PFL plans global expansion using 2021 season as springboard | More sports News – Times of India

JAIPUR: In just a few weeks from now, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) will be making its highly-anticipated return to action following the interruption by the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic.
The only mixed martial arts (MMA) league to have a regular season and playoffs-style format, the PFL has grown into the second-largest industry leader in MMA, behind only the UFC, in just their third year of operation.
Now, the PFL is gearing up for their 2021 season commencing April 23.
World Class Roster Of Fighters
While the unique league format separates the PFL from the rest of the MMA landscape, it’s their stacked roster of world class talents that makes for an exciting product. In just their first two seasons, the PFL was able to build up homegrown talents such as Natan Schulte, Kayla Harrison, and Lance Palmer into world champions. This season, the PFL’s already-impressive roster of talent got even deeper with the addition of a number of established world champions.
The 2021 season will witness the much-awaited debuts of MMA world champions such as Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Pettis, and Rory MacDonald, as well as the MMA debut of three-division women’s boxing champion Claressa Shields.
Werdum, Pettis, and MacDonald will all compete for the million-dollar prize and the right to be called their respective divisions’ PFL World Champion at the end of this season, while Shields will compete in special attraction bouts to get her prepared for her own entry into the PFL’s title tournament next season.
State-Of-The-Art Bio-Bubble
To ensure the health and safety of the fighters and the staff during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the current season of the PFL will emanate from a state-of-the-art bio-bubble at the Ocean Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
There, the fighters will have full access to training facilities and a PFL cage to make sure that even inside the bubble, they are at the top of their game.
While other sports leagues have successfully held seasons and tournaments inside a bubble setting, the PFL will be the first MMA league to do so, guaranteeing that the integrity of the season is upheld.
International Expansion
While the PFL’s roster for the 2021 season is set, the league continues to look for talent to develop, and they have zoned in on a handful of hot zones for potential MMA stars, one of them being India.
India remains one of the biggest markets for MMA in the world, and the PFL has already started breaking into that market by signing a broadcast deal with one of the country’s biggest broadcasters, Eurosport India.
Later this year, the PFL is also expected to hold qualifier events in India, in a move to attract and potentially bring in more talent from the country into the PFL’s global stage.
As the world continues to slowly break away from the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, sporting events like the PFL will once again be able to set up shop in international shores in the near future. When that day comes, it’s certain that the PFL will take their brand of MMA action to Indian soil.