Tag: 2021 PFL 5

MMA Junkie’s 2021 Robbery of the Year: Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau

If there’s one fight that had people absolutely outraged at the outcome, it’s Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau.

If there’s one fight from 2021 that had people absolutely outraged at the outcome, it’s [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag].

Having already clinched his playoff spot in the PFL’s welterweight division, former Bellator champion MacDonald (22-8-1) was a heavy favorite when he was matched up with fellow UFC veteran Tibau in the main event of 2021 PFL 5 in June.

Tibau (37-15) is undoubtedly a tough fighter that many opponents have had a hard time looking good against in the past. He even gave former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov one of his toughest tests when the two squared off in 2012. But MacDonald appeared to be a step ahead in all three rounds of his fight against Tibau – at least he thought so.

However the judges saw it differently, awarding Tibau a split-decision win. All three judges gave MacDonald Round 2 and Tibau Round 3, but it was the first round which they couldn’t agree on.

Round 1 saw Tibau swing for big punches, as he knew he needed an early finish to secure a playoff spot. An inadvertent eye poke by MacDonald caused a pause in the action, but Tibau was able to continue. MacDonald did a good job getting out of harm’s way by staying long and was able to drag Tibau down to the mat and transition to his back at the end of Round 1.

MacDonald’s strong finish to the first frame was only enough to give him the round on judge Eric Colon’s scorecard, while Cardo Urso and Dave Tirelli thought Tibau had the better moments in the round, despite MacDonald landing the cleaner shots and securing back position.

Trying to mirror his success from Round 1, MacDonald landed an early takedown to open up Round 2 but wasn’t able to inflict much damage in top position. Tibau’s takedown defense held up for the rest of the round, but MacDonald was the far busier striker, blasting him with a big head kick, which Tibau ate.

In the final round, MacDonald remained the busier striker by continuing to attack Tibau’s body but accidentally poked him in the eye for a second time in one of their exchanges. Tibau tried to ramp up the aggression but couldn’t land anything of note, as he failed to secure the necessary finish.

Despite outstriking Tibau 3-1 in the contest, MacDonald lost the fight on both Urso and Tirelli’s scorecards, which cost him the result. MacDonald did not dominate the contest, but he appeared to be in control throughout, all without taking any significant damage. He both outstruck and got the better of Tibau in the grappling exchanges, which should have been enough to award him the decision.

MacDonald was visibly upset with the outcome and called it a “clear robbery.” He wanted the fight to get reviewed, but MacDonald never ended up officially appealing the decision.

[vertical-gallery id=617568]

[listicle id=617618]

MMA Junkie Radio #3168: UFC on ESPN 25 winner Matt Brown

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On Episode 3,168, the fellas recap a busy weekend of combat sports action, which included UFC on ESPN 25 and PFL 2021 5, as well as Anderson Silva’s boxing match with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Additionally, UFC on ESPN 25 winner Matt Brown joins to talk about his big win. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

2021 PFL 5 video highlights: Welterweight, light heavyweight playoffs set

Check out the video highlights from Thursday’s 2021 PFL 5, where the postseason was cemented at welterweight and light heavyweight.

The PFL returned Thursday with postseason spots on the line in the welterweight and light heavyweight divisions.

There was a big surprise in the 2021 PFL 5 main event when [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] upset former Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] with a split decision. MacDonald derided the result as a robbery after the fight – but courtesy of a first-round finish in his first fight of the season, he still had enough points to reach the playoffs despite the loss. Tibau’s win was worth 3 points, which wasn’t enough to make the postseason.

[autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] found himself in an interesting situation, too. He took a unanimous decision from [autotag]Nikolay Aleksakhin[/autotag] in the welterweight co-main event – but couldn’t earn any points in the standings because he missed weight. In fact, he was docked a point for that infraction. But because not enough fighters below him in the standings did enough to pass him, he still will fight in the four-man bracket to go after a second $1 million prize.

Joining MacDonald (6 points) and Cooper (5) in the welterweight postseason will be top seed [autotag]Joan Zeferino[/autotag] (8) and No. 4 seed [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] (5).

In light heavyweight fights on the main card, [autotag]Chris Camozzi[/autotag] upset [autotag]Cezar Ferreira[/autotag]. But Ferreira’s 6-point finish in his first fight remained enough to get him to the postseason, and Camozzi’s 3 points from his unanimous decision wasn’t enough to get him in after a loss in his opening fight. And [autotag]Emiliano Sordi[/autotag] fought to a draw with [autotag]Dan Spohn[/autotag], worth just 1 point each. But that was enough to give Sordi 4 points – and a tiebreaker over Cory Hendricks, who had a 4-point finish of [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] on the prelims.

Despite the loss, Hamlet still made the playoffs with 5 points. Joining him are [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (7) atop the 205-pound table, Ferreira (6) and Sordi (4).

