PFL adds 18 fighters across multiple divisions, including UFC veterans Javid Basharat and Daniel Marcos

Professional Fighters League management announced the signing of 18 fighters in a broad roster update intended to deepen its talent pool across several divisions. The move includes UFC veterans Javid Basharat and Daniel Marcos, a pair of recognizable names whose experience in the sport’s highest-profile promotion is expected to raise the competitive bar as PFL continues to build toward its season format.

According to the announcement published by Yahoo Sports, the additions cover a wide range of weight classes. The list includes fighters in the women’s strawweight and flyweight divisions, and it also extends through the men’s bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight categories. That spread matters for PFL’s internal ecosystem because it allows the promotion to staff matchups throughout the bracket-style pathway that defines its year-to-year competition.

The signing class also includes six undefeated fighters, a detail that underscores how PFL appears to be mixing established veterans with prospects carrying momentum into their next stretch. For fans, the undefeated tag typically indicates that the promotion is targeting fighters who have built winning patterns and may be ready to test themselves at higher levels of competition.

Basharat and Marcos are positioned as the headline arrivals, joining PFL after time competing in the UFC. Their inclusion is notable for the division-by-division competition because UFC alumni can bring different wrestling, striking, and fight-management approaches shaped by the UFC’s style of matchups. Even without discussing specific past records or upcoming matchups, the general implication is that PFL is trying to tighten the quality of its contender field.

PFL’s broader strategy has historically leaned on accumulating talent across weight classes so that it can schedule matchups that keep contenders moving toward playoff and championship considerations. By bulk-signing across eight men’s divisions plus two women’s divisions, the promotion is effectively increasing the odds that multiple athletes can progress in parallel rather than waiting for vacancies.

What to watch next is how PFL assigns these new fighters to matchups and which divisions they target for immediate contention. With so many weight classes involved, the early sorting will matter, particularly in determining whether veterans like Basharat and Marcos are matched with established contenders, positioned as gatekeepers for emerging undefeated fighters, or used to accelerate a rebuilding phase in specific brackets.