PFL Charlotte, the penultimate card in the ongoing 2025 PFL World Tournament, is upon us. Friday night, one week removed from the final island of this tournament, the championship phase of the bracket continues with three more belts at stake.
Friday’s PFL Charlotte will see the tournament finals at lightweight, women’s flyweight, and bantamweight. All told, counting the championship fights and showcase fights preceding them, if there are no adjustments to be made ahead of fight night, the schedule will feature 10 bouts.
Live coverage of the show can be seen on ESPN+ stateside and DAZN in international markets beginning at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT with the early card. Late card action, championship fights included, follows at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT. Bojangles Coliseum is the host venue for Friday night’s affair.
PFL Charlotte Main Event: PFL Lightweight Championship: Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Alfie Davis
At the top of the bill on Friday night, the 2025 PFL Lightweight Championship is at stake in the PFL Charlotte main event. Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-4-2 MMA, the 2024 PFL Lightweight Champion, seeks to take this year’s belt when he squares off against Alfie Davis (19-5-1 MMA.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.
Rabadanov has posted a mark of 5-0 in his last five fights dating back to the 2024 PFL season. His road to the title fight was among the easiest that one could have.
Both of Rabadanov’s wins were recorded before the horn sounded to end the opening round of the contest. On April 18, he needed just 32 blistering seconds to stop Marc Diakiese (18-8 MMA) with ground and pound shots during the quarterfinal phase.
In June, he finished Kevin Lee (20-9 MMA) with punches in 2:37 to book his spot in Friday night’s final. How will he fare here in the main event of PFL Charlotte?
Meanwhile, Alfie Davis is sporting a record of 4-1 over the course of his five most recent affairs. In order to advance to this title fight, he scored a first-round knockout by way of spinning back elbow followed by punches to eliminate Clay Collard (25-15, 1 NC MMA).
During the semifinals, he needed to go to the scorecards to knock off Brent Primus (16-5, 1 NC MMA.) With the final set, which one of these men will emerge victorious? Tune in on Friday night and find out.
PFL Charlotte Co-Main Event: PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship: Liz Carmouche vs. Jena Bishop
Immediately beforehand, the PFL Charlotte co-main event of the evening will have the 2025 PFL Flyweight Championship on the line when 32-fight veteran Liz Carmouche (24-8 MMA) clashes with Jena Bishop (9-2 MMA.) Carmouche will be making the walk in The Queen City with a 4-1 record in her last five fights.
After being eliminated from last year’s playoffs in the semifinal round by unanimous decision, this world tournament has been a revenge tour for Carmouche. In her quarterfinal contest, she stopped Ilara Joanne (13-10 MMA) with a shot to the liver followed by ground and pound in under 90 seconds.
On the night of the semifinals, Carmouche scored a unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action against Elora Dana (8-1 MMA.) Carmouche is a former champion in the late Bellator MMA and challenged for the belt in the UFC and Strikeforce. Can she add another belt to her mantle at home?
Across the way, Jena Bishop has gone 3-2 over the course of her past five appearances in the SmartCage dating back to the 2024 PFL season. She defeated Kana Watanabe (13-4-1 MMA) on the scorecards during the April quarterfinals before submitting Ekaterina Shakalova (9-3 MMA) inside the second round with a rear-naked choke.
Unlike Carmouche, Bishop has yet to fight for a championship since turning to MMA full-time in 2022. That changes Friday night. A victory over Liz Carmouche would make for a resume-building result in PFL Charlotte.
PFL Charlotte: PFL Bantamweight Championship: Marciley Alves vs. Justin Wetzell
Also on the PFL Charlotte late card, the 2025 PFL Bantamweight Championship will serve as the first title fight of the evening between Marciley Alves (14-4 MMA) and Justin Wetzell (12-2 MMA) battle it out for supremacy at 135 lbs. Alves enters the title fight with a 4-1 record throughout his past five bouts.
He trekked to the final through this path: During the quarterfinals, he bested Leandro Higo (23-7 MMA) by way of split decision after three rounds in Orlando at Universal Studios. Alves needed to go to the cards again for the semifinals in Wichita.
That night, however, he won unanimously after 15 minutes over Jake Hadley (12-5 MMA.) Alves already has a championship to his credit going into PFL Charlotte, having secured the Jungle Fight Bantamweight Championship in December of 2022. What will happen this time?
In the other corner, Justin Wetzell has a perfect 5-0 record in his last five fights. Both of his wins in this tournament needed to be confirmed by the scorecards to get to the championship.
Wetzell’s quarterfinal bout saw him eliminate Kasum Kasumov (16-2 MMA) in Orlando by unanimous decision before traveling to Wichita to knock off Mando Gutierrez (11-4 MMA) with another unanimous victory. When a fighter is on a hot streak, as he is right now, a fighter like Justin Wetzell is at his most dangerous. Can he ride the momentum to the championship in PFL Charlotte?
Final Thoughts
Which of the three title fights are you looking forward to on Friday night? Let us know in the comments.
