The PFL has announced its eight welterweights set to compete for a $500,000 tournament prize.
Former Bellator titleholders Jason Jackson, Andrey Koreshkov, and Logan Storley headline a field that comprises the eight-man PFL World Tournament 170-pound bracket. Joining them are 2024 PFL tournament finalist Magomed Umalatov, 2024 PFL Europe champion Florim Zendeli, Ultimate Fighter 32 cast member Giannis Bachar, PFL and Bellator veteran Mukhamed Berkhamov, and recent Bellator competitor Masayuki Kikuiri.
The tournament is set to start on April 3 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., with the winner receiving a $500,000 prize in addition to 2025 champion status.
Jackson (18-5) seeks to claim gold again after losing the Bellator welterweight title to Ramazan Kuramagomedov this past June. Prior to that setback, “The Ass-Kicking Machine” had recorded eight straight wins, including a decision win over Yaroslav Amosov to become champion.
Also a one-time Bellator champion, Koreshkov (28-5) has won six of his past seven fights and is 1-1 in PFL so far, defeating Goiti Yamauchi in his most recent outing to bounce back from a loss to Umalatov.
Storley (16-3) is the third of the former Bellator titleholders to compete in the upcoming PFL season, though he only managed an interim share from a split nod over Michael Page before losing a unification bout against Amosov. The American has alternated wins and losses in his past five bouts.
Zendeli (8-1-1) is coming hot off of first-round submission of Daniele Miceli that earned him a 2024 PFL Europe tournament crown. He received a $100,000 prize for that win and now chases an even greater reward.
TUF 32’s Bachar (9-2) failed to make it past the opening round of the reality television competition, losing to eventual finalist Robert Valentin. Outside of that show, Bachar has won eight straight fights. In his most recent outing before TUF, Bachar knocked out Omiel Brown in 50 seconds to win a vacant Cage Warriors welterweight title.
Rounding out the group are Berkhamov (17-2) and Kikuiri (10-2-1), both of whom fought under the PFL/Bellator banner in 2024. Berkhamov won a split decision over two-time PFL champion Ray Cooper III this past August, while Kikuiri went 2-0 inside the Bellator cage with knockouts of Herman Terrado and Alexey Shurkevich.
