Preview: PFL 2025 World Tournament First Round 2

The road to the Professional Fighters League championships will continue at PFL 2025 World Tournament First Round 2 on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. There, the bantamweight and women’s flyweight quarterfinals are set to unfold. Pitbull Brothers standout Leandro Higo puts his two-fight winning streak on the line against fellow promotional newcomer Josh Rettinghouse in the bantamweight main event, while former Bellator MMA champion Juliana Velasquez battles late alternate Ekaterina Shakalova in the women’s flyweight co-headliner.

A host of intriguing matches fill out the card, as Bellator women’s flyweight empress Liz Carmouche looks to make a statement against Ilara Joanne and rising bantamweight contender Kasum Kasumov sets out in search of his seventh straight win at the expense of Justin Wetzell.

Now to the PFL 2025 World Tournament First Round 2 preview:

Bantamweight Quarterfinal

Leandro Higo (23-6, 0-0 PFL) vs. Josh Rettinghouse (20-5, 0-0 PFL)

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 11 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2..

Higo comes out of the Pitbull Brothers camp, but unlike Patricio Freire and Patricky Freire—two men known for their dynamite fists—he built his career off a dominating ground game. Throughout his 19 years in the cage, he’s secured 13 submissions and still poses a formidable challenge to young up-and-coming challengers. Higo has won five of last six bouts and is coming off an impressive, well-rounded win over James Gallagher. Rettinghouse, a former contestant on “The Ultimate Fighter,” has spent the majority of his career winning on lower circuits but staying consistent throughout the grind. At 20-5, Rettinghouse owns a 75% finish rate. He can knock you out or put you away on the ground. The Spokane, Washington, product enters the cage on a four-fight winning streak and is riding high from a first-round technical knockout of Solomon Jones in February.

While Rettinghouse has worked hard for his opportunity to shine in a major promotion, he may be out of his depth in this one. Higo has shared the cage with elite world-class talent and has come out on top. While Higo’s ground game makes him a fight-finishing threat, his striking shouldn’t be overlooked. At 36, Higo is still explosive and throws a diverse set of strikes. Rettinghouse has been submitted three times in his career to lesser fighters, and Higo could be the trickiest grappler he has faced yet. Expect Higo to finish this fight and make a big-time statement to the rest of the bantamweights in the field.

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Higo vs. Rettinghouse
Velasquez vs. Shakalova
Nuzzi vs. Gutierrez
Kasumov vs. Wetzell
The Prelims