Outside Source
The promotion on Tuesday announced that it will hold 24 events throughout 2026 — including 16 global events and eight regional offerings via PFL MENA and PFL Africa. The global events will be televised on ESPN and the first four of those have locations set, as the PFL will head to Dubai in February; Madrid and Pittsburgh in March and Chicago in April. The events in Madrid and Pittsburgh will mark the first-ever PFL visits to those respective cities. Meanwhile, bouts for the PFL’s third trip to Dubai are expected to be announced soon.
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“In 2026 we are leveling up. We’re running at least 24 events worldwide, with 16 major cards (broadcast) on ESPN in the United States — featuring our top fighters in the PFL going after world championships. And 10 of those are going to be right here in the United States,” said PFL CEO John Martin in a video on social media.
“We’re continuing to make big changes in the PFL. Many of you probably remember that we’re stepping away form the tournament format. That means every card is going to built around the best fights possible. The biggest fights, every card. The fights the fans are asking for and the fights the fighters want.”
Tournaments on a Regional Level
While the PFL is doing away with the tournament format for its global brand, both PFL MENA and PFL Africa will continue to utilize brackets to help build talent.
Our regional leagues in MENA and Africa are gonna continue to maintain tournament formats, building the next wave of stars who will move up to the global stage,” Martin added. “This is a new era at the PFL — the best fighting the best, every time.”
PFL’s next major event will take place on Dec. 13 in Lyon, France. In the main event, Vadim Nemkov will face Renan Ferreira for the heavyweight title, while Cristiane Justino will lock horns with Sara Collins for featherweight gold in the evening’s co-headliner. The PFL Lyon card will also include PFL Europe finals at bantamweight and lightweight. The event will stream on the new ESPN app beginning at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
Additionally, the PFL MENA Finals will take place on Dec. 4 and the PFL Africa finals will be held on Dec. 20. Those will stream via the PFL app.
2026, let’s go! 👊 We’re kicking off the biggest year in PFL history: 24 total events, 16 global shows on ESPN, 8 regional events across Africa & MENA. And we’re kicking it all off with four massive cities:
🇦🇪 Dubai
🇪🇸 Madrid
🇺🇸 Pittsburgh
🇺🇸 Chicago
The best fighting the… pic.twitter.com/wZPBHSmQta
— John Martin (@JohnMartinPFL) November 18, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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