PFL announces lineup for first three events of 2019 season

By Alexander K. Lee@AlexanderKLee Apr 4, 2019, 9:00pm EDT

Kayla Harrison will compete on the PFL’s first show of 2019 on May 9

The second season of the Professional Fighters League is ready to roll.

Lineups were announced on Thursday for the first three cards of the 2019 PFL regular season, starting with PFL 1 on May 9 and the debut of the women’s lightweight tournament, which will feature two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and unbeaten MMA fighter Kayla Harrison as well as former Invicta FC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman.

Harrison (3-0) will fight Russia’s Svetlana Khautova, while Kaufman (20-4, 1 NC) faces Morgan Frier (4-1).

PFL 1 will also feature the first set of welterweight fights, including the return of 2019 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov (23-5), who fights UFC vet John Howard (27-14-1), and finalist Ray Cooper III (17-6), who fights newcomer and fellow Hawaiian Zane Kamaka (13-3). Also, season one middleweight champion Louis Taylor (18-4-1) is dropping down to 170 pounds this year, he fights one-time Contender Series contestant Chris Curtis (20-5).

The other two fight cards that have been filled will take place on May 23 and June 6. PFL 1, 2, and 3 will all take place at NYCB Live in Long Island, New York.

PFL 2 will feature the lightweight and featherweight roster, including the returns of champions Natan Schulte and Lance Palmer, while PFL 3 will feature the heavyweight and light heavyweight tournaments, with champion Philipe Lins in action.

See below for the full lineup of matches as well as dates and broadcasting information.

PFL 1 — May 9

Main Card (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET)

Lightweight: Sarah Kaufman vs. Morgan Frier

Welterweight: Ray Cooper III vs. Zane Kamaka

Welterweight: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. John Howard

Lightweight: Kayla Harrison vs. Svetlana Khautova

Welterweight: Louis Taylor vs. Chris Curtis

Preliminaries (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira vs. Bojan Velickovic

Lightweight: Larissa Pacheco vs. Roberta Samad

Welterweight: Gamzat Khiramagomedov vs. Glaico Franca