MMA News: State-Of-The-Art Bubble To Host 2021 PFL Season

The site for this year’s highly-anticipated season of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has been revealed.

For the 2021 season, PFL will be setting up shop in a state-of-the-art bubble at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The Ocean Casino Resort has hosted a number of PFL events during the league’s first two seasons. The venue’s newly-renovated Ovation Hall will allow the league to create a made-for-TV and streaming experience, especially given that there will be no fans in attendance.

With the 2020 season being postponed due to COVID-19, PFL has had ample time to prepare for its return to action, especially with the pandemic still ongoing. One such step towards ensuring fighter and staff safety is to hold the regular season events inside a bubble.

“Our six regular-season events will be staged at the world-class Ocean Casino Resort where we’ve held successful events in the past. The property has all of the necessary amenities to support our athletes in a bubble environment to ensure their safety as it relates to COVID-19,” explained PFL CEO Peter Murray.

Apart from the bubble environment, PFL claims that it will also work with leading health experts to make sure that all necessary protocols are implemented and adhered to, so as to enforce the safety and well-being of the fighters and staff.

The league’s athletes will have full access to facilities including training and warm-up rooms, a PFL cage, as well as multiple meal options throughout their stay inside the Atlantic City bubble.

PFL is just the latest to implement the bubble set-up as a way to work around the COVID-19 pandemic that has greatly impacted the sporting world.

The best example of a successful bubble setup was the NBA’s restart during the 2019-2020 season. The NHL, meanwhile, erected two hub cities in Toronto and Edmonton.

In combat sports, the UFC has limited its events to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada and on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

The 2021 PFL season is expected to be the organization’s biggest yet, especially with the addition of former world champions such as Anthony Pettis, Fabricio Werdum, Rory MacDonald and Claressa Shields.

The aforementioned notable names bolster an already stacked roster that features reigning PFL titleholders in Kayla Harris, Lance Palmer, Natan Schulte and Ray Cooper III.

PFL's new season begins on April 23rd and will continue up until June. All events will be aired on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.