The PFL has been here before — sort of. The fight promotion ends its 2025 season with three August fight cards featuring finals in its eight weight classes, starting with Friday’s event in Atlantic City, New Jersey (9 p.m. ET on ESPN; prelims at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+), headlined by championship fights at welterweight and featherweight.
The main event at Boardwalk Hall pits undefeated welterweight Thad Jean against Logan Storley, and the co-main event matches up past PFL featherweight season champions Movlid Khaybulaev (2021) and Jesus Pinedo (2023).
This year, for the first time, the PFL has followed a single-elimination tournament format to get to the finals. The promotion’s previous six seasons ended with championship finals, too, but those title bouts capped off playoffs determined by a regular-season standings format. Having eight weight classes is also a first for the PFL, after past seasons operated in six divisions.
Here are some things to know about Friday’s 2025 PFL finals.
How Jean got here: Defeated Mukhamed Berkhamov by first-round TKO on April 3; defeated Jason Jackson by split decision in a June 12 semifinal.
How Storley got here: Defeated Joseph Luciano by unanimous decision on April 3; defeated Masayuki Kikuiri by unanimous decision in a June 12 semifinal.
Fighting words: “If [Storley] actually does want to fight, then yeah, I’m going to take it away from him. Not in the third round, the fourth, the fifth. No, the first two rounds, he’s gone. … I’m not the boring fighter. I’m the fighter that you want to see. I’m the fighter that you want to tune in and watch. I’m the fighter that you want to see win or lose — it doesn’t matter, I want you to watch me. … In the great words of [Conor] McGregor, ‘We’re not here to take part; we’re here to take over.’ And that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re going to take over everything. That’s exactly why it’s so important for me to become the champion, because I am the next step.” — Thad Jean
“Why I’ve had the career that I’ve had is just the grittiness, the consistency of doing hard things over and over and over again. The ability to perform. I’ve had probably 800 hand-to-hand combat and wrestling [matches] since I was 5 years old, through college and in MMA. I’ve competed a lot against the best guys in the world. And so the nerves, what’s on the line, the NCAA [wrestling] tournament on ESPN, I’ve done that.” — Logan Storley
X factor: Teamwork. Jean’s most recent victory — and biggest win of his young career — came against Jackson, a teammate of Storley’s at Kill Cliff FC gym in South Florida. Surely Storley, Jackson and their coaches have put their heads together to sort out what went wrong and how Storley can avoid a similar result.
What to watch for: If you can read Jean’s name printed on the back of his shorts, that’s bad news for Storley, because it means the fighters are standing and trading punches and kicks, not lying on the canvas grappling. This is a classic striker-versus-wrestler matchup. Storley was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota, finishing third at 174 pounds in the 2014 NCAA national championships. Jean, by contrast, is a versatile and explosive striker whose fast kicks and long punches have kept him safely away from takedown shots. Can Storley close the distance without getting knocked out?
Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (23-0-1, 1 NC) vs. Jesus Pinedo (25-6-1)
How Khaybulaev got here: Defeated Jeremy Kennedy by split decision on April 3; defeated Tae Kyun Kim by unanimous decision in a June 12 semifinal.
How Pinedo got here: Defeated Adam Borics by first-round TKO on April 3; defeated Gabriel Braga by first-round TKO in a June 12 semifinal.
Number to know: 0. Whenever a fighter’s record ends in a zero — as in, no losses — that’s always the key number, especially when said fighter has competed more than two dozen times as a professional. The thing that’s different with Khaybulaev is that he has tasted defeat in the PFL. In the 2019 quarterfinals, he was knocked out by Daniel Pineda — but the result was overturned to a no contest after Pineda tested positive for a banned substance. Still, Khaybulaev has experienced being knocked out and Pinedo is a power puncher, with KOs in his past nine wins.
Fighting words: “I’m just a different type of fighter than what [Khaybulaev] has faced. A lot of guys — whether it’s being afraid of Movlid or over-respecting him — they change their fight style when they see him. I’m going to fight my same fight, and that’s going to be something he’s never faced. … My game plan for every fight is stay standing, defend takedowns and come forward and bring pressure to the fight. … I came for the money, the belt and to take his zero.” — Jesus Pinedo
“If [Pinedo] wants to have a war, we’re going to have it. That puts more fire into me. … If he thinks that he saw people who had good wrestling, he has another thing coming. Our wrestling is on a different level. … The thing with Khabib [Nurmagomedov] being in my corner, the best thing is that he gives precise advice. He sees the full picture. Sometimes cornermen yell different advice. He is always spot on. He’s very precise. If you listen to him and execute well, that gives you an advantage.” — Movlid Khaybulaev
X factor: Inactivity. Both of these fighters sat out all of 2024. Khaybulaev’s absence reached almost two years, as he stepped away in June 2023 and did not return until this past April. He’s never fully explained the reason for his break from the sport. Pinedo, on the other hand, spent much of 2024 recovering from a back injury, and his scheduled return in November was canceled after Pinedo badly missed weight. Both fighters bounced back with a pair of 2025 tournament wins, and Pinedo’s two KOs were impressive.
What to watch for: Pinedo is 9-1 in his past 10 fights, with six of his nine knockouts coming in the first round. In his one fight that went the distance, Pinedo lost a split decision. He has not won a decision since 2018. Khaybulaev, by contrast, has built his career on impressing cageside judges. Among his 23 victories, 14 came by decision, all but three of them unanimous. He has more decision wins than knockouts (6) and submissions (3) combined. So the thing to watch for is a Round 2 and beyond, something Pinedo has not experienced since 2023. Considering that the PFL books its finals for five rounds, Pinedo could be taken where he’s never been before. Khaybulaev has fought five rounds only once, but his game is built for long journeys.
Friday’s full fight card
ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET
Welterweight final: Jean vs. Storley
Featherweight final: Pinedo vs. Khaybulaev
Featherweight: Asaël Adjoudj vs. Yves Landu
Middleweight: Jordan Newman vs. Eslam Abdul Baset
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET
Catchweight: Jakub Kaszuba vs. Sergio Cossio
Lightweight: Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Kyle Driscoll
Featherweight: Nathan Kelly vs. Frederik Dupras
Welterweight: Sarek Shields vs. Nick Meck
Featherweight: Matt Turnbull vs. Tom Pagliarulo
The rest of the PFL finals
Aug. 15 in Charlotte, North Carolina
Lightweight: Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Alfie Davis
Women’s flyweight: Liz Carmouche vs. Jena Bishop
Bantamweight: Marcirley Alves vs. Justin Wetzell
Aug. 21 in Hollywood, Florida
Middleweight: Fabian Edwards vs. Dalton Rosta
Light heavyweight: Sullivan Cauley vs. Antonio Carlos Jr.
Heavyweight: Alexandr Romanov vs. Oleg Popov