PFL Prepares To Cut Half Its Roster In 2020

PFL 17 Card

The PFL concludes its 2019 season in just a few hours. And combat sports fans can expect wholesale changes afterward.

The PFL Finals take place Tuesday night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. After that, the promotion will brace itself for the 2020 season.

One big addition already has been the arrival of former Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. But fans can expect even more new faces as PFL CEO Peter Murray plans on cutting half the roster — mainly fighters who failed to make the postseason — to freshen things up:

“At this point in time we don’t expect to make any changes in weight classes for next season,” Murray told Sherdog.com. “As it relates to the roster itself, 50 percent of the roster will be turned over and we’ll be bringing in new athletes.

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“Our view is next level. The athletes that have earned their way into the postseason pretty much get that right and the option to continue. The top performers will continue with the league, and others, we were proud to have them, but we think it’s time to replace them and bring in some new talent to freshen things up. That’s what you’ll see.”

The PFL has been a success ever since their rebranding in 2018 and the adoption of their unique regular season and playoff system.

And as things stand, the main priority right now is talent:

“The No. 1 goal going into next year is to elevate the roster,” Murray added. “Now that we have two years under our belt, I would say in terms of top priority for us, it’s talent.”

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With MacDonald at the helm, they’re already off to a good start ahead of 2020.

What do you think of the PFL bringing in new faces?