Professional Fighters League (PFL) will crown its first-ever Bantamweight champion on Dec. 19, 2026 in Lyon France. Indeed, the promotion announced that Taylor Lapilus will face off against Mitch McKee for the inaugural PFL Bantamweight World Championship in the main event of PFL Lyon inside LDLC Arena now that the tournament format is no more.
After going 3-1 inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon, Lapilus was surprisingly cut by the promotion and made the leap over to PFL in mid
2025 and rattled off four straight wins over the course of the next 12 months to earn the title fight, which includes his most recent win over Jake Hadley at PFL Belgium three months ago. Now, he will attempt to make history and lock down his first-ever world title in front of his home fans.
As for McKee, the longtime LFA veteran improved to a perfect 11-0 after making an impressive PFL debut by defeating Sergio Pettis just five months ago in the headlining bout of PFL Chicago (results here). The undefeated American striker is also looking for his first-ever major world title victory.
PFL Lyon will be the final event for the promotion before it goes into its rebranding phase with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (more on that here). No other bouts are confirmed for the event, so keep it locked in to MMAmania as more matchups are revealed.
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