The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced today that all 20 fighters scheduled to compete on the 2018 Playoffs opener made weight, making the 14-bout card official. The top eight finishers in the featherweight and heavyweight divisions will square off at the Earl N. Morial Convention Center in hopes of punching their ticket to the 2018 Championship event set for New Year’s Eve.
Number one seeds Steven Siler and Francimar Barroso tipped the scales under their division limits and will face off with number eight seeds Nazareno Malegarie and Josh Copeland respectively.
The card will begin with a pair of alternate fights before the eight quarterfinal bouts that will determine who will be matched up in the semifinal fights later that evening. The bracketed playoffs will conclude with two fighters in each division headed to New York City for a Dec. 31 showdown with the winner cashing a seven-figure check and being crowned PFL champ.
“I am so pumped up the playoffs are finally here,” said PFL President of Fighting Operations Ray Sefo. “These guys have fought so hard to get to this point and they will be competing in two fights in one night to keep their dreams of becoming PFL champion and earning $1 million alive. If you aren’t excited about this than you’re not an MMA fan.”
PFL8 will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The quarterfinal fights will be streamed on FaceBook Watch beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Official Weights:
Francimar Barroso – 242.4
Josh Copeland – 263.8
Steven Siler – 145.6
Nazareno Malegarie – 146.0
Jack May – 260
Alex Nicholson – 220.6
Alexandre Almeida – 146.0
Jumabieke Tuerxun – 145.6
Philipe Lins – 229.6
Caio Alencar – 249.2
Andre Harrison – 145.4
Alexandre Bezerra – 145.6
Kelvin Tiller – 265.5
Jared Rosholt – 248.2
Lance Palmer – 146.0
Max Coga – 145.6
Mike Kyle – 223.6
Muhammed Dereese – 247.8
Marcos Galvao – 145.4
Jeremy Kennedy – 145.2
About Professional Fighters League™
The Professional Fighters League presents MMA for the first time in the sport format where individuals compete in a regular season, “win-or-go-home” post-season, and championship. Co-founded by Donn Davis, Russ Ramsey, and Mark Leschly, the Professional Fighters League is backed by an ownership group of sports, media, and business titans. The 2018 PFL Season began with 72 elite fighters in six weight-classes, competing in the regular season in June, July, and August. The top eight in each division advance to the single-elimination PFL Playoffs in October. The PFL Championship is December 31 with the final two fighters in each weight class fighting for their share of the $10 million prize pool. The 2018 PFL Season is broadcast live on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and streamed worldwide on Facebook Watch, and PFLmma.com. For more visit www.PFLmma.com.
