A Global Showcase on Long Island: PFL New York Preview
Eleven countries, six spotlight fights and two undefeated lightweights competing for championship gold headline the PFL’s first event at UBS Arena.
One week after emphasizing the international reach of its roster at PFL DC, the Professional Fighters League will bring another global lineup to New York.
The 22 fighters scheduled to compete Friday at UBS Arena represent 11 countries: the United States, Russia, England, the Netherlands, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Egypt, Australia, Brazil, Senegal and Burundi.
That international mix is evident throughout the card. An American collegiate wrestler challenges an undefeated Russian champion in the main event. England and the Netherlands meet in a high-level striking matchup in the co-main event. Russia and Cuba collide at lightweight, while American and Russian prospects face experienced opposition further down the lineup.
For a promotion that describes itself as a global alternative in mixed martial arts, PFL New York offers a chance to make that identity visible.
Main Event: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Archie Colgan
The lightweight championship fight presents the simplest and most compelling question on the card: What happens when two undefeated fighters with elite wrestling foundations are finally placed across from one another?
PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov enters at 21-0 with one no-contest on his record. The No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion retained his title in February by submitting Alfie Davis with an arm-triangle choke in the fourth round.
Nurmagomedov’s dominance begins with grappling, but defining him strictly as a wrestler undersells the rest of his game. He is comfortable controlling distance, switching stances and using kicks to make opponents hesitate before they close the distance. Once they begin reacting to his striking, his takedowns and clinch entries become increasingly difficult to anticipate.
Archie Colgan may be the most credible wrestling test of Nurmagomedov’s career.
The 13-0 challenger was a Big 12 champion and two-time NCAA tournament qualifier at the University of Wyoming, where he recorded 112 collegiate victories. That background has translated effectively to MMA, with Colgan using pressure, takedowns and conditioning to build an unbeaten run across Bellator and the PFL.
Colgan does not need to dominate every wrestling exchange to change the complexion of the fight. If he can defend Nurmagomedov’s first attempts, force the champion to work along the fence and make him carry weight, he may be able to reduce the freedom with which Nurmagomedov operates at range.
The challenge will be sustaining that pressure without giving away advantageous positions. Nurmagomedov excels in transitions, where one defended takedown can quickly become a second attempt, a body lock or a scramble that leaves his opponent underneath him.
Colgan has the credentials to make the champion work. Nurmagomedov has the deeper striking arsenal, more five-round experience and more ways to win individual minutes.
What to watch: Whether Colgan can consistently disengage after stopping the first takedown. Remaining tied up with Nurmagomedov may be almost as dangerous as being taken down.
Co-Main Event: Dakota Ditcheva vs. Denise Kielholtz
Dakota Ditcheva’s return is about more than protecting a 15-0 record. It is an opportunity to regain the momentum that made her one of the PFL’s most valuable emerging stars.
The former Muay Thai and kickboxing standout won the 2023 PFL Europe championship before dominating the 2024 global season. Her run ended with a second-round stoppage of Taila Santos, establishing Ditcheva as the promotion’s women’s flyweight tournament champion.
Her progress has since been interrupted by two hand injuries. Ditcheva broke one hand during her July 2025 decision victory over Sumiko Inaba, then injured the other while preparing to face Denise Kielholtz in February.
She will now return against the same opponent after more than a year away from competition.
Kielholtz’s 9-5 MMA record does not fully capture her combat-sports experience. The Dutch veteran is a former Bellator Kickboxing World Champion and a judo black belt. She is comfortable exchanging at range but also possesses the balance and throwing ability to punish opponents who become careless in the clinch.
Ditcheva will hold advantages in size, youth and offensive variety. She attacks every level, combining punches with kicks to the legs and body before doing some of her best work with knees and elbows at close range. Twelve of her 15 victories have come inside the distance.
The primary question is whether the injuries have affected her willingness to commit to combinations. If Ditcheva trusts her hands and quickly settles into her rhythm, Kielholtz may struggle to match her output.
What to watch: Ditcheva’s hands during the opening round. Her willingness to throw extended combinations will offer an early indication of whether the physical and psychological effects of the injuries are behind her.
Amru Magomedov vs. Angel Alvarez
The main-card opener gives the PFL another opportunity to evaluate an unbeaten Russian lightweight.
Amru Magomedov needed only 37 seconds to win his promotional debut in February, overwhelming Kolton Englund with ground-and-pound. The victory moved Magomedov to 10-0 and gave PFL audiences a brief introduction to another lightweight emerging from the Dagestani system.
Magomedov is at his best when he can dictate the direction of the fight. He pressures opponents toward the fence, changes levels beneath their punches and attacks aggressively once he establishes top position. Eight of his 10 victories have come by stoppage.
Angel “Salsa King” Alvarez brings a different type of challenge. The Cuban-born former CFFC champion is 11-2 and won his PFL debut by decision over Bryce Logan. While Magomedov has produced more finishes, Alvarez has shown an ability to maintain his pace and make opponents work across all three rounds.
Cardio may be Alvarez’s most important weapon. He is unlikely to win a short, chaotic grappling exchange with Magomedov, but he can make the undefeated prospect repeatedly earn those exchanges. Defending the first layer of offense, returning to his feet and extending the fight could create opportunities that were never available to Englund.
What to watch: How Magomedov responds if the early finish does not materialize. Alvarez has the durability and conditioning to turn a prospect showcase into a prolonged test.
Raufeon Stots vs. Lazaro Dayron
The featured preliminary bout is one of the card’s most accomplished wrestling matchups.
Raufeon Stots is a two-time NCAA Division II national champion and former interim Bellator bantamweight champion. His 21-4 record includes years of competition against ranked and championship-level opposition.
