belt for a third time at PFL New York. | PFL MMA
Two of
Professional Fighters League’s top stars will be in action when
the organization debuts in the Empire State this summer.
PFL New York will be headlined by a lightweight tilt tilt
pitting reigning champion Usman
Nurmagomedov against Archie
Colgan, while Dakota
Ditcheva will return from injury to face Denise
Kielholtz in the evening’s co-main event. The promotion
announced the bookings on Tuesday. PFL New York takes place at UBS
Arena in Belmont Park, Long Island and airs on ESPN beginning at 7
p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in 22 professional outings, with his lone
blemish coming as a result of a failed drug test at Bellator 300.
The 28-year-old Dagestani captured PFL lightweight gold with a
majority decision over Paul Hughes
in January 2025. He has since defended the belt with a unanimous
verdict against Hughes in a rematch this past October and with a
third-round submission of lightweight tournament winner Alfie Davis
at
PFL Dubai on Feb. 7. Nurmagomedov’s resume also includes
victories over the likes of Alexandr
Shabliy, Benson
Henderson and Patricky
Freire.
A collegiate wrestler at the University of Wyoming, Colgan is
undefeated in 13 professional outings. The 30-year-old known as
“King” initially built his name under the Bellator
MMA banner, earning eight victories with the promotion before
it was purchased by the PFL. Since then, Colgan has scored
back-to-back decision wins over Mansour Barnoui and Jay-Jay
Wilson in PFL competition.
“PFL New York will be the culmination of three consecutive main
event World Title fights, and on July 31, the world will see elite
MMA at its finest,” PFL CEO John Martin said in a release. “In one
corner you have the lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, who
has been a class above every man to stand opposite him. Some
crumble to his aura, some to his skills, but either way his ability
is undeniable. And now we have a challenger everyone says could be
the kryptonite, Archie Colgan, an NCAA Division I wrestler who many
believe is yet to lose a round. Does a legacy continue, or a legacy
start? We’ll find out, and I can’t wait.”
Ditcheva returns for the first time since last July, when she
suffered a broken hand in a victory against Sumiko
Inaba at PFL Capetown. The British muay thai specialist is a
2023 PFL Europe Champion and a 2024 PFL flyweight champion. She
earned the most significant victory of her career to date at the
2024 PFL finals, where she scored a second-round stoppage of former
UFC title challenger Taila
Santos. “Dangerous” was initially slated to meet Kielholtz on
Feb. 7 before another broken hand forced her to withdraw from the
event.
Kielholtz, a Dutch kickboxing standout with a black belt in judo,
will take a three-bout winning streak into the matchup with
Ditcheva. Most recently, she outpointed replacement foe Antonia
Silvaneide at PFL Dubai on Feb. 7. Kielholtz notably challenged
for flyweight gold at Bellator 262, falling to Juliana
Velasquez via unanimous decision on July 16, 2021.
Top notch
featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at
9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“Then we also have the return of Dakota Ditcheva, and where better
to bring one of the faces of PFL than New York,” Martin stated.
“Twelve finishes in 15 fights is an astounding knockout rate for
her weight class, and she’s must-see TV every time she steps in the
cage. But she won’t have it easy in her return, Kielholtz has world
championship level kickboxing and a black belt in judo, meaning
high risk for Dakota, and an opportunity to disrupt for
Denise.”
PFL New York Card
Usman
Nurmagomedov vs. Archie
Colgan
Dakota
Ditcheva vs. Denise
Kielholtz
𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞 ❗️ 𝙎𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀‼️
The PFL returns to New York with a STACKED card on Friday, July
31st!Usman
Nurmagomedov defends his PFL Lightweight World Title against
undefeated Archie
Colgan!Plus, the return of “Dangerous” Dakota
Ditcheva against Denise… pic.twitter.com/aEbVZR4CDG— PFL
(@PFLMMA)
May 26, 2026