Fire up the ESPN family of networks come April because the Professional Fighters League (PFL) is bringing deep and talented fighters to the cage.

The PFL, the most innovative and fastest growing league in the world, continues to set the bar when it comes to mixed martial arts. As one of the Top-2 promotions in the world, the PFL has put together quite the roster of fighters for the upcoming 2021 season.

Spread among six weight divisions, the planned lineups for the regular season format have been released in recent days. 

In the welterweight division, former Bellator champion and UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald has set his sights on cashing a million-dollar check at the end of it all. 

MacDonald, one of the many fighters to sign with the PFL over the past few years, will need to take on some incredible challenges including that of reigning 2019 champion Ray Cooper III, 2018 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov, David Michaud, Nikolai Aleksakhin, Joao Zeferino and Sadibou Sy.

While he was in the UFC, MacDonald was involved in battles with the likes of Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley. He also had no trouble quickly taking care of the division in Bellator, earning the division title.

Cooper and Magomedkerimov have started quite the feud, and both would like nothing more than claiming the 2021 crown with wins over the other and MacDonald along the way.

The light heavyweight division features returning champion Emiliano Sordi. But as he been the case in the weight class, anything can happen on any given night.

Jordan Young, Chris Camozzi and Tom Lawlor are among those looking to unseat Sordi and make this their year.

In the featherweight and lightweight tournaments, defending champions Lance Palmer and Natan Schulte are back looking to add to their incredible resumes. 

For Schulte, his biggest career challenge could come this season in the form of former UFC and WEC champion Anthony Pettis. “Showtime,” who is the only MMA fighter to appear on Wheaties, signed with the PFL to continue making his case as one of the all-time greats in the sport. 

Bubba Jenkins, Brendan Loughnane, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Clay Collard, Johnny Case and Marin Held are among those in contention between the two weight classes.

The PFL season begins April 23 on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Events are scheduled through June all leading to the epic championship finale. 

PFL Format Is One Of A Kind

Compared to other MMA promotions, the PFL offers up the unique format much like that of the NFL, NBA, MLB and soccer leagues around the world. 

Fighters are grouped into a regular season where they compete against one another to produce what would amount to a playoff. From there, it is single-elimination.

Once that is complete, you have two fighters left standing to compete for the largest payday in MMA: one-million dollars and the title of PFL champion.

 State-Of-The-Art Technology In Use

The PFL has brought on some of the biggest names in the world in terms of technology and advances for the sport. Through SmartCage Technology, fans are provided innovative video and an immersive viewing experience. 

Cagenomics gives those watching at home the opportunity track live in-fight stats and follow the action like never before. 

PFL has also created PFL Studios with unique and in-depth projects on the fighters and the promotion. 

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