The first-ever Professional Fighters League (PFL) vs. Bellator MMA “champion vs. champion” event has taken another big hit, losing yet another title fight just one week away from fight night. Scheduled to go down on Sat., Feb 24, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event was originally set to feature four title fights, and now it has been whittled down to just two.
According to the promotions’ social media page, current PFL Featherweight champion, Jesus Pinedo, has been forced out of his scheduled showdown against Bellator MMA 145-pound kingpin, Patricio Pitbull, for unspecified reasons.
Pinedo was looking to build off the momentum of winning the division crown just last November, while Pitbull was hoping to snap his two-fight losing streak, but now both men will have to wait a little longer to get back into the cage. There is no word if this bout will be re-booked at a later time.
Just three weeks ago, the event suffered its first championship fight loss after Magomed Magomedkerimov was forced out of his bout Welterweight fight against Bellator’s 170-pound title holder, Jason Jackson. Ray Cooper III agreed to step in to face “The Ass-Kicking Machine” in a non-title fight set to be competed at a Catchweight of 182 pounds.
In other news, a scheduled Lightweight fight between Claressa Shields and Kelsey DeSantis will now go down at a catchweight of 165 pounds.
The event will be headlined by a Heavyweight championship bout as PFL Heavyweight kingpin, Renan Ferreira, battles Bellator’s champion, Ryan Bader. In the co-main event, PFL Light Heavyweight champion, Impa Kasanganay, will drop down to Middleweight to battle Bellator’s 185-pound king, Johnny Eblen.
In further action, former Bellator MMA Featherweight champion, A.J. McKee, will face off against Clay Collard, while Bruno Cappelozza welcomes Vadim Nemkov to the 265-pound division. Rounding out the main card will be a 205-pound tilt between Yoel Romero and Thiago Santos.
For all the latest PFL and Bellator MMA news and notes click here and here.