PFL World Tournament Finals Comes to Charlotte on August 15

NEW YORK (July 15, 2025) - The Professional Fighters League (PFL) brings its 2025 World Tournament to the Southeast with the PFL World Tournament Charlotte: Finals, taking place Friday, August 15 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Headlining the event are three five-round Tournament Championship bouts across the Lightweight, Bantamweight, and Women’s Flyweight divisions.

In the main event, England’s dynamic striker Alfie Davis (19-5-1) squares off against Dagestani powerhouse and reigning 2024 PFL Lightweight Champion Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-4-2) in the Lightweight Final. The Bantamweight Final sees Brazil’s Marcirley Alves (14-4) take on gritty American Justin Wetzell (12-2), with both athletes seizing the spotlight as tournament alternates turned contenders. In the Women’s Flyweight Final, elite submission specialist Jena Bishop (9-2) meets MMA veteran and former Bellator World Champion Liz Carmouche (24-8) in a compelling clash between two generations of elite grapplers.

Rounding out the Main Card will be former UFC and Bellator veteran Mads Burnell (20-7) facing former regional champion Robert Watley (15-3) in a Lightweight contest.

Tickets for this exciting event on August 15 are available now at Ticketmaster. The 2025 PFL World Tournament Charlotte: Finals takes place live on ESPN, ESPN+ and DAZN. The Early Card begins at 6:30 pm EST, with the Main Card kicking off at 9:00 pm EST.

The full bout lineup is listed below, with five Early Card matchups set to kick off the evening, including former Bellator World Champion Juliana Velasquez (13-4) facing off against Ukraine’s Ekaterina Shakalova (9-3) in a Women’s Flyweight showcase. Also, Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, is set to return to action against an opponent to be announced.

2025 PFL World Tournament Charlotte: Finals Main Card:
ESPN and ESPN+ (U.S.) | DAZN (U.K.)
Friday, August 15 - 9:00 pm ET

Lightweight Tournament Final Main Event: Alfie Davis (19-5-1) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-4-2)
Bantamweight Tournament Final Co-Main Event: Marcirley Alves (14-4) vs. Justin Wetzell (12-2)
Women’s Flyweight Tournament Final: Jena Bishop (9-2) vs. Liz Carmouche (24-8)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Mads Burnell (20-7) vs. Robert Watley (15-3)

2025 PFL World Tournament Charlotte: Finals Early Card:
ESPN+ (US) | DAZN (UK)
Friday, August 15 - 6:30 pm ET

Women’s Flyweight Showcase Bout: Juliana Velasquez (13-4) vs. Ekaterina Shakalova (9-3)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh (2-1) vs. TBA
Women’s Flyweight Showcase Bout: Sabrina De Sousa (3-0) vs. Saray Orosco (8-7)
Bantamweight Showcase Bout: Renat Khavalov (9-0) vs. Vilson Ndregjoni
Women’s Flyweight Showcase Bout: Chelsea Hackett (4-3-1) vs. Ashley Thiner (1-0)

Upcoming 2025 PFL World Tournament Schedule:
2025 PFL World Tournament Charlotte: Finals - August 15 - Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
2025 PFL World Tournament: Finals - August 21 - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida

ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE

Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league world-wide. PFL is the only MMA organization with the “win and advance” tournament format. PFL has three fight products: PFL World Tournament, PFL Champions Series, and PFL International Leagues. PFL is broadcast and streamed live to 190 countries with 20 leading media partners. PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SURJ, Ares, 885 Capital, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth and global sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.

PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features seven U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more than 32,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or in the ESPN App on mobile and connected devices. For more visit the ESPN+ Press Kit.

ABOUT DAZN GROUP

DAZN is a leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK.  Its wide range of content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LALIGA, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC. DAZN is the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match outside North America. DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment business where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app.

For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit dazngroup.com.