Thad Jean
Thad Jean was the first contract winner in the 2023 PFL Challenger Series PFL

KEY POINTS

  • PFL welcomed a promising new talent into the fold on Week 1 of the Challenger Series
  • Thad Jean has been chosen to be the recipient of the PFL contract
  • Jean impressed with his dominant performance to land a lucrative deal

Undefeated Haitian welterweight prospect Thad Jean kicked off 2023 by earning a PFL contract after an impressive showing in Week 1 of the 2023 PFL Challenger Series last Friday, January 27 at the Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Jean put on a solid striking display to pick apart and dominate Eric Alequin to win by unanimous decision.

With the win, Jean improved to 5-0 in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

Jean becomes this year's first PFL Challenger Series contract winner, following in the footsteps of 2022 contract winners Bruce Souto, Jarrah Al-Silawi, Martina Jindrova, Boston Salmon, Bruno Miranda, Adam Keresh, and Simeon Powell.

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Interestingly enough, Jean also holds an amateur victory over 2022 PFL welterweight runner-up Dilano Taylor.

Taylor ended up being the Challenger Series alumnus to go farthest last season.

The card's headlining bout saw Georgia's Itso Babulaidze defeat Brazilian grappler Lucas Barbosa by way of razor-thin unanimous decision.

Also on the card is Zach Juusola of the United States who topped Slovakia's Jozef Wittner via lopsided unanimous decision.

Kendly St. Louis
Kendly St. Louis lands a punch on Nick Alley in their 2023 PFL Challenger Series matchup PFL

In the opening matchup of the night, last-minute replacement Kendly St. Louis of the United States stepped in on less than 24 hours to defeat compatriot Nick "JC" Alley by rear-naked choke in the second round.

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At the conclusion of the fights, the finalists for the first PFL contract of the season came down to Jean and St. Louis, and their fate was to be decided by the fans and a celebrity panel of judges that included American football legend Ray Lewis, hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa, and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

The celebrity panel voted for Jean, while the fan vote had it for St. Louis.

PFL president Ray Sefo served as the tiebreaker and opted to give the nod to Jean.

The 2023 PFL Challenger Series continues next week, with up-and-coming women's featherweight fighters taking center stage and vying for a PFL contract.