Brendan Loughnane and Chris Wade are not fans of one another, and will have a chance to settle their differences at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The pair have been going back-and-forth over the last year since a social media dispute from last season, and finally get to let their fists do the talking inside the PFL smart cage on Saturday night. It's an exciting night of action for British fight fans, with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship also taking to London at the OVO Arena Wembley and Anthony Joshua fighting in Saudi Arabia.
But all eyes for British MMA fans will be on Loughnane as he looks to step within touching distance of the $1million featherweight prize. He has been a mainstay of the UK scene for years, and appeared on course for the UFC after a dominant win on Dana White's Contender Series in 2019 over Bill Algeo.
However, White was unimpressed when Loughnane shot for a takedown to secure his victory, instead of looking for an explosive finish, and opted not to hand him a new contract. Just two fights later, Algeo was in the promotion and Loughnane had been picked up by PFL, becoming one of their flagship names and dragging the promotion to the UK.
He'll face a particularly difficult test on Saturday night in UFC veteran Wade, who has amassed more points this season. While Loughnane took points wins over Ryoji Kudo, the American knocked out Kyle Bochniak after getting a decision victory against Lance Palmer.
The bookies believe that the home crowd won't be enough for Loughnane to get through Wade, placing the American as a sizeable favourite. But there is a belief with experts that if he can keep the fight at his pace, he'll have just too much for his rival, even given his lacklustre run thus far.
In the main event, undefeated two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison looks to continue her winning run in the competition against Martina Jindrova. The American is considered to be one of the best fighters in the world, male or female, and is a massive favourite to not just beat Jindrova, but go on and win the tournament for a third time.
There are other playoffs at men's featherweight and women's lightweight, including Ryoji Kudo vs Bubba Jenkins in a massive 145lb clash. Jenkins is the slight favourite for this one, and would be perceived as a particularly difficult test for either Loughnane or Wade in the finals.
Meanwhile at lightweight, Olena Kolesnyk faces Larissa Pacheco in a rematch of their 2021 meeting. There, the Brazilian took a first round knockout victory, and she'll be hoping to do the same and earn another shot at Harrison, and the $1million prize.
Filling out the prelim and postlim portions of the card are a host of exciting British and Irish talents, including the returning Myles Price. The Kilkenny native was hard done by in his second bout of the season against Jeremy Stephens, after being submitting in his first fight in three years by UFC legend Anthony Pettis in the opening round.
But the standout of the non-main card events is the debut of undefeated kick-boxing prodigy Dakota Ditcheva. The Brit has been training at American Top Team, and comes into PFL with a massive amount of hype surrounding her sixth professional fight after landing four knockouts within the first two rounds in her early career.