Check out the highlights from 2021 PFL 5 in the video above.

[vertical-gallery id=617571]

[vertical-gallery id=617568]

Rory MacDonald lashes out ‘clear robbery’ loss at 2021 PFL 5: ‘This should be looked into’

Rory MacDonald gave his thoughts on his split decision loss to Gleison Tibau at 2021 PFL 5.

[autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] wants an investigation into his controversial loss to Gleison Tibau at 2021 PFL 5.

MacDonald (22-7-1) appeared to have painlessly cruising to a decision victory over Tibau (36-15) on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., but then the judges’ result was announced. It was a split decision against the former Bellator champion and UFC contender, and he was left shocked.

After taking a few minutes to digest, MacDonald said he can’t fathom how it didn’t go his way, and he thinks some further research is needed into how the bout was scored.

“I’m very disappointed,” MacDonald told reporters at the 2021 PFL 5 post-fight press conference. “I believe and everyone I talked to, and everyone online, scored the fight for me. Even three rounds to zero, so I think it was a clear robbery. I thought I was dominant in this fight. It was a hard fight. Gleison brought it, and respect to him, but I believe that I clearly won that fight and I think that this should be looked into.”

In response to MacDonald’s comments, PFL president Ray Sefo said it’s on the fighter to file a complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control board, and PFL doesn’t control the judging.

[lawrence-related id=617559,617576]

MacDonald said he was convinced when the 15 minutes elapsed that he was going to have his hand raised, but somehow two of the people scoring the fight didn’t see it that way.

“I was totally sure,” MacDonald said. “I was so surprised when the first judge, they announced and scored it for him. I was shocked. But when I heard the split decision that he got it, I was blown away. What do you say? I just didn’t see it that way at all.”

MacDonald used the opportunity to be on the receiving end of this type of loss to express his thoughts on MMA judging. He said bad decisions on commonplace, and it’s a burden on the fighters to have to worry about losing half their paycheck when they’re simply trying to compete on their best.

“We shouldn’t have to as fighters, as competitors (worry about the decision),” MacDonald said. “We should be able to fight and rest easy that we have competent, fair, truthful judging in our sport. It shouldn’t be something that we have to worry about and stick our necks out on the line and our health to do something stupid. It’s just crazy. We don’t have this in any other major sporting even. It just seems like over and over and over again, we’re getting this in our sport and it’s just a real shame.”

[listicle id=617618]

[vertical-gallery id=617571]

2021 PFL 5 results: Gleison Tibau pulls of shocking split decision win over Rory MacDonald

Check out the full results of 2021 PFL 5, headlined by a welterweight matchup between Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau.

[autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] will miss the 2021 PFL playoffs, but that didn’t stop him from creating drama with a huge upset win over [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag].

In the main event of 2021 PFL 5, MacDonald (22-7-1) found himself on the wrong end of a split decision to Tibau (35-15). 2021 PFL 5 took place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card aired on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

For most fighters on the card, this event was all about securing the most points possible to lock in their spot for the playoffs. Entering the cage on Thursday with six points on the board and a spot in the playoffs already clinched, MacDonald did not share that concern. His opponent Tibau, however, needed a first or second-round finish to earn a spot in the playoffs.

Tibau started the first round aggressively, looking to land hard strikes, knowing his playoff life was on the line with time against him. MacDonald stayed light on his feet and circled on the outside while landing strikes of his own.

An accidental eye poke from MacDonald occurred in the middle of the opening round, but Tibau continued after a short break to recover.

When the action resumed, Tibau continued to swing for the fences, but MacDonald wanted to bring the action to the mat to slow his opponent down. He would end up on Tibau’s back and attempt a rear-naked choke, but Tibau defended it well before the round ended.

Perhaps liking the success in the closing moments of the first, MacDonald immediately went for the takedown at the beginning of the second round. Tibau would break free and the pair exchanged strikes in the center of the cage.

MacDonald continued to look for takedown attempts, but Tibau’s defense held strong. Both fighters found the mark for hard strikes, with Tibau blitzing forward with a nice combination to end the round.

Even though he couldn’t secure a finish within the first two rounds, Tibau continued to throw heavy punches in the third. MacDonald controlled the action early by controlling the center of the cage, while landing quick strikes of his own.

MacDonald accidentally poked Tibau’s eye for the second time, halting the action briefly. When the action resumed, Tibau continued to pressure forward and a few strikes were exchanged, but nothing too significant before the fight came to an end.

Two judges scored the bout in favor of Tibau with scores of 29-28, while one judge scored the fight 29-28 for MacDonald, giving Tibau the huge upset victory by split decision.

 

Tibau was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision against Joao Zeferino at 2021 PFL 2 in April, but on Thursday, the judges were on his side.

