PFL won’t be returning to France later this month.
A card at the Accor Arena in Paris, which featured the opening round in an eight-man bantamweight tournament, numerous notable local talents, and the MMA debut of French football star Patrice Evra, has all been delayed, per an announcement made by the promotion this week.
“PFL Europe Paris on 23 May has been rescheduled, and a new date will be announced soon,” PFL wrote on social media this week. “All fans who have purchased tickets will receive a full refund.”
It’s currently unclear when a rescheduled date for the show will take place, and how many of the 11 bouts booked for the card will be salvaged and re-booked for a later date.
The cancellation puts a pause on PFL Europe’s year-long tournament, a central part of the promotion’s tours throughout the region since 202.3
PFL Europe was scheduled to host a pair of tournaments this year, with the opening rounds beginning this month. On Saturday, an eight-man lightweight bracket will begin at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
It was expected that four fights as part of a bantamweight tournament would kick off later this month in Paris. Now, it’s unknown when the 135-pound tournament will begin.
Along with the event’s cancellation, it was also announced Thursday that PFL Europe will head to Brussels, Belgium, for the first time on July 5th, hosting a card at the ING Arena.
France has previously been a relatively strong market for PFL’s Europe tour. This is mainly due to the star power of welterweight fighter Cedric Doumbe, who has headlined a pair of the promotion’s past visits to the country and even attracted some A-list celebrities to the events.
However, with Doumbe not booked for the May 23rd show, PFL had to try and attract a large crowd to the 16,000-capacity Accor Arena using other names. It’s unclear whether ticket issues contributed to the event being cancelled.
Knockdown News 