Heavyweight, featherweight playoffs set for PFL 8 in New Orleans

The Professional Fighters League cage will travel to New Orleans for the first time on Oct. 5, as PFL 8 crowns finalists for two divisions at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

PFL 8 will feature the quarterfinal and semifinal matches in the heavyweight and featherweight playoffs. The winners will advance to the championship bout on Dec. 31 in New York.

“It has been a great year for the Professional Fighters League and we are very excited to bring PFL 8, our first playoff event, to New Orleans,” PFL president Carlos Silva stated in the release.

“With our innovative format the League continues to make MMA history every time we put on an event and this bracket is sure to provide some incredible action in the cage as these guys compete for millions of dollars and a chance to become PFL champion.”

The heavyweight matches are Francimar Barroso vs. Josh Copeland, Jack May vs. Alex Nicholson, Philipe Lins vs. Valdrin Istrefi, and Kelvin Tiller vs. Jared Rosholt. In the featherweight division, the quarterfinal bouts are Steven Siler vs. Nazareno Malegarie, Timur Valiev vs. Alexandre Almeida, Andre Harrison vs. Alexandre Bezerra, and Lance Palmer vs. Max Coga.

PFL will crown lightweight and light heavyweight playoff finalists on the PFL 9 card, scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Long Beach Arena in Ling Beach, Calif. A week later, PFL 10 takes place at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington with the middleweight and welterweight playoff bouts.