| MacDonald vs. Taylor |
Delija vs. Ferreira |
Adams vs. Scheffel |
Sy vs. Leal |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 131-79 |
 MacDonald (76%) |
 Ferreira (52%) |
 Adams (51%) |
 Leal (67%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 143-72  2018 Champion |
MacDonald |
 Delija |
 Scheffel |
Leal |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 139-76 |
MacDonald |
Delija |
Scheffel |
Leal |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 137-78 2014 Champion |
MacDonald |
Delija |
Scheffel |
Leal |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 135-80 |
MacDonald |
Ferreira |
Adams |
 Sy |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 132-83 |
MacDonald |
Ferreira |
Adams |
Sy |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 131-84 |
MacDonald |
Ferreira |
Adams |
Leal |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 130-85 |
MacDonald |
Delija |
Scheffel |
Leal |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 127-88 |
 Taylor |
Delija |
Scheffel |
Leal |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 126-89 2017 Champion |
MacDonald |
Delija |
Scheffel |
Leal |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 117-98 |
MacDonald |
Ferreira |
Adams |
Leal |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 104-111 |
MacDonald |
Ferreira |
Adams |
Leal |
The PFL is back for the second of three sets of playoff semifinals. This week, welterweights and heavyweights are on the docket.
The 2022 PFL Playoffs 2 event takes place Saturday at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of post-lim qualifiers on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, No. 1 welterweight seed and former Bellator champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] (23-9-1) meets late replacement [autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] (9-2). Taylor stepped in for Magomed Umalatov on Thursday after Umalatov had visa issues. MacDonald is -205 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Taylor is +155. All but one of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with MacDonald to move on to the final.
At heavyweight, No. 2 [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] (21-5) takes on No. 3 [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (9-3). It’s a pick’em fight at the betting window, and it’s close with our staff members, as well. Delija has the slimmest possible 6-5 lead in the picks.
In the other heavyweight semifinal, [autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] (10-4) stepped in Thursday as a late replacement for No. 1 seed Denis Goltsov. He’ll take on [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (16-8), who himself was an alternate. Adams is a big -250 favorite, despite his late notice, but it’s Scheffel with a 6-5 narrow edge from our staff members.
And in the second welterweight semifinal on the main card, No. 2 seed [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] (11-6-2) takes on [autotag]Carlos Leal[/autotag] (17-3). Sy is a slim favorite at -120, but Leal has a major lead in the picks at 9-2.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, MacDonald (76 percent), Ferreira (52 percent), Adams (51 percent) and Leal (67 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2022 PFL Playoffs 2.