida, the PFL delivers on a host of intriguing bantamweight and women’s flyweight contests in PFL 2, but the card has been restructured once again. Taking top billing, Marcirley Alves battles Leandro Higo in the main event, with Liz Carmouche squaring up against Ilara Joanne as the penultimate match of the night.
Josh Rettinghouse wasn’t medically cleared to fight ahead of Thursday’s weigh-in, resulting in Alves being moved up from the early card to take the main event slot in PFL 2.
Your new #PFLWorldTournament
Main Event
•Josh Rettinghouse is not cleared to fight and is off the card
•Marcirley Alves (alternate) replaces Rettinghouse in the main event𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: Leandro Higo vs Marcirley Alves
𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: Early Card… pic.twitter.com/cSzjQbWvJu
— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 10, 2025
PFL 2 Main Event
Marcirley Alves went into this week having been expected to fight Vilson Ndregjoni on the early card, but as previously mentioned, Josh Rettinghouse was not cleared to make the walk ahead of Friday night’s show. Alves will be making the walk for the first time in 10 months during PFL 2, having last fought back in June, but he’s already got a championship win on his resume, having secured the Jungle Fight title in 2022.
An alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter, Higo has crossed paths with some of the best fighters on the planet since making his debut nearly 20 years ago in 2006. With notable titles such as the LFA and RFA 135-lb championships under his belt, “Alter” can add even more to his considerable resume by conquering the PFL’s stacked bantamweight division.
PFL 2 Co-Main Event
Looking to bounce back from a disappointing unanimous decision setback to Talia Santos last August, former Bellator champion Carmouche is gearing up for a deep run in the PFL’s stacked 125-lb bracket. Replacing Santos on the main card following her premature exiting of the event, the 41-year old is determined to prove she has a lot more left in the tank by pushing past another young prospect.
Stepping up to tangle with her toughest adversary to date, Joanna’s back appears to be against the wall after going 1-3 in her past four contests, including two first round submission defeats. Although she got back into the win column in her last time out the smart cage with a win over Shanna Young, “Arya Stark” will need to record a fantastic performance to keep her PFL title hopes alive.
Here’s How to Watch PFL 2
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on ESPN+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly or yearly subscription of $11.99 and $119.99 respectively. For those who want to get more bang out of their buck, there is also the monthly Disney Bundle Deal, which offers ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ for $16.99 with included commercials, or $26.99 for no commercials at all.
Start Time and Date: The Preliminaries will begin at 9pm ET, followed by the main card at 11pm ET on April 11th.
Bout Order For PFL 2
Main Card:
Marciley Alves vs. Leandro Higo (Bantamweight Main Event)
Liz Carmouche vs. Ilara Joanne (Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Event)
Francesco Nuzzi vs. Mando Gutierrez (Bantamweight)
Justin Wetzell vs. Kasum Kasumov (Bantamweight)
Preliminaries:
Ekaterina Shakalova vs. Juliana Velasquez (Women’s Flyweight Featured Bout)
Matheus Mattos vs. Jake Hadley (Bantamweight)
Kana Watanabe vs. Jena Bishop (Women’s Flyweight)
Diana Avsaragova vs. Elora Dana (Women’s Flyweight)
