The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the first organization ever to present MMA through a Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship format, is expanding its global footprint on the road to the 2020 season.
The organisation confirmed plans to launch the International Qualifier Series, a fight twice in one-night tournament where top fighters from around the world will compete for a chance to fight in the 2020 PFL season. International Qualifier Series tournaments will take place this February and March in United Arab Emirates, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Australia.
In partnership with top regional MMA promotions from the select international markets, four fighters from each market will compete in a tournament requiring each fighter to fight twice and win twice in the same night to be considered for a PFL contract. On Friday, March 20, the PFL International Qualifier Series featherweight tournament will take place in Abu Dhabi in partnership with UAE Warriors.
Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL commented: “We’re excited to accelerate growth outside of the United States through the International Qualifier Series, a global fight twice in one-night tournament designed to identify and recruit the best MMA fighters from five priority markets around the world.
“We look forward to working with UAE Warriors in the Middle East, a region with an affinity for combat sports and an impressive crop of high-caliber fighters. This is a unique challenge, and we’ll see if these athletes have what it takes to fight for the PFL and compete for a title and million-dollar prize.”
The PFL International Qualifier Series live tournaments will be staged and distributed by the PFL’s co-promotion partners in their respective markets. The PFL will distribute the fights outside of those markets with its official broadcast partners in addition to streaming across the PFL Live app and the league’s digital channels on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.
Insider Insight: The PFL concept has already proven deeply engaging, the format potentially paves a path for a fighter to break out on the global stage. Expanding the reach beyond the US and strengthening the league’s connections with MMA organisations around the world can only serve to boost audience engagement of the tournament.
