After Four Years, PFL MMA Championship Returns to Atlantic City

Over the last 12 months, Atlantic City has seen great turnouts for sporting events, and each event has laid the groundwork of anticipation for the next one.

From the successful Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments to the UFC's return to Boardwalk Hall with a fight card in 2024 and the homecoming of Boxing to the Tropicana Atlantic City Showroom, South Jersey has been excited to see so many events back at the major properties.

In 2024, we saw the number one Mixed Martial Arts Promotion, the UFC, return after a six year hiatus to Jim Whelan's Boardwalk Hall. There was a higher-than-anticipated turnout and attendance for a fight card that did not have the traditional headliners fighting in Atlantic City.

When Boxing Insider Promotions brought Boxing back to the Tropicana Showroom after a seven-year hiatus, it was a different style of boxing than what we had seen in Atlantic City. Attendance has grown with each event at Tropicana Showroom for these action-packed fight cards with a record attendance for their most recent Boxing Event that highlighted multiple undefeated New Jersey Boxers.

The MAAC has hosted their Men's and Women's College Basketball Tournaments for the sixth straight year in 2025. Jim Whelan's Boardwalk Hall has seen these college athletes compete for the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament and participate in March Madness in front of energetic crowds.

Now we have news that the Number Two Professional MMA Organization that broadcasts their events on ESPN will return to Atlantic City for the first time since 2021.

Big News For International MMA Tournament in Atlantic City This Summer

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced the complete schedule for their 2025 Tournament Semi-Finals and Championship Final Dates for this summer.

The PFL is the only MMA organization that has successfully for years host a tournament format that crowns a Champion each year. Fighters in each weight class compete for the opportunity to qualify for the Semi-Finals and then for the Championship Final Match, fighters will compete to win a Championship Belt and Cash.

According to a Press Release, the PFL MMA World Tournament Finals will pay out a total of $20 Million in total prize money in August of 2025. One of the three PFL World Tournament Finals will be in Atlantic City on August 1st.

Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall will host the PFL World Tournament Championship Welterweight and Featherweight Fights along with an action-packed fight card this summer. Ticket prices will start at $45 for one of the most electric international fighting events coming to Atlantic City on August 1st.

973 ESPN South Jersey reached out to the PFL, and they gave us this exclusive statement about their return to Atlantic City after a four-year hiatus:

"We’re thrilled to bring the Professional Fighters League back to Atlantic City for the Finals of the 2025 PFL World Tournament. Atlantic City holds a special place in MMA history, and PFL remains committed to delivering world-class action to the passionate fight fans who have supported us from the beginning. We can’t wait to create more memorable moments on August 1.”

Back in 2021, the PFL MMA organization hosted multiple events at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. Because of the COVID-19 Protocols that were still in effect back then, only select people were allowed in to see and cover the fights that were broadcast on ESPN.

I was one of the media members who was cleared to be inside the Bubble Enviroment inside Ocean Casino Resort Atlantic City. Here is a look back at my experience at the isolated PFL MMA events in 2021: