Professional Fighters League launches an MMA division in Australia and New Zealand
SYDNEY — The Professional Fighters League has launched a new international division in Australia and New Zealand to showcase mixed martial arts competitors in the Oceania region.
The PFL Pacific was launched in Sydney on Tuesday, expanding the league's reach into the southern hemisphere.
'It has been a priority of ours to bring the Professional Fighters League to Australia and the Pacific region,' PFL chief executive Peter Murray said in a statement. 'With the launch of PFL Pacific, we're also building a foundation for long-term growth and aiming to crown more Aussie champions than any other league over the next three years.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Dead giveaway' makes Dan Hardy think Sean O'Malley beats Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316
'Dead giveaway' makes Dan Hardy think Sean O'Malley beats Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 Sean O'Malley's most significant moment against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 should be his target for the rematch, says Dan Hardy. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision last September. He wasn't able to land too many clean strikes, but a teep to the body had Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) backing up late in Round 5. As they prepare to run things back in Saturday's UFC 316 headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Hardy urges O'Malley to invest in his bodywork. "Sean O'Malley is going to feel like he needs to be more proactive in trying to find finishes," Hardy said on his YouTube channel. "Because that last round went the way that it did with the front kick to the midsection and Merab being hurt and looking up at the clock, I mean, that was a dead giveaway. The obvious target for Merab is his midsection." O'Malley captured the bantamweight title with a perfectly placed counter-right hand on Aljamain Sterling's chin at UFC 292. Hardy advises O'Malley to break down Dvalishvili before trying to find the kill shot. "In that last round, I think O'Malley realized there was another route to victory other than landing a clean punch on the chin, and that was damaging his body," Hardy added. "Potentially there was a game plan to come in and attack the body against Merab, but the mistake they were making was that O'Malley was using his cross, which was leaving his head open to that swiping lead hook that Merab does so well. If I'm O'Malley, of course I'm expecting the wrestling threat, but I can't let that hold me back. I still need to be aggressive and on the front foot. I need to be picking at Merab so he doesn't feel like he can set the pace and have his own way. "Especially if Merab is controlling the pace more in this fight like he was in the last one, where he's taking moments, where he's resting. That's where Sean O'Malley needs to be proactive. Front kicks to the midsection are going to be the obvious way for Sean O'Malley to open this. If he can do damage, if he he can sap the gas tank of Merab, those front kicks will chain very well with knees up the midsection, which are very good for people that level change constantly. It will be a deterrent for Merab to close range down the centerline, so that's an additional bonus for O'Malley throwing those front kicks and knees down the centerline. ... You have to slow those kind of fighters down and damage them in ways that they kind of can't psychologically deny." Contrary to most pundits, Hardy predicts an O'Malley win. "O'Malley's got the skills and the technique to be able to put Merab away," Hardy said. "But if Merab plays the right game, he should be able to maul and drown O'Malley. Having said that, I think we're going to get a rubber match. I feel like O'Malley might steal this one with something clean as Merab is overextending himself."
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Julianna Peña says she's defending herself, not trash talking in UFC 316 buildup
Julianna Peña says she's defending herself, not trash talking in UFC 316 buildup Show Caption Hide Caption UFC 316: Julianna Peña media day interview UFC 316 co-headliner Julianna Peña spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for her women's bantamweight title fight vs. Kayla Harrison. MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Julianna Peña says the shots she's fired at Kayla Harrison were done defensively – not offensively. Ahead of their UFC 316 clash Saturday, both Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had their time to speak Wednesday with reporters including MMA Junkie. While Harrison said she is unbothered by the trash talk, Peña said the label misrepresents what's happened in actuality. The bout is the co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.. "I am not trash talking, I'm simply defending myself," Peña said. "This all started before I even knew who Kayla Harrison was. When I beat Amanda Nunes, I saw this blond girl sitting cageside, freaking out, cussing and having all sorts of obscenities to say about me for beating Amanda Nunes and throwing a gigantic wrench in her plans. She's been trash talking me for a long time, long before I even knew who she was. It created more of a problem for me when I said it was going to be the media's fault. It was going to be the media's fault. They were going to have blood on their hands for you guys giving me the delusion to think that I could hang with her and stand across the octagon from her. "Then her agent had made a comment that she was going to win by murder and that she was going to catch some murder charges because she was going to murder me. These are the things that me talking back is my way of defending myself. I believe that it's trash talk, but I'm just responding to the things and the allegations and the horrendous comments that she's made about me. She needs to take accountability for the things that she said and it's my job to do that on Saturday night." Should Peña dish out that accountability, it'll be her first successful title defense and a huge betting upset. Though it was quick, her first title reign began with an all-time upset against Amanda Nunes in 2022, who she could face again should she win Saturday. So how does the underdog win? "The last time you guys counted me out, you had to take it up the you-know-what," Peña said, when asked where her confidence comes from. "I think that's one of the things. I think the preparation and that I've been doing this for a long time. I've been fighting since 2008. When you put so much blood, sweat, and tears into everything and you're that dedicated and that passionate, there's only good things that can happen. I think that's what gives me the confidence."
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
PFL's Alexander Shabliy suspended 6 months by USADA after withdrawing from tournament
PFL's Alexander Shabliy suspended 6 months by USADA after withdrawing from tournament At the time Alexander Shabliy withdrew from the PFL lightweight tournament, it was unclear why. Now we know. On Wednesday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that Shabliy accepted a six-month suspension for failing a drug test caused by a sample collected March 19. Shabliy, 32, tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO), the same performance enhancer that earned former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw a two-year suspension from USADA in 2019. Shabliy had been slated to fight former Bellator champion Brent Primus at PFL 3 on April 18. Shabliy (24-3) last competed in September 2024, dropping a unanimous decision to then-champ Usman Nurmagomedov. Shabliy will be eligible to fight again for PFL in September after serving his six-month suspension.
