PFL Week 1 Fight Card, Challenger Series, 2023

The 2023 PFL week 1 fight card, for the challenger series, is announced and the first week is featuring the welterweights. The fights go live this Friday, January 27, 2023 from Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. The challenger series will air live for the 8 straight weeks for free on Fubo Sports network.

The Professional Fighters League handles things a little differently than most MMA organizations. The biggest difference is the fight season. In the Challenger series, the PFL is pitting promising new talent against each other, in the hopes of earning a PFL contract and getting a chance to compete in the PFL regular season.

This card holds some interesting talent in the welterweight division. The main event will see Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa, a BJJ star with a win over Gilbert Burns, make the move to MMA. His opponent is Itso Babulaidze, who won his PFL debut by knockout.

The co-main event will feature the undefeated CFFC welterweight champion Eric Alequin, as he faces off against Thad Jean who also has an undefeated status. These two will have to prove their dominance over the other to secure their place in the 2023 PFL regular season.

Quemuel ‘Manumito’ Ottoni has the boast of defeating UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira and currently rides a 5 fight win streak. His opponent, Jozef Wittner, is on a 4 fight win streak and both men will put it all on the line for the chance to fight in the PFL regular season, and possibly earn a $1 million payday.

PFL Week 1 Fight Card, Challenger Series, 2023

Main Event (airing on Fubo Sports at 9:00 PM ET)

Lucas Barbosa (2-1-0), () vs Itso Babulaidze (2-0-0), () – welterweight bout

Eric Alequin (7-0-0), () vs Thad Jean (4-0), () – welterweight bout

Quemuel Ottoni (12-3-0), () vs Jozef Wittner (16-2-0), () – welterweight bout

Mostafa Rashed Neda (7-3-0), () vs Nick Alley (7-5-0), () – welterweight bout

That’s it for the 2023 PFL week 1 fight card for the challenger series. Be sure to check back to The MMA Beatdown for our PFL News section to get updates on this 8 consecutive week showdown, courtesy of the PFL.

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