Professional Fighters League’s heavyweight bracket has
undergone a shakeup on the week of its next event.

The promotion announced on Monday that Karl
Williams will replace Linton
Vassell and face Oleg Popov
in a heavyweight tournament matchup. A reason for Vassell’s exit
was not announced.
PFL World Tournament 4 takes place on Thursday at Universal
Studios in Orlando and features first-round pairings at heavyweight
and light heavyweight. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10
p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m.
ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

Fighters
only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Thursday,
May 1 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Williams, 35, will make his PFL debut on the heels of a 3-1 stint
in the
UFC. The
Dana White’s Contender Series alum posted successive victories
over Lukasz
Brzeski, Chase
Sherman and Justin Tafa
before falling to Jhonata
Diniz in his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 61.

Popov won 17 consecutive fights from 2018 to 2024 before falling to
Denis
Goltsov via first-round submission in the PFL Championship this
past November. His record includes victories over the likes of
Vassell, Steve
Mowry, Gokhan
Saricam and Antonio
Silva, to name a few.

A former Bellator title challenger at light heavyweight, Vassell
hasn’t fought since the aforementioned loss to Popov in August
2024. The 41-year-old Brit is 1-2 under the PFL banner.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger