PFL 1 Lineup Undergoes Multiple Changes, Including Addition of Blagoy Ivanov

The card for Week 1 of the upcoming Professional Fighters League season has undergone several changes, the organization announced Tuesday.

UFC and Bellator veteran Blagoy Ivanov will replace Bruno Cappelozza and face Sergey Bilostenniy in a preliminary heavyweight bout. Meanwhile, Ilara Joanne will step in for former Bellator title challenger Denise Kielholtz and lock horns with ex-UFC contender Taila Santos in a flyweight clash.

Finally, a proposed bout pitting Kaytlin Neil against Veta Arteaga has been removed from the event, while a bantamweight showcase fight between Bryce Meredith and Ty Johnson has been added to the card.

PFL 1 takes place on April 4 at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas and features heavyweights and women’s flyweights. In the main event, Ante Delija will meet Valentin Moldavsky.

A veteran of 26 professional bouts, Ivanov will return to action for the first time since July 2023, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Romanov at UFC on ESPN 48. The 37-year-old Bulgarian previously competed for World Series of Fighting and the PFL from 2015 to 2017, winning WSOF heavyweight gold in June 2016. He is coming off a 3-5 stint with the UFC.

Bilostenniy, meanwhile, split a pair of fights under the Bellator banner in 2023, most recently scoring a first-round stoppage of Kasim Aras this past September. The 28-year-old Russian owns an 11-3 mark overall, with eight victories coming via knockout or technical knockout.