Lewis McGrillen is set to make his first PFL start in the United States tonight when he faces Rafael do Nascimento in a three-round bantamweight contest at PFL Austin in Austin, Texas.
The bout lands on the co-main event portion of the card and gives McGrillen a chance to carry his momentum from PFL Europe onto a bigger stage. In 2024, McGrillen won the 2024 PFL Europe Tournament Championship, which helped position him for this U.S. debut.
For McGrillen, the matchup is a meaningful next step because it shifts him from the European side of the promotion to a card that also includes Johnny Eblen vs. Impa Kasanganay 2 for the PFL Interim Middleweight Championship. That extra attention makes this more than a standard bantamweight booking.
Do Nascimento brings his own steady resume into the fight. From July 2022 to February 2026, he competed in LFA and went 5-1 with one no contest. He also has 12 wins, with nine finishes, and has shown enough consistency to make this a useful test for McGrillen right away.
McGrillen, meanwhile, enters with a 12-2 record and 11 finishes. That kind of production suggests the same finishing threat that helped him stand out in PFL Europe, and it makes the matchup an easy one to watch for anyone tracking the next wave of bantamweight talent.
DraftKings Sportsbook lists McGrillen at -330 and do Nascimento at +240, with the over-under set at 2.5 rounds. The fight is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET, and it gives McGrillen a clear chance to show he belongs on the PFL in the United States stage.
