The Professional Fighters League on Monday announced another group of competitors for the upcoming season, featuring former UFC standouts in multiple divisions.
Jeremy Kennedy (13-1) will be among the featherweight hopefuls. He compiled a 3-1 record in the UFC with his only loss being against top title contender Alexander Volkanovski in February 2018. Since that defeat, Kennedy rebounded with two knockouts in Brave Combat Federation. Damon Jackson (16-2) will join Kennedy in that weight class. He has fought in the UFC, Bellator and most recently LFA, where he was the interim featherweight champion.
Rising prospect Freddy Assuncao (10-1) will also return to the cage at featherweight after a three-year layoff. He is the twin brother of longtime UFC bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao.
PFL is unique in MMA as it is has a full season and postseason rather than individual fights. Competitors gain points for wins and bonus points for early finishes, providing an incentive to knock out or submit opponents rather than let it go to a decision. Those with the most points at the end of the regular season move on to the playoffs. The winner of each division earns $1 million.
The full list of new additions to the season, which begins May 9 at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York, is below:
Featherweight
Damon Jackson, Jeremy Kennedy, Freddy Assuncao, Movlid Khaybulaev
Lightweight
Akhmed Aliev, Ronys Torres, Carlao Silva, Ylies Djiroun
Welterweight
Chris Curtis, Glaico Franca
Light Heavyweight
Ronny Markes, Rashid Yusupov, Jorge Gonzalez, Sigi Pesaleli, Mikhail Mokhnatkin
Heavyweight
Francimar Barroso, Valdrin Istrefi, Satoshi Ishii, Ali Isaev