The Professional Grappling Federation (PGF World) will now be returning with a roster of under 175lbs competitors for Season 9 in 2026. As always, the event will start with their customary draft where teams will select their representatives for the season. This has been scheduled for February 4th, 2026 and the action will begin immediately afterward. The promotion will continue with the expansion that they premiered for Season 8, meaning that this will be a huge 12-week event with competitors battling it out for a place in the playoffs over five intense weeks of constant matches and a short break to build up to the grand finale.
The journey to that grand finale has already started too, as the promotion is busy staging a series of qualifier tournaments all around the US. There’s a space on the roster available for the winner of each one, accounting for 6 out of 20 possible spots. Those who perform well in the qualifier tournaments but fall just short of winning will also put themselves in a great position to receive one of the other spots or at least get called up as an injury replacement. Due to the gruelling nature of a PGF season, the alternates always get at least a little bit of time on the mats.
Outside of that, invitations to PGF World Season 9 will be going out based on competitor’s past performances and achievements. Brandon McCaghren and the rest of the PGF team will now be hard at work putting together the roster and there really is no telling who they’ll be able to secure. It’s a long event so it’s a big commitment for anyone, but there’s also a lot of money on the line. The winning team receives $80,000 to split evenly among their competitors and the playoff champion receives another $20,000 as well. With that kind of prize available, some of the best under 175lbs grapplers in the world will be looking to sign up.
PGF World announced that Season 9 would be taking place in 2026 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
