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Brett Okamoto
The PFL’s bantamweight landscape will take shape on April 11, when former Bellator MMA champion Sergio Pettis meets Mitch McKee inside Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
PFL CEO John Martin broke the news with ESPN on Thursday. The PFL has not yet crowned its first 135-pound world champion, but will take a step toward doing so with this matchup.
«This fight will have serious title implications, and the winner will move directly into 135-pound championship contention,» Martin told ESPN. «Sergio is sitting atop our bantamweight rankings right now, while Mitch McKee (10-0) is an undefeated rising force. In some respects, this is not just a main event for us, it’s a divisional inflection point.»
The PFL is still transitioning away from its previous format of playoffs and tournaments, in favor of traditional matchmaking. All five of the promotion’s current champions have been crowned within the last seven months. The PFL’s bantamweight, featherweight and women’s flyweight championships remain vacant for now.
Pettis (25-7) is already an obvious title contender. The 32-year-old suffered back-to-back losses to Patchy Mix and Kyoji Horiguchi in 2023 and 2024, but rebounded with two victories in 2025 — including a highlight-reel knockout over Magomed Magomedov in October.
McKee (10-0), of Minnesota, is a hard-hitting 28-year-old contender, with six knockouts in 10 career wins.
In addition to the main event, the PFL has booked a middleweight co-main event between Jordan Newman (8-0) and Josh Silveira (15-5).
