PFL New York preview: Nurmagomedov and Colgan both undefeated, Ditcheva returns in the co-main
Two undefeated lightweights meet for the title at UBS Arena on Friday. One walks in as the standard-bearer of the family name. The other walks in with NCAA wrestling credentials and a shot at the biggest upset the promotion has produced under its current format.
The PFL lands at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Friday, July 31 with an 11-fight card built around a lightweight title fight between two undefeated fighters. Champion Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0, 1 NC) defends against No. 3 ranked Archie “King” Colgan (13-0). The card streams on the ESPN App from 4 p.m. ET, with the main card following on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET. It is the promotion’s debut at the venue.
Nurmagomedov arrives on the back of a technical submission win over Alfie Davis in the third round at PFL Dubai in February, his first title defence of the current era. That extended a run built as much on grappling control and positional patience as on the striking he has developed alongside it. He carries a family name that anyone who has followed the sport’s lightweight tier over the past decade knows well. His cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC undefeated. His cousin Islam Makhachev currently holds the UFC welterweight title and is in the United States preparing for his own defence against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15. Usman is training alongside him. The cousins have historically shared camps, and the current setup gives both fighters a full stable of Dagestani grappling partners on the same continent as their respective fight nights.
Nurmagomedov is ranked No. 6 in ESPN’s lightweight pound-for-pound rankings.
Colgan represents the more unusual profile of the two. A Wyoming-based fighter with an NCAA Division I wrestling foundation, he has moved through the PFL’s tournament and Champions Series structure to reach title contention, most recently taking a unanimous decision over Jay-Jay Wilson at PFL Champions Series 2 in October 2025. Thirteen professional fights is a comparatively slim résumé for a challenger at this level, and the gap in experience against elite opposition is the central question the bout is designed to answer. His path to the win, on paper, runs through wrestling entries, top-position control, and forcing scrambles where his positional depth becomes the deciding factor. Whether that game holds up against a fighter whose own base is built on the same specialty, at a higher level, is the specific fight the tape will show.
The co-main event returns Dakota “Dangerous” Ditcheva (15-0) to action after roughly a year off. She meets Denise “Miss Dynamite” Kielholtz (9-5) at women’s flyweight. Ditcheva has built her profile as one of the promotion’s most marketable fighters and has not competed since a unanimous decision over Sumiko Inaba last July. She is ranked No. 8 in ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound top ten. Kielholtz is a Dutch striker with a black belt in Judo and a former Bellator kickboxing world championship on her ledger, and the matchup pits Ditcheva’s precision boxing and takedown blend against a technician who will make her earn every clean exchange. The stylistic read favours the champion-in-waiting on paper. The stylistic read has favoured the champion-in-waiting before against Kielholtz-caliber opposition. Neither variable is decisive.
The rest of the main card carries divisional stakes.
At light heavyweight, No. 2 ranked Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (26-8-1) meets Simeon Powell (12-2) in the sort of pairing that either produces a highlight-reel finish or a five-round war. Yagshimuradov’s veteran base and pressure striking against Powell’s youth and finishing rate is a stylistic clash that could reshape the light heavyweight top five with a single round.
At lightweight, No. 10 ranked Amru Magomedov (10-0) faces Angel Alvarez (11-2) in a bout that positions the winner as the next challenger to whoever walks out of the main event with the belt. Magomedov’s grappling and Alvarez’s willingness to trade produce a stylistic collision that tends to answer its own questions inside the distance.
The preliminary card, streaming on the ESPN App, is headlined by former Bellator bantamweight world grand prix winner Raufeon Stots (21-4) against unbeaten No. 10 Lazaro Dayron (10-0-1). Stots is one of several fighters on Friday’s bill whose careers predate the PFL’s absorption of the Bellator roster, and his presence gives the ranked bantamweight section a name with international recognition. Also on the prelims are a 175-pound catchweight bout between Jonathan Piersma (12-3) and No. 7 ranked Omar El Dafrawy (15-6), Sean Gauci vs. Allan Begosso, Moustapha Diakhate vs. Zacharia Nishimwe, Khabib Nabiev vs. Jamelle Jones, Montana De La Rosa vs. Tatiana Postarnakova, and Chamy Delva vs. Levan Khabalaev.
The business context matters. Long Island has become a recurring stop for the promotion, and UBS Arena, home to the New York Islanders, gives the PFL a large-capacity venue within the New York metropolitan market. Booking a title fight between two undefeated fighters into that room, on ESPN, is the kind of matchmaking a promotion leans on when it wants to establish a champion’s ceiling rather than protect his record.
For Nurmagomedov, a win extends a professional ledger that has yet to show a blemish across the modern era of his career. For Colgan, a victory would be the largest upset the PFL has produced under its current championship format. Both fighters have the same essential ambition. Only one gets to walk out with the belt.
The main card airs live on ESPN from UBS Arena at 7 p.m. ET.
