Canadian Jeremy (JBC) Kennedy will fight unbeaten Russian Movlid Khaybulaev, the 2021 champion, in the first round of the featherweight division of the 2025 Professional Fighters League World Tournament.
And Canadian middleweight Aaron Jeffery will open against Russian Murad Ramazanov.
The single-elimination PFL tournament, spanning five months, features 64 fighters divided into eight weight-class brackets.
The competition kicks off on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando with four cards on April 3, April 11, April 18 and May 1. Kennedy, a 32-year-old from Surrey, B.C., is due to fight April 3 and Jeffery, a 32-year-old from Tillsonburg, Ont., on April 18.
The Kennedy-Khaybulaev winner will face either Ireland's Nathan Kelly or South Korea's Tae Jyun (Ares) Kim in the semifinals.
The other side of the 145-pound bracket has Peru's Jesus (El Mudo) Pinedo, the 2023 PFL champion, versus Hungary's Adam (The Kid) Borics and Brazil's Gabriel Braga versus France's Yves (You Know) Landu.
Kennedy (19-5-0 with one no-contest) has fought in Bellator and the UFC and is in his second stint in the PFL. Khaybulaev (24-0-1 with one no-contest) has won seven straight since a first-round knockout loss to American Daniel (The Pit) Pineda in October 2019 was turned into a no-contest after Pineda failed a drug test.
Pineda's win over Kennedy that same night was also turned into a no-contest.
Canadian Frederick Dupras (8-1-0) is an alternate in the featherweight division.
Jeffery (15-5-0) had his last six fights in the Bellator promotion, going 4-2-0. Ramazanov (12-2-0) is coming off a pair of losses to fellow Russian Shamil (Silent Assassin) Musaev, the PFL's 2024 welterweight champion.
The Jeffery-Murad Ramazanov winner will face Sweden's Sadibou (The Swedish Denzel) Sy or American Dalton (Hercules) Rosta.
The other side of the 185-pound bracket has American Impa (Tshilobo) Kasanganay versus England's Fabian (The Assassin) Edwards and American Josh (Coninha) Silveira versus England's Mike (Seabass) Shipman.
After the first round, the PFL tournament semifinals are scheduled for June in Nashville (June 12), Wichita (June 20) and Chicago (June 27). The finals are set for Aug. 1, 15 and 21 at locations yet to be announced.
The tournament carries US$20 million in total prize money, including a US$500,000 bonus for each champion.
The PFL previously operated a regular-season schedule followed by the playoffs with the champions earning a US$1-million prize. The promotion has now scrapped the group stage and opted for a single-elimination competition.
Canadian Olivier (The Canadian Gangster) Aubin-Mercier won the PFL lightweight title in 2022 and '23.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
