Huge last-minute changes are coming to the PFL vs. Bellator Champs event, which will be this Saturday. That includes a new opponent for Patricio Freire, who will now face Gabriel Braga. Meanwhile, Aaron Pico, who was originally set to fight Braga, will now reportedly have a rematch against Henry Corrales.
Over the weekend, PFL announced that Pinedo would no longer compete in the event, adding that the Pinedo vs. Pitbull would also be removed from the card. The reason behind Pinedo’s withdrawal was unknown at that time, but recent reports claim that an undisclosed injury caused the move. Thankfully for Freire, the promotion managed to find a replacement in Braga, who lost to Pinedo via TKO at the PFL 10: 2023 PFL World Championship. With this, Pitbull will remain in the main card after all.
Braga was supposed to meet Pico in the preliminary card of the event, but, thankfully, despite the change, the fighter will remain in the event. Pico will now fight Corrales for a rematch, albeit the pairing is still reportedly not final despite the event just days away. If true, this will give Pico the chance to redeem himself after losing to Corrales back in 2019 at Bellator 214.
If all the changes would be pushed, the new lineup of the event will be:
Main Card
- Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
- Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
- Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Jason Jackson
- Gabriel Braga vs. Patricio Pitbull
- Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
- Light heavyweight: Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
- Lightweight: Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee
Preliminary Card
- Aaron Pico vs. Henry Corrales
- Lightweight: Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
- Lightweight: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
- Featherweight: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
- Amateur Flyweight: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
