Live Professional Fighters League Action Continues Tomorrow On NBCSN

NBC Sports continues coverage of the PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE tomorrow, Thursday, August 16, live at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN from the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Five welterweights who won their July 5 PFL debuts by submission or knockout highlight the NBCSN show in the sixth event of the PFL season. Thursday night is the final opportunity for welterweights to earn points to qualify for playoff positions. The top eight fighters in each weight class will advance to the playoffs, and by season's end, one fighter in each class will take home $1 million and the title of PFL Champion.

Hawaii-native Ray Cooper III (14-5, 1-0 PFL) takes on Ukranian Pavlo Kusch(23-5, 1-0 PFL) in a welterweight matchup of fighters who earned second-round stoppages in PFL 3 on July 5. Cooper, who has earned all 14 of his victories by stoppage (nine KOs), knocked out Jake Shields with a hook to the chin in PFL 3. Kusch trailed Russian Abubakar Nurmagomedov after the first round of their PFL 3 bout, but came back strong in the second round, forcing a submission with a rear-naked choke.

Magomed Magomedkerimov (19-5, 1-0 PFL) of Russia forced a first-round submission of Herman Terrado in PFL 3, and faces Serbian Bojan Velickovic(16-6-1, 1-0 PFL), who recorded a second-round TKO of Sweden's Jonatan Westin at the same event.

Additional welterweight bouts in the NBCSN show include Nurmagomedov (14-2, 0-1 PFL) vs. Westin (10-3, 0-1 PFL), who both need victories to have any chance to advance to the PFL playoffs, and Joao Zeferino (22-9, 1-0 PFL) vs. Yuri Villefort (11-6, 0-1 PFL). Zeferino, a Brazilian-born jiu jitsu world champion who fights out of New York, recorded a knockout of Paul Bradley 1:58 into Round 1 of their PFL 3 bout, while fellow Brazilian Villefort went the distance against Rick Story, but lost a tight 30-27 decision.

In a special lightweight feature, two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison (1-0, 1-0 PFL) of Ohio, who won her first ever MMA fight with a first-round submission of Brittney Elkin at PFL 2 in June, faces Nebraska-nativeJozette Cotton (8-1, 0-0 PFL), whose only loss came by decision.

Todd Harris calls the action, joined by MMA Hall of Famers and analysts Randy Couture and Bas Rutten, alongside Yves Edwards and reporter Caroline Pearce.

The PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE features a regular season, playoffs, and championship, and individual fighters compete in a win-and-advance postseason format. The 2018 PFL season consists of seven regular-season events, a bracket-style playoff, and a $10 million postseason prize pool. The top eight fighters in each of the six different weight classes advance to the playoffs, with one fighter in each division earning $1 million and the title of true champion. NBC Sports will present exclusive live Thursday night PFL telecasts, including seven regular-season live events in prime time exclusively on NBCSN through the end of August.

NBC SPORTS APP: The NBC Sports app - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will stream coverage on NBCSN via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Comcast's X1, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

The NBC Sports app is powered by Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital's technology service which provides end-to-end support for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.

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