Former Bellator Champion Jason Jackson Faces Undefeated Thad Jean in
Welterweight Semifinal Main Event
Peru’s Jesus Pinedo Meets Brazil’s Gabriel Braga in Featherweight
Semifinal Trilogy Bout
Welterweights Logan Storley and Masayuki Kikuiri Will Also Face Off, While Movlid Khaybulaev
Meets South Korea’s Taekyun Kim at Featherweight
Early Card Features Tennessee’s Own Alexei Pergande and Jason Danner in Action
NEW YORK (May 9, 2025) - Today, the Professional Fighters League announced the full card for the 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals, which take place Thursday, June 12, at the historic Nashville Municipal Auditorium. These high stakes, win-and-you’re-in Semifinals bouts are the last stop on the way to the 2025 PFL World Tournament Finals.
In the main event, former Bellator World Champion and fan-favorite Jason Jackson (19-5) faces undefeated rising star Thad Jean (9-0) in the Welterweight Semifinal. In the co-main event, 2023 PFL Featherweight Champion Jesus Pinedo (24-6) meets Gabriel Braga (16-2) in the rubber match of their highly anticipated trilogy bout that also serves as a 2025 World Tournament Featherweight Semifinal.
Rounding out the main card, former Bellator Champion Logan Storley (17-3) will take on Japan’s Masayuki Kikuiri (11-2-1) in the second Welterweight Semifinal, while undefeated 2021 PFL Featherweight Champion Movlid Khaybulaev (22-0-1) of Russia meets South Korea’s Taekyun Kim (11-1).
Tickets for 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals in Nashville start at $35 and are available through Ticketmaster.com
In addition, the Early Card is now finalized, featuring Welterweight and Featherweight alternate bouts and two showcase matchups highlighting local rising talent.
Two former Bellator Featherweight title challengers will clash when Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy (19-6) meets Hungary’s Adam Borics (19-3). Also, former Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov (28-6) returns to action against 2024 PFL Tournament Finalist Magomed Umalatov (17-1). Australia’s Joseph Luciano (10-3) will face Sarek Shields (6-2), while Russia’s Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-3) meets Kendly St. Louis (10-2) in the final welterweight alternate bout.
In addition to 2025 PFL World Tournament action, two Showcase contests will open the night. At Featherweight, Tennessee’s undefeated Alexei Pergande (5-0) returns to the SmartCage against Mike Bardsley (5-1). At Bantamweight, Tennessee’s unbeaten Jason Danner (2-0) faces Nathan Gilmore (4-5) in front of the Nashville crowd.
The 2025 PFL World Tournament airs live on ESPN platforms in the U.S., Canada and across Europe, fans can catch the action live on DAZN, while globally, the tournament will be streamed in 190 countries through 20 premium media partners.
One Shot. The annual single-elimination tournament will feature brackets at Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, Featherweight, Bantamweight, and Women’s Flyweight. The PFL World Tournament spans an action packed five months. 64 of the best fighters from around the world will compete to win MMA’s toughest test - win three straight times in five months to become PFL Tournament Champion.
The Semifinal fights will be three, five-minute rounds while the Finals are five, five-minute rounds. All events and all fights now allow the use of elbows. The PFL World Tournament will payout over $20 million in total prize money, including a $500,000 bonus for every winner.
2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals Main Card:
ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (U.S.) | DAZN (Europe & Canada)
Thursday, June 12 - 11 pm ET
Welterweight Semifinal Main Event Jason Jackson (19-5) vs. Thad Jean (9-0)
Featherweight Semifinal Co-Main Event: Jesus Pinedo (24-6) vs. Gabriel Braga (16-2)
Welterweight Semifinal Bout: Logan Storley (17-3) vs. Masayuki Kikuiri (11-2-1)
Featherweight Semifinal Bout: Movlid Khaybulaev (22-0-1) vs. Taekyun Kim (11-1)
2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals Early Card:
ESPN+ (U.S.) | DAZN (Europe & Canada)
Thursday, June 12 - 8:30 pm ET
Featherweight Alternate Bout: Jeremy Kennedy (19-6) vs. Adam Borics (19-3)
Welterweight Alternate Bout: Magomed Umalatov (17-1) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (28-6)
Welterweight Alternate Bout: Joseph Luciano (10-3) vs. Sarek Shields (6-2)
Welterweight Alternate Bout: Mukhamed Berkhamov (17-3) vs. Kendly St. Louis (10-2)
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Alexei Pergande (5-0) vs. Mike Bardsley (5-1)
Bantamweight Showcase Bout: Jason Danner (2-0) vs. Nathan Gilmore (4-5)
Upcoming 2025 PFL World Tournament Schedule:
2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals - June 12 - Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville
2025 PFL World Tournament 6: Semifinals - June 20 - INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita
2025 PFL World Tournament 7: Semifinals - June 27 - Wintrust Arena, Chicago
2025 PFL World Tournament 8: Finals - August 1 - Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
2025 PFL World Tournament 9: Finals - August 15 - Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
2025 PFL World Tournament 10: Finals - August 21 - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida
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ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league world-wide. PFL is the only MMA organization with the “win and advance” format. PFL is broadcast and streamed to 190 countries with 20 leading media partners. PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SURJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, 885 Capital, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sport business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.
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About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features seven U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more than 32,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or in the ESPN App on mobile and connected devices. For more visit the ESPN+ Press Kit.
ABOUT DAZN GROUP
DAZN is a leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK. Its wide range of content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LALIGA, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC. DAZN is the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match outside North America.
DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment business where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app.
For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit dazngroup.com.
