Several days after Professional Fighters League (PFL) Featherweight champion, Jesus Pinedo, was forced out of the “Champion vs. Champion” event on Feb. 24, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the promotion has found a replacement to face Patricio Pitbull.
According to MMA Fighting, Gabriel Braga has agreed to step in and fill the void. Braga was originally set to face Aaron Pico at the event, but will now be bumped up to the pay-per-view (PPV) main card. Braga actually came up short against Pinedo in the Featherweight finals in Nov. 2023, snapping his 12-fight unbeaten streak.
As for Pitbull, he will be trying to snap his two-fight losing streak — the first of his combat career — and lock down his first win since Dec. 2022. The 145-pound champion is coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Chihiro Suzuki at the Bellator X Rizin event in July 2023. Pico is expected to remain on the card; however, no opponent has been confirmed at the moment.
The PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view (PPV) event will be headlined by a Heavyweight championship fight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader, while Impa Kasanganay and Johnny Eblen collide in a Bantamweight bout. Aside from bragging rights, the winner of those two fights will walks away with this custom championship belt.
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