The Professional Fighters League is home to some of the most exciting talents in all of mixed martial arts.
Formed in 2017, the PFL has continued to grow since its inception and currently boasts an extensive roster across several weight classes, with a number of elite fighters under contract.
In 2023 the promotion acquired Bellator MMA, bringing with it a number of the world's best competitors, many of whom have since gone on to capture gold in their new home.
Initially adopting a tournament format, PFL has since moved to a traditional model of individual champions reigning over each weight class allowing the best to fight the best more frequently - a format that has worked tremendously for the UFC in building fighters' legacies over the years.
With a number of events on the horizon we've taken a look at some of the must-see talents that the PFL has to offer in 2026.
Usman Nurmagomedov
Arguably the best fighter in the world at 155lbs in any promotion including the UFC, Usman Nurmagomedov is a prodigious talent and currently holds the PFL lightweight title.
The cousin of UFC Hall of Fame inductee Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman was a highly-touted prospect before he even first stepped into the cage for his professional debut in 2017.
After finding success in his native Russia, Nurmagomedov took his talents stateside and was one of the most high-profile acquisitions after the Bellator roster was absorbed into PFL.
Boasting an undefeated record across 22 trips to the cage, Nurmagomedov became the inaugural PFL lightweight champion last year, and aged just 27 his reign of dominance shows no signs of slowing down.
Paul Hughes
The only fighter to threaten Nurmagomedov's unbeaten run inside the cage is Ireland's Paul Hughes.
Like his rival Hughes was quickly identified as a prodigious talent from an early age, and unified the Cage Warriors featherweight belt before making his way to the PFL in 2024.
While wins over the likes of A.J. McKee, Bruno Miranda, and Jordan Vucenic would be significant notches on any fighter's belt, Hughes' most impressive performances have arguably come in the two defeats he has suffered in the PFL cage.
In both fights against Nurmagomedov in 2025 Hughes became one of the first fighters to successfully contain the relentless onslaught for which the champion has become so feared.
Though he found himself on the wrong end of the judges' scorecards on both meetings, Hughes is undoubtedly one of the most exciting talents in all of MMA right now and he will look to build on his reputation over the coming year.
Dakota Ditcheva
Since the UFC incorporated women's divisions over a decade ago, it has been hard to argue that the best fighters in the world don't ply their trade inside the Octagon.
That is, until now.
One of the biggest success stories of the PFL's expansion into the European scene, Ditcheva worked her way up through PFL Europe, winning the women's flyweight tournament in 2023.
Ditcheva followed that up the following year by stopping former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in the final of the PFL women's flyweight tournament to become the first woman ever to win a major MMA world title.
Injuries have sidelined the 27-year-old of late so expect her to be baying for blood when she is finally able to get back inside the cage.
Vadim Nemkov
Long ranked as one of the greatest fighters never to have fought in the UFC, Vadim Nemkov is the spiritual successor of legendary Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
A decorated combat sambo practitioner, Nemkov has amassed an impressive list of wins since transitioning over into MMA, with wins over the likes of Phil Davis, Ryan Bader and Yoel Romero.
At a time when the UFC's heavyweight division is in the midst of a historic downturn, a convincing argument could be made that Nemkov is the best fighter in the division irrespective of promotion.
The fighting future of Francis Ngannou is unclear at the moment, but if the PFL are able to set up a showdown between the former UFC champion and Nemkov few could deny it would mark the first time since the days of Fedor himself that the best heavyweight in MMA is not contracted to the UFC.
Sergio Pettis
The younger brother of former UFC champion Anthony, Sergio Pettis faced an unenviable task to step out of his older brother's shadow when he made his own way into MMA.
Pettis started brightly with a perfect professional record across his first ten fights, and established himself as one of the best flyweights in the UFC before departing the promotion in 2019.
In recent history many fighters have opted not to renew their UFC deals to test free agency but few have enjoyed as much success as Pettis after departing for pastures new.
After capturing the Bellator bantamweight title Pettis was one of the highest-profile arrivals in the PFL, and his stunning 2025 KO of Magomed Magomedov shows that the 32-year-old still has a lot to give inside the cage.
