PFL playoff event coming to Hulu Theater at MSG this summer

Professional Fighters League is returning to New York.

The first PFL playoff event is set to be held at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 5, CEO Peter Murray told The Post.

“We cannot wait to bring back the best in MMA to the fans of New York, the home of the PFL,” Murray said in a statement to The Post.

PFL has strong links to the Empire State. The original regular-season event during the league’s inaugural campaign was held June 7, 2018, at the Hulu Theater. Two more events were held that summer at Nassau Coliseum before returning to Manhattan again for the championship event on New Year’s Eve.

The next season, all three events from the first leg of the season went off from Nassau Coliseum before again returning to the Hulu Theater for the finale. That marked the last time PFL had come to New York as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the third season, which took place exclusively in Atlantic City and Hollywood, Fla.

The playoff event in New York is the first of three, with the final two set for Aug. 13 and 20 at a location or locations to be announced.

The Nov. 25 championship event, also with a location yet to be announced, will feature the finals of each of the six PFL weight classes — men’s heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight as well as women’s lightweight. Each champion earns $1 million.

Last week, PFL announced that former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez had invested in the league and has joined its board of directors.

“I love the global reach of MMA,” Rodriguez said in a statement released by the league. “The PFL continues to build and innovate for fans, media, and fighters and there is massive demand in the marketplace.”

Speaking with The Post last week, chairman and co-founder Donn Davis said that the Series E equity round, led by Waverly Capital, which brought Rodriguez into the fold would allow the organization to grow in two key areas.

“With this new round of funding, we can do global expansion,” Davis said, “and we can launch our Pay-Per-View Super Fight Division.”

Davis said the PPV Super Fight Division would launch in 2023 with two or three “super fights” that would not be held within the constraints of the league’s trademark season format.

The new venture will mark the end of Kayla Harrison as a competitor in the season format after this season. The unbeaten two-time PFL champion and former two-time Olympic judo gold medalist would shift over to the Super Fight Division.

“This will be her last year in the league,” Davis said. “She’ll move, and she’s our first signing to our Pay-Per-View Super Fight, and she’ll be on that first card next year.”

Davis said athletes would share the PPV revenue “50-50.” Price of the pay-per-view offering was not shared, with Davis saying “all those details are pretty early for 2023.”

The regular season resumes on three consecutive Fridays beginning June 17, all at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Events will broadcast on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.