Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau headlines PFL 5 main card with welterweights and light heavyweights

A pair of former UFC fighters will clash in the main event for the PFL 5 card on June 17 as Rory MacDonald faces off with Gleison Tibau from Atlantic City, N.J.

MacDonald made a successful debut with the PFL in April where he dispatched Curtis Millender by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. The former UFC title contender first signed with the PFL back in 2019 but didn’t actually make his first appearance with the promotion until 2021 due to the previous season being cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Tibau will look to bounce back after suffering a loss to Joao Zeferino in his first fight with the PFL. The veteran Brazilian had picked up back-to-back wins prior to that setback but now he’ll need to score a win over MacDonald if he wants to move forward into the 2021 playoffs with the promotion.

As part of the PFL’s point system, only the top four fighters in every division will move ahead with the playoffs and the finals later this year.

In the co-main event, 2019 PFL champion Ray Cooper will look to punch his ticket to another run in the playoffs when he takes on Nikolai Aleksakhin. The card will also feature previous PFL light heavyweight champion Emiliano Sordi facing off with Dan Spohn.

Here’s the full PFL 5 card on June 17 including the main card on ESPN2 and prelims on ESPN+

ESPN2 Card

Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau

Ray Cooper III vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin

Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn

Cezar Ferreira vs Chris Camozzi

ESPN+ Card

Antonio Carlos Jr vs. Vinny Magalhaes

Marthin Hamlet vs. Cory Hendricks

Joao Zeferino vs. Jason Ponet

Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Curtis Millender

Tom Lawlor vs. Jordan Young

Sadibou Sy vs Aleksei Kunchenko