Professional Fighting League returns with newly signed Anthony Pettis in the main event of their 2021 season. The former face of the UFC will clash with Clay Collard. However, PFL not only dropped the Pettis bomb but also announced the entire seasonal bracket. This will mark PFl’s first event of the year after taking a full year off due to Covid-19.
While there is no doubt Pettis is getting the rightful attention he deserves, there are tons of other gems on the card as well. For instance, veteran Marcin Held is back in action, along with a slew of other former UFC fighters. On top of all that, the promotion matched their 2019 featherweight and lightweight champions together. Given all of the uncertainty surrounding the virus, a pre-set structure is a refreshing take on approaching the matchmaking process.
Anthony Pettis To Headline First 2021 PFL Event
After going into free agency on a 2-fight winning streak, Pettis is looking to capitalize and chase that million-dollar prize. Prior to his departure, the former UFC Lightweight Champion racked up solid wins against Donald Cerrone and Alex Morono. Since he continually moved between weight divisions, at times it was difficult to determine where he really stood in terms of title implications.
Now things change completely, with a whole new landscape, the decorated athlete is excited about the idea of winning a million dollars and making a name in a new promotion. However, if the 2019 PFL season showed fans anything, it’s that not all of the top talent exists within the UFC.
With the addition of Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Collard, here is the rest of the bouts on the 2021 PFL 1 show:
Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
- Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Collard
- Marcin Held vs. Natan Schulte
- Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Jason Soares
- Bubba Jenkins vs. Lance Palmer
Preliminary Card (5:30 p.m. ET)
- Johnny Case vs. Loik Radzhabov
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Joilton Lutterbach
- Akhmed Aliev vs. Mikhail Odintsov
- Tyler Diamond vs. Jo Sungbin
- Brendan Loughnane vs. Sheymon Moraes
Don’t miss the action on ESPN, and ESPN+
