By Jim Kimble / Updated August 18, 2023
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is in the middle of its 2023 Playoffs. The next matches are Friday, August 18 on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Plus.
ESPN+ has the rights to PFL for the 2023 season, and it’s your cheapest option for watching these MMA matches live. These events are also broadcast on ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes.
A subscription to ESPN+ costs $9.99 per month. You can also get ESPN+ through the Disney bundle, which adds Disney+ and Hulu for $12.99 per month.
2023 PFL Playoffs Schedule
7 p.m. ET: Fights on ESPN+
| Lightweight Showcase | Chris Mixan vs. Eddy George |
| Heavyweight Showcase | Danilo Marques vs. Satoshi Ishii |
| Women’s Flyweight Showcase | Kaytlin Neil vs. Maira Mazar |
| Heavyweight Showcase | Louie Sutherland vs. Daiqwon Buckley |
9 p.m. ET: Fights on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
| Heavyweight Semifinal | #2 Renan Ferreira vs. #5 Maurice Greene |
| Women’s Featherweight Semifinal | #1 Larissa Pacheco vs. #4 Olena Kolesnyk |
| Heavyweight Semifinal | #1 Denis Goltsov vs. #4 Jordan Heiderman |
| Women’s Featherweight Semifinal | #2 Marina Mokhnatkina vs. #3 Amber Leibrock |
| Featherweight Showcase | Nathan Kelly vs. Damion Nelson |
What is PFL?
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league.
The organization started in 2018 and came from the restructuring of the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promotion.
PFL is unique because it is the first major MMA league where fighters compete in a regular season, post-season and championship. MMA leagues typically fight on a year-round basis.
PFL matches are inside of a 10-sided mixed-martial arts cage. The league follows the unified rules of mixed martial arts. Elbow strikes are not allowed.
The PFL Challenger Series features up-and-coming men and women MMA fighters who compete for a slot in the tournament season. Fighters are competing for a chance at $1 million.
A celebrity guest panel is added each week. The PFL Challenger Series streamed on fubo (formerly fuboTV) between February 2022 and April 2022 through the Fubo Sports Network.
The fights are now featured on ESPN Networks and ESPN+.
How to Watch PFL tonight
MMA fans and cord-cutters know that ESPN+ is the key platform for mixed martial arts, UFC and Top Rank Boxing PPV events and UFC Fight Night. Unlike PPV events, PFL matches don’t require a hefty price tag.
An ESPN+ subscription costs $9.99 per month. Aside from MMA and UFC events, subscribers can watch daily out-of-market MLB games, soccer, and LaLiga soccer.
Here is how you can start watching PFL on any TV or smartphone.
- Sign up for an ESPN+ subscription online.
- Download the ESPN app to your Smart TV, streaming device or smartphone.
- Launch the ESPN app, and activate your ESPN+ account under the ESPN+ tab on the main menu.
The ESPN app can be added to any TV though supported Smart TV software. You can download the ESPN app to a number of streaming devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV.
Bouts on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes
ESPN+ is currently the most affordable way to watch PFL. But these fights are also broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
You can subscribe to a live TV streaming service to get sports networks. Here are a couple of resources for specific channels.
- How to watch ESPN2 without cable
- How to watch ESPN Deportes
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) subscribers has ESPN, ESPN2 in its Entertainment bundle.
The Entertainment plan has 75 live TV channels. You get unlimited Cloud DVR for recording sports and TV shows. There are more than 40,000 on-demand movies and TV shows.
You can look over the different channel packages before deciding whether to sign up.
Subscribers can watch live TV on an unlimited number of screens.
You can sign up for a 5-day free trial. Just be sure to cancel online if you decide the service isn’t for you. A subscription is $74.99 per month.
DIRECTV STREAM works on Roku, Android TV, Fire TV devices, Apple TV and smartphones and tablets. Subscriptions run month to month and so you can cancel whenever you want.
Hulu Live TV
A Hulu Live TV subscription costs $69.99 per month. You get 75 live TV channels with subscriptions to Disney+ and ESPN+. ESPN, ESPN2, local ABC, NBC and CBS channels are part of the plan.
You can watch live TV on two screens at once. You get unlimited Cloud DVR so you can record whatever PFL fight you want and watch it later.
fubo
fubo (formerly fuboTV) has 152 channels in the Pro bundle, which includes ESPN and ESPN2 for $74.99 per month. You can watch live TV on up to 10 screens at once.
Subscribers get 1,000 hours of Cloud DVR. Fubo Latino is another option if you just want ESPN Deportes. The Latino plan is a standalone bundle that has 49 Spanish-language channels, including TUDN and beIN Sports for $33 per month. The Pro plan has a 7-day free trial.
Sling TV
Sling TV is an affordable way to get ESPN and ESPN2. The Sling Orange plan also has A&E, History and TNT for $40 per month. Sling Orange has about 31 channels total. You get 50 hours of Cloud DVR for recordings.
You can get half off the first month when you sign up for Sling TV.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV has more than 128 live TV channels in the base plan. ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, FS1 and FS2 are included in the channel lineup. A subscription costs $72.99 per month. Subscribers get unlimited Cloud DVR. You can watch live TV on three screens at once. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial.
Where do I watch PFL?
You can watch the Professional Fighters League (PFL) throughout the regular season, post-season and championships on ESPN+ if you’re a fan in the United States. A subscription costs $9.99 per month.
If you want to watch PFL in Europe, you may want to check out DAZN.
For more news on streaming, how-to guides and reviews, head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report or follow the CCR on Google News.
Note: This article was published April 7, 2023, and updated with the latest fight schedule.
