Three of PFL’s divisions had their playoffs finalized following an event Friday night from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Wade Takes Top Featherweight Seed With Finish Win
A collection of fighters that all had strong seasons sit atop the featherweight ranks.
The first seed for the weight class went to promotional veteran Chris Wade, who earned a strong nine points in total. He secured his playoff spot with a big performance this weekend, stopping UFC alum Kyle Bochniak in just 70 seconds with strikes.
A finish victory for Ryoji Kudo also put him into the playoffs.
Kudo started his year with a loss and entered this weekend with no points in the season. However, after he earned a first-round knockout over Alejandro Perez on Friday’s prelims, he’s now expected to appear in the second seed during PFL’s postseason.
The two other featherweight playoff spots went to Bubba Jenkins and Brendan Loughnane. Both names scored two wins via decision this season, earning them a total of six points each.
Goltsov Finishes At The Front of Heavyweight Ranks
The heavyweight division’s top seed this season will be Denis Goltsov. He enters the playoffs with nine points in total, which were attained through two wins in the season.
Goltsov started his year with a bang, earning a first-round finish win over Cody Goodale in April. He padded his strong 2022 season with another win this weekend, beating short-notice opponent Maurice Greene via decision.
Second place in the ranks is Ante Delija, with eight points in total. Similar to Goltsov, he opened his year with a finish victory and then picked up a decision win this weekend.
The third and fourth seeds of the playoffs will go to fighters that earned their spot with a victory earlier this year.
Renan Ferreira and Bruno Cappelozza both lost this weekend, although first-round finish wins from April earned them both a position in the playoffs.
Cappelozza’s upset loss against Matheus Scheffel came in the main event of Friday’s card. Scheffel, a large underdog listed by sportsbooks, pulled off a unanimous decision victory against the 2021 PFL Heavyweight Champion.
Unfortunately, the win only gave Scheffel three points, meaning he won’t appear in the playoffs later this year.
Ray Steals Final Lightweight Spot
The sole lightweight bout on Friday’s card saw Stevie Ray snag the final playoff spot in the division.
Ray earned a second-round submission victory against Anthony Pettis, catching him with a body lock in the fourth minute of the round. The finish earned Ray five points and placed him fourth in the lightweight ranks.
The outcome booted 2021 PFL Lightweight Champion Raush Manfio out of playoff contention, meaning a new champion will be crowned this year.
Despite Pettis losing this weekend, he is still expected to appear in the playoffs. His first-round finish victory over Myles Price earlier this year gave him six points and makes him the top seed for the division this year.
PFL’s regular season will conclude next week with an event on July 1st.
Quick Results
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (ESPN / TSN 2)
Bout 11: Matheus Scheffel def. Bruno Capploezza via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Stevie Ray def. Anthony Pettis via Submission, Modified Body Lock (RD 2, 3:57)
Bout 9: Klidson Abreu def. Renan Ferreira via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Chris Wade def. Kyle Bochniak via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:10)
Bout 7: Ante Delija def. Shelton Graves via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Bubba Jenkins def. Reinaldo Ekson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Denis Goltsov def. Maurice Greene via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (5:30PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 4: Lance Palmer def. Sheymon Moraes via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Juan Adams def. Sam Kei via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:30)
Bout 2: Ryoji Kudo def. Alejandro Flores via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:52)
Bout 1: Brendan Loughnane def. Ago Huskic via Decision, Unanimous
Knockdown News 