Bracketology: PFL 2025 Lightweight, Bantamweight, Women’s Flyweight World Tournament Finals

The Professional Fighters League World Tournament Semifinals continued on in Wichita, Kansas, Friday night with three more brackets setting their championship matchups for August. The men’s bantamweight, lightweight, and women’s flyweight divisions took center stage with a great night of action and finishes.

Here’s an updated look at the three World Tournament brackets now that they have set their Championship matchups.

Here's the 2025 #PFLWorldTournament women's flyweight final bracket: pic.twitter.com/eRPYvptLUg

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 21, 2025

2025 PFL Women’s Flyweight Final: Jena Bishop vs. Liz Carmouche

In the first tournament fight of the night, Bishop took on Ekaterina Shakalova with both women looking to prove their dominance on the ground. Shakalova came into the semifinals with a huge upset win in the first round over former Bellator MMA champion Juliana Velasquez, but it was Bishop who came out on top in their matchup. Ahead of the fight, Bishop stated she wanted to test her jiu-jitsu against Shakalova’s wrestling, and in the first round she appeared near a submission victory, but Shakalova was able to break out of it. The wrestling vs. grappling matchup between the two women was high-level, but Bishop stuck to her gameplan and in the second frame she locked in the rear-naked choke to cement her place in the finals.

A heavy favorite against undefeated Brazilian Elora Dana, former Bellator champion Carmouche finds herself back in a championship spotlight with the PFL. Controlling the fight with grappling and aggressive striking, Carmouche did not allow many opportunities for Dana and picked up the unanimous decision victory.

Here's an updated look at the 2025 @PFLMMA Bantamweight World Tournament bracket as two men have punched their ticket to the finals: pic.twitter.com/X88skfcG2M

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 21, 2025

2025 PFL Bantamweight Final: Justin Wetzell vs. Marcirley Alves

Wetzell battled all throughout fight week, cutting weight for 20 consecutive hours to hit the scales on weight Thursday morning but felt compromised Friday night. Taking on Mando Gutierrez in the Semifinals, Wetzell displayed his high-level grappling and wrestling throughout all three rounds to pick up the unanimous decision victory. Speaking to the media after the bout, Wetzell said the weight cut for this fight was the hardest he has ever endured, and plans to make changes so he can confidently make weight in the finals.

After being thrown into the main event of the first round in the World Tournament, Alves picked up a split decision victory over Leandro Higo, and then followed it up with an incredible performance in the Semifinals. Taking on Jake Hadley, one of the names most mentioned as a favorite to win the tournament, Alves controlled the fight from start to finish with excellent boxing that gave him a lopsided decision victory.

Here's an updated look at the 2025 #PFLWorldTournament lightweight bracket: pic.twitter.com/s2zhcuTs85

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 21, 2025

2025 PFL Lightweight Final: Alfie Davis vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov

Taking on former Bellator champion Brent Primus, Davis knew the tournament could change his life, and did everything he had to do to pick up the decision victory. While Primus looked good in the first round, Davis turned up the heat and excelled in the striking exchanges, cementing his spot in the finals.

In the main event, Rabadanov took on former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Kevin Lee, and just as he has continued to do in the PFL, steamrolled the competition. Rabadanov had three early moments in the first round where he put Lee down with punches, and the fourth time was the charm as he closed the show just over 2 minutes into the opening frame. As the 2024 PFL champion, Rabadanov could’ve waited for a challenger to arise, instead, he’s gone out and has had two first-round finishes through the first two rounds of the 2025 PFL World Tournament.