PFL will kick off the second phase of their regular season on Friday night with a 10-bout card from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. At this event, lightweight and light heavyweight fighters will get their final chance to score points in the regular season and secure a spot in the playoffs.
In the main event, lightweights Clay Collard and Alexander Martinez will both look to build off the three points they have already earned this year. Here’s a full preview of the show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 1: Jake Childers (9-2) vs. Nate Jennerman (15-5) (Lightweight)
Two PFL debuts will open the card, as Jake Childers and Nate Jennerman will compete at lightweight. Per the promotion, this bout won’t count towards the promotion’s lightweight tournament.
Childers has been active on the regional scene in recent years. He appeared in LFA from 2019 to 2021, scoring three wins but then falling into a two-fight skid later. He bounced back from that losing streak on a Combate Global card earlier this year, defeating Miguel Villegas.
Jennerman is also an LFA alum. He is getting the PFL call after scoring two consecutive submission wins in NAFC.
Bout 2: Marthin Hamlet (9-3) vs. Joshua Silveira (8-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Two-division LFA champ Joshua Silveira will make his long-awaited PFL debut on Friday’s prelims, facing Marthin Hamlet in a light heavyweight belt.
Silveira has a flawless record of eight wins as a pro. He earned two belts in notable promotion LFA last year, competing at light heavyweight and middleweight.
Silveira appeared on the PFL “Challenger Series” earlier this year, but wasn’t given a contract following his finish win on the show. He joined the PFL roster anyway and had his debut first targeted for April. While injury pulled him from that fight, he is expected to appear Friday.
Hamlet, a 2021 PFL finalist, will be fighting to secure a playoff spot. He started his year with a unanimous decision win, defeating Teodoras Aukstuolis in April.
Bout 3: Rob Wilkinson (14-2) vs. Viktor Pesta (18-7) (Light Heavyweight)
Coming off an explosive PFL debut, Rob Wilkinson will face Viktor Pesta on Friday night.
Wilkinson, a former UFC fighter, won his PFL debut in April with a second-round finish victory over Bruce Suoto. He’ll be fighting to build off his five-point year thus far on this card.
Pesta was on the receiving end of a quick loss to start the year. He had a three-fight winning streak broken in April, as UFC alum Omari Akhmedov stopped him in the second minute of their bout with strikes.
Bout 4: Emiliano Sordi (23-10-1) vs. Delan Monte (8-2) (Light Heavyweight)
2019 PFL Champion Emiliano Sordi will search for his first victory in over a year when he faces Delan Monte on Friday night.
Sordi has suffered two losses and one draw over the past year. This includes the beginning of his 2022 season when he suffered a second-round finish loss against Cory Hendricks.
Monte is also fighting for his first win of the year. He lasted just 29 seconds against 2022 champion Antonio Carlos Junior, getting caught in April with a darce choke.
Bout 5: Natan Schulte (21-5-1) vs. Marcin Held (27-8) (Lightweight)
Marcin Held will return on Friday night in a rematch against former champ Natan Schulte.
Held is scheduled to make his first appearance of 2022. He competed in the 2021 PFL season, not qualifying for the playoffs after taking a win and a loss. His sole victory saw him break a lengthy winning streak of Schulte, beating him via unanimous decision.
Schulte bounced back later that season with a win over Alexander Martinez. But, he is coming back this weekend after taking a loss in April, suffering a loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Bout 6: Omari Akhmedov (22-7-1) vs. Teodoras Aukstuolis (11-6) (Light Heavyweight)
The prelims will wrap up with a fight between Omari Akhmedov and Teodoras Aukstuolis.
Akhmedov scored his first PFL win earlier this year, stopping Viktor Pesta in the first round with strikes. While he already has six points in the 2022 season, he can build upon that score on Friday night.
Aukstuolis has yet to get on the board. The RIZIN alum lost his debut in April, dropping a decision to Marthin Hamlet.
Main Card (10:00PM EDT) (TSN 2 / ESPN)
Bout 7: Jeremy Stephens (28-20) vs. Myles Price (11-8) (Lightweight)
Attempting to snap a lengthy losing streak, veteran Jeremy Stephens will face Myles Price in the first bout of the main card.
Stephens has gone winless through his past seven appearances. This includes the last bit of his UFC run, which came to an end just recently. He lost his PFL debut in the main event of a card in April, dropping a decision to Clay Collard.
Price is also looking for a win following a recent loss. He suffered defeat against former UFC talent Anthony Pettis earlier this year, getting submitted in the first round of a bout in May. The Bellator alum was fighting for the first time since 2019 on that show.
Bout 8: Raush Manfio (16-3) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (14-5) (Lightweight)
2022 PFL Lightweight Champion Raush Manfio will look to keep his promotional run flawless this weekend, facing Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Manfio has yet to lose since joining the PFL in 2021. He picked up four straight wins in 2021, making him a champion by October. He picked up his first promotional stoppage win earlier this year, defeating Don Madge late with strikes.
Aubin-Mercier, also entering this fight with some momentum, has the chance to stop Manfio. Aubin-Mercier beat former champ Natan Schulte in his first fight of the year, winning in a split decision. He had two PFL wins before then, although just one of them counted towards the season.
Bout 9: Antonio Carlos Junior (14-5) vs. Bruce Suoto (15-4) (Light Heavyweight)
2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Carlos Junior will appear in the co-main event of Friday’s card against Bruce Suoto.
Carlos Junior followed up on a championship-winning year with the PFL two months back, stopping Delan Monte in just 29 seconds via darce choke. He can build off his already comfortable six points against a prospect this week.
Suoto entered the PFL roster this year through their “Challenger Series” show. He continued a strong run of wins in that fight, stopping Travis Davis in the first round of a fight.
Suoto lost his PFL debut just two months later, suffering a finish defeat against Rob Wilkinson. While he has arguably the toughest opponent in his division against him this weekend, he has the ability to score his first win of the season.
Bout 10: Clay Collard (21-9) vs. Alexander Martinez (9-2) (Lightweight)
Lightweights Clay Collard and Alexander Martinez both have the chance to secure a postseason spot in the main event.
Collard and Martinez are in similar places. They both started their year with wins, although they both came via decision as well. This means that they don’t have enough points to be guaranteed a playoff spot, and might need more from their performance this weekend if they want to compete in the playoffs.
Martinez opened his year with a win over UFC vet Stevie Ray, who was returning from retirement. Collard’s win saw him spoil the promotional debut of Jeremy Stephens.
Both fighters came close in the 2021 season, entering the playoffs as semi-finals but getting eliminated at that point in the year. A winner in Friday’s main event will likely get a chance to return to that spot in this year’s playoffs.
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