Two-time Professional Fighters League champ Natan Schulte will return to action in the organization’s first regular season event of 2022.
The 2022 PFL tournament will kick off on April 20 at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, with lightweights and light heavyweights on tap for the first fight card. PFL 1: 2022 Regular Season had the lion’s share of its lineup announced, and sources close to the situation informed Sherdog on Friday of its final pairing in the lightweight division. 2018 and 2019 tourney champ Schulte (21-4-1) will be coming back to fight at this event, and he will be taking on Olivier Aubin-Mercier (13-5) in the lightweight division.
Schulte was once booked to fight Aubin-Mercier at PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs in August 2021, but he was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons. In the initial event of the 2021 season, Schulte lost for the first time since PFL’s rebranding when Marcin Held edged him on the scorecards. Schulte had previously gone undefeated as a PFL fighter, with nine wins and a draw as he claimed two million-dollar checks. “Russo” rebounded from the setback by claiming a razor-close split decision over AlexMartinez in June 2021, and he has not fought since. The Brazilian is one of eight fighters in company history to notch at least 10 wins under the World Series of Fighting-PFL banner, and he is tied with the third-most appearances in organizational history with 13 along with ChrisWade.
Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship talent Aubin-Mercier left the Las Vegas-based promotion after a trio of decision setbacks that concluded his 12-fight, five-year run. His first PFL appearance was a winning one, defeating Held by decision but ultimately not earning a berth in the four-man playoffs. When Schulte withdrew from their matchup that August, Darrell Horcher replaced him and subsequently missed weight. “The Canadian Gangster” took home a decision, and punched his ticket to the 2022 season in the process.
The first PFL 2022 Regular Season event will go on at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, on April 20. This fight card containing bouts at 155 and 205 pounds will be capped off by a lightweight battle between Raush Manfio and Don Madge. The top-billed light heavyweight scrap sees 2021 champ Antonio Carlos Jr. attempt to go on another run, and he will take on Delan Monte.
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