Two article snippets from ESPN, for anyone interested.
Magomed Umalatov is undefeated -- and yet, in the historical PFL playoff picture, he's invisible. He has competed in the past three seasons, and despite winning every fight he's been in, he's better known for fights that have not happened.
In 2022, he was scheduled to open the season against defending champion
Ray Cooper III but pulled out of the bout. Umalatov made the playoffs anyway and was matched against former Bellator champ and UFC title challenger
Rory MacDonald, but visa issues prevented Umalatov from making it to the fight. Then, after earning a spot in the 2023 playoffs, Umalatov was to face 2018 PFL champ
Magomed Magomedkerimov but withdrew.
Umalatov (14-0) is scheduled to open the 2024 season in Friday's main event against a fellow mystery man,
Andrey Koreshkov.
Koreshkov (27-4) is nearly a decade removed from winning the Bellator welterweight championship. He was 18-1 after dethroning
Douglas Lima in 2015, the one loss coming against
Ben Askren in his previous shot at the belt two years prior. Koreshkov's reign was not long, as Lima took back the title the following year, and since then the Russian has not been the most active fighter out there, though he enters the season on a five-fight winning streak he's been building since 2021.
There's also a second welterweight bout on Friday's card that pits a former Bellator belt-holder against an undefeated but largely unheralded fighter.
Logan Storley (15-2), a former interim champ in Bellator, faces ex-KSW fighter
Shamil Musaev (16-0-1). Both have a chance to make some noise in the 170-pound season.
But the biggest intrigue surrounds the main event. Can Koreshkov withstand the rigors of a PFL season, which demands as many as four bouts in seven months? And can Umalatov, a fighter best known for his absence, make his presence felt in this Bellator-vs.-PFL headliner?
Welterweight: Andrey Koreshkov vs. Magomed Umalatov
Umalatov to win. Umalatov was on his way to the semifinals last year when unfortunate visa issues prevented him from making a run at the title and $1 million prize. His first-round matchup against Bellator veteran Koreshkov should be a fun striking fest for as long as it lasts. Both men are devastating strikers, but the biggest difference here will be Umalatov's wrestling, if he chooses to do so. I expected him to be a much bigger favorite in this fight than the lines suggest. As long as he doesn't gas out, Umalatov will get it done.