Professional Fighters League: Schedule, format, rules, how to watch & history

Everything you need to know ahead of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) regular season.

This will include what the PFL is, the season format for the PFL, key dates for the PFL, how to watch the PFL, the PFL weight divisions, and some of the PFL history.

What is the PFL?

The PFL is a mixed martial arts league with a unique twist. Fighters in the PFL compete in a regular season to try and make the playoffs and ultimately compete for a championship. 

This is different from other promotions, such as the UFC, where fighters compete a handful of times per year to try and move up the rankings and eventually fight for a title.

PFL season format 

The PFL offers a unique format compared to most MMA promotions. They have a full regular season, consisting of 10 events.

Each fighter competes in two three-round fights throughout the regular season and at the end of the regular season the fighters with the four highest point totals advance to the playoffs for their weight division.

The winners of the semifinals in each division compete in the PFL Championship, with the winner receiving a $1million prize.

The PFL implements a point system throughout the regular season as well, which determines who does and does not make the playoffs. This point system is based on the following criteria:

Wins: 3 Points
Ties: 1 Point
Losses: 0 Points

Missing Weight: -1 Point and that fighter cannot earn any points from the fight.

Bonus Points are awarded to Finishes by KO or Submission:

Round 1: 3 Points
Round 2: 2 Points
Round 1: 1 Point   

PFL 2024 season schedule

Only three PFL events have been confirmed so far, which include the following:

• 2024 PFL Regular Season: Heavyweights and Women’s Featherweights - April 4th at the Boeing Center at Tech Port, San Antonio, TX at 6:00 PM ET

• 2024 PFL Regular Season: Light Heavyweights and Lightweights - April 12th at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, NV at 6:00 PM ET

• 2024 PFL Regular Season: Welterweights and Featherweights - April 19th at the Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois at 6:30 PM ET

There are expected to be a total of 10 PFL Fight Nights throughout the year with the playoffs for each division to be held in the Fall and the championships to be held in the Winter. 

How to watch PFL, TV channel and streaming

Every PFL event is available to watch on ESPN and you can stream all of these events on ESPN+.

PFL weight divisions

There are currently six weight divisions in the PFL - Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight and Women’s Featherweight.

PFL history

The PFL was founded by Donn Davis in 2017 following the reformatting of the World Series of Fighting.

The inaugural PFL season in 2018 consisted of six divisions (Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight), but only involved male fighters.

However, in 2019, the PFL introduced the Women’s Lightweight division, cutting the Men’s Middleweight division. 

The 2020 PFL season was cancelled, but made its return in 2021. The six PFL divisions remained unchanged in 2021 and 2022, but in 2023, the Women’s Lightweight division was replaced by the Women’s Featherweight division.

Further, in November of 2023, the PFL acquired Bellator MMA and now enters its seventh season, which is set to begin in early April.