Overview
- A Friday announcement by PFL Europe confirmed a bantamweight bout between 2025 PFL champion Marcirley Alves and former RIZIN titleholder Naoki Inoue for May 23 in Brussels.
- Alves arrives as the PFL tournament winner after a season that included wins over Leandro Higo and Jake Hadley and a title‑clinching decision over Justin Wetzell.
- Inoue enters as a former RIZIN bantamweight champion who defended the belt twice before losing a split decision to Danny Sabatello on New Year’s Eve 2025.
- PFL materials frame the fight as “Brazil meets Japan” and cast it as a stylistic test that could reshape both fighters’ standing in the global 135‑pound field.
- The booking follows talks dating back to 2023, including RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara’s February visit to a PFL event in Dubai to discuss fighter exchanges.