Stots enters New York needing to reverse his recent momentum. He has lost consecutive decisions to Sergio Pettis and undefeated contender Renat Khavalov, dropping him to No. 5 in the rankings displayed on the New York card.
Across from him will be another decorated wrestler.
Lazaro Dayron was a member of Cuba’s national freestyle wrestling team, earned nine national medals and competed in international Grand Prix and Pan American events. He has translated that background into a 10-0-1 professional MMA record and enters as the PFL’s No. 10-ranked bantamweight.
Dayron is physically compact at 5-foot-5 and excels at getting underneath opponents’ hips. Stots is two inches taller, owns a five-inch reach advantage and has considerably more experience integrating striking with wrestling at the highest levels of the sport.
Because both fighters are comfortable grappling, the bout may ultimately be decided by their striking. Stots has spent more time navigating high-level kickboxing exchanges, while Dayron’s pressure can make it difficult for opponents to create the space needed to work.
What to watch: Which wrestler is more willing to strike. If their takedowns neutralize one another, Stots’ reach and experience on the feet could become decisive.
Khabib Nabiev vs. Jamelle Jones
Jamelle Jones may have the most personal story on the card.
More than four years after his previous PFL appearance, “The Beast” returns to face undefeated Russian prospect Khabib Nabiev. Jones previously competed for the promotion as an undersized heavyweight, going 1-2 and reaching the 2021 playoffs. He now returns to his natural light-heavyweight division.
The road back was not straightforward. Jones continued training while working outside the sport and serving as the primary caregiver for his young son. He remained selective about accepting regional opportunities, unwilling to take fights that did not reflect his experience or value.
Jones returned to competition in October 2024 and submitted Reuben Roundstone in the opening round, extending his winning streak to three. He enters New York at 15-8, with 13 victories inside the distance.
During his appearance on 4oz to Freedom, Jones described his approach to the Nabiev fight as “kill or be killed.” That mentality reflects both his finishing ability and his understanding of the role he has been assigned.
Nabiev is 12-0, with 10 stoppages equally divided between knockouts and submissions. He made his PFL debut in February, stopping Ahmed Sami with punches from mount in the second round. His calculated pressure, wrestling and ground-and-pound make him another imposing product of the Dagestani system.
Jones cannot allow Nabiev to settle into a controlled fight. His best chance is to create uncomfortable exchanges, force the prospect to react and use the experience accumulated across 23 professional appearances.
For Nabiev, Jones is a test of whether he can maintain his composure against a physically strong opponent who has nothing to lose. For Jones, the matchup is an opportunity to prove he has returned as a contender, not as a stepping stone.
What to watch: Nabiev’s reaction when Jones refuses to concede space. The Russian has rarely been forced to compete in the type of unpredictable fight Jones intends to create.
Montana De La Rosa vs. Tatiana Postarnakova
The second women’s flyweight fight on the card presents a familiar prospect-versus-veteran equation.
Montana De La Rosa will make her PFL debut after compiling a 6-5-1 record in the UFC. The 31-year-old owns victories over Andrea Lee, Ariane Lipski and Rachael Ostovich, with her wrestling and submission game forming the foundation of her success.
She enters with a 13-9-1 overall record and significantly more experience than Tatiana Postarnakova, whom PFL bills at 7-0.
Postarnakova made her promotional debut in March, defeating Elora Dana by unanimous decision. The Russian prospect had produced several quick finishes earlier in her career, but the Dana fight demonstrated that she could remain composed across three rounds.
De La Rosa represents a substantial step up in competition. She has shared the cage with established UFC contenders and understands how to survive difficult positions. Postarnakova is younger, quicker and carries more momentum, but she has not encountered an opponent with De La Rosa’s depth of professional experience.
The matchup may come down to who controls the clinch. De La Rosa will want to turn tie-ups into takedowns and extended grappling exchanges. Postarnakova needs to separate cleanly, preserve space and force the veteran to absorb strikes before initiating her offense.
What to watch: Postarnakova’s takedown defense. If she can keep the fight standing, her speed should become increasingly important. If De La Rosa establishes top control, the prospect will face questions she has not yet been required to answer.
Eleven Countries, One Cage
The six spotlight bouts only tell part of the international story.
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov brings the flag of Turkmenistan into his featured light-heavyweight fight with England’s Simeon Powell. Egypt is represented by Omar El Dafrawy, Australia by Sean Gauci, Brazil by Allan Begosso, Senegal by Moustapha Diakhaté and Burundi by Zacharia Nishimwe.
The United States leads the card with seven representatives, followed by Russia with four. England and Cuba each have two, while the remaining seven countries are each represented by one fighter.
That variety reinforces the message PFL emphasized in Washington: its roster is not designed around a single market or developmental pipeline. American collegiate wrestlers, Cuban freestyle specialists, Dagestani grapplers, European kickboxers and prospects from emerging African MMA markets are all competing within the same structure.
On Friday, that global identity will be concentrated inside UBS Arena.
The main event will determine whether Nurmagomedov’s championship reign continues or Colgan becomes the first fighter to defeat him. Ditcheva will attempt to restart her ascent after a year defined by injuries. Magomedov, Dayron, Nabiev and Postarnakova will put unbeaten records at risk, while Alvarez, Stots, Jones and De La Rosa try to prove that experience remains the most difficult test a prospect can face.
PFL New York is international in presentation, but each spotlight fight is built around the same fundamental question: Is this the night an established name reasserts itself, or the moment somebody new breaks through?
PFL New York Event Information
Date: Friday, July 31, 2026
Venue: UBS Arena, Belmont Park, Long Island, New York
Preliminary card: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN App
Main card: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Tickets: Purchase through Ticketmaster
