Rory MacDonald will make his Professional Fighters League debut on the promotion’s second show of the 2021 season against David Michaud.
PFL returns after its 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the tournament-based promotion back with featherweight and lightweight action on April 23.
Welterweight and light-heavyweight action kicks off the following weekend with MacDonald headlining the card after an 18-month absence from the cage.
The former UFC title challenger and Bellator welterweight champion was one of MMA’s high profile free agents until signing a contract with PFL last December and will test himself against 2019 runner-up Michaud on the second show of the season on April 29 with a venue still to be confirmed.
32-year-old Michaud won three straight fights en route to the welterweight final in 2019 before being stopped via a second round TKO against Ray Cooper III.
Cooper III begins his campaign for back-to-back titles against Jason Ponet in the card’s co-main event.
In light-heavyweight action, Emiliano Sordi, who scored five stoppage wins out of five on his way to winning the 2019 title, begins his defence against UFC veteran Chris Camozzi.
PFL 2 card in full: April 29
ESPN 2 Card
Rory MacDonald vs. David Michaud
Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Ponet
Jordan Johnson vs. Tom Lawlor
Emiliano Sordi vs. Chris Camozzi
ESPN+ Card
Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino
Smealinho Rama vs. Jordan Young
Cezar Ferreira vs. Nick Roehrick
Gleison Tibau vs. Aleksei Kunchenko
Sadibou Sy vs. Nikolay Aleksakhin
Dan Spohn vs. Marthin Hamlet
Last season’s runner up Jordan Johnson will take on Tom Lawlor in his opening bout with Magomed Magomedkerimov, undefeated since 2015, in action against Brazilian Joao Zeferino.
PFL operates under a regular season format culminating in play-offs and a final championship night held every year on New Year’s Eve where the winner walks away with a cheque for €1million.
Anthony Pettis, one of the promotion’s major acquisitions during the off-season, makes his debut against Clay Collard on April 23.
Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.