Curious about PFL's 2018 tournament format? Carlos Silva breaks down the road to $1 million

The PFL debuts tonight in Daytona with one of four fight cards through the rest of the calendar year that will serve as warm-ups to the real thing in 2018.

And the real thing is going to be something very different from what MMA fans are used to, according to CEO Carlos Silva.

The newly launched Professional Fighters League, the rebranded promotion formerly known as WSOF, will have an official debut season in 2018. Tonight’s four-fight card airs on NBCSN from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

But when the promotion picks up steam starting in January, it’ll go forward full-bore, it sounds like.

Silva said the PFL’s tournament structure will be based around seven traditional weight classes, from bantamweight up to heavyweight. There will be 12 fighters per weight class, he said, and between January and August, each fighter will get three fights in the regular season.

Fighters will earn points for wins and losses, bonus points for finishes, and additional points if they finish in the first round as opposed to, say, the third. A unanimous decision win will be worth more than a split call, too.

“At the end of August, we’ll look at all the points, look at some tie-breakers, and we’re going to take the top eight by points in each weight class, and they’re going to make it into the playoffs,” Silva told MMAjunkie Radio.

After that, PFL will have a playoff event in October in which fighters will have to fight twice in one night. They’ll be seeded like a traditional tournament, in which No. 1 meets No. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5. And the fighters who reach the final then will get a break until the championship event in December.

Silva said that event will feature all seven weight classes, with the finalists in each division fighting for the crown – which comes with a $1 million prize per division. He said the entire payout pool for the league will be $10 million in the first season, which leaves $3 million to pay out for regular-season fights and tournament fights ahead of the finals.

There will be 18 total events making up the regular season from January to August, all in North America, Silva said.

So what do you think of the PFL format? Make sure to vote in our poll below. And check out the video above for more from Silva ahead of tonight’s PFL launch.

For more on “PFL: Daytona,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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