In the co-main event of the evening, 2019 PFL champion Ray Cooper III ground out a hard-fought decision victory over Nikolay Aleksakhin to clinch a playoff spot, despite losing a point for missing weight.

Thursday’s event featured fights between welterweights and light heavyweights to determine who would advance to the playoffs.

Full results of 2021 PFL 5 are below:

MAIN CARD

  • Gleison Tibau def. Rory Macdonald via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Ray Cooper III def. Nikolay Aleksakhin via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn declared a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
  • Chris Camozzi def. Cezar Ferreira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Vinny Magalhaes ends in no contest (groin strike) – Round 1, 2:45
  • Cory Hendricks def. Marthin Hamlet via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 3, 4:09
  • Joao Zeferino def. Jason Ponet via submission (arm triangle) – Round 2, 2:16
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Curtis Millender via submission (Ezekiel choke) – Round 1, 1:57
  • Tom Lawlor def. Jordan Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Sadibou Sy def. Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01f5k5h8pz3brj4xqb image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=615928]

Twitter reacts to Rory MacDonald’s stunning loss to Gleison Tibau at 2021 PFL 5

Check out the top Twitter reactions to Rory MacDonald’s upset loss to Gleison Tibau in the 2021 PFL 5 main event.

[autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] suffered one of the most controversial losses in recent memory on Thursday in the 2021 PFL 5 main event.

MacDonald (22-7-1), a former Bellator champion and UFC welterweight contender, looked easily en route to going 2-0 in his PFL career in his regular season finale with [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] (36-15) at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. But then the judges’ decision was read, and he left the cage a loser by split decision.

It was a shocking result, as it seemed clear MacDonald had won the fight. The MMA community was left flabbergasted, and they reacted on Twitter.

Check below to see some of those reactions.

MMA Junkie Radio #3167: UFC on ESPN 25 and 2021 PFL 5 previews, Jeremy Luchau, news and more

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live at noon ET.

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live at noon ET.

On Episode 3,167, the fellas will look ahead to Thursday’s 2021 PFL 5 card and preview Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 25 event. They’ll also discuss the latest news, including Anderson Silva’s boxing debut Saturday in Mexico and Max Holloway’s injury. Plus, they’ll welcome in Jeremy Luchau from Iridium Sports Agency, which just picked up its first UFC champion in Brandon Moreno. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

2021 PFL 5 weigh-in results: Rory MacDonald, Gleison Tibau make headliner official

Check out the full weigh-in results ahead of Thursday’s 2021 PFL 5 event.

The weigh-ins are in the books for PFL’s fifth event of 2021, with welterweights and light heavyweight ready to close out their season after hitting the scales at Wednesday’s official ceremony.

Welterweights take center stage on Thursday, as [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] is set to face [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] in the main event. The co-main event will see [autotag]Nikolay Aleksakhin[/autotag] take on 2019 PFL champion [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag].

2021 PFL 5 takes place Thursday at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

Check out the complete weigh-in results below:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Rory MacDonald (171) vs. Gleison Tibau (170.6)
  • Nikolay Aleksakhin (169) vs. Ray Cooper III (171.8)
  • Emiliano Sordi (205) vs. Dan Spohn (205.6)
  • Chris Camozzi (204.6) vs. Cezar Ferreira (205.4)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)

  • Antonio Carlos Junior (205) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (204)
  • Marthin Hamlet (205.6) vs. Cory Hendricks (205.6)
  • Jason Ponet (169.4) vs. Joao Zeferino (171)
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov (171) vs. Curtis Millender (170.6)
  • Tom Lawlor (203.6) vs. Jordan Young (206)
  • Aleksei Kunchenko (169.6) vs. Sadibou Sy (170)

[vertical-gallery id=615943]

Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau headlines 2021 PFL 5 on June 17

Rory MacDonald will serve as the headliner for his second straight PFL event.

[autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] will serve as the headliner for his second straight PFL event.

On Wednesday, PFL officials announced the lineup for the second round of 2021 regular-season bouts for welterweights and light heavyweights, which take place at 2021 PFL 5 on June 17.  In the main event, MacDonald (22-6-1) faces fellow ex-UFC fighter [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] (35-15) at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

MacDonald made good in his promotional debut, when he submitted Curtis Millender in the first round at 2021 PFL 2. The win placed the former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC title challenger at the top of the season standings, alongside reigning PFL champion [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag], who also notched six points when he choked out Jason Ponet in the co-main event.

Cooper (21-7-1) will serve as the co-main event once again when he takes on [autotag]Nikolay Aleksakhin[/autotag] (26-5-1). Also on the main card is 2019 PFL light heavyweight champ [autotag]Emiliano Sordi[/autotag] (23-8), who takes on Dana White’s Contender Series alum [autotag]Dan Spohn[/autotag] (18-8). Finally, leader on the light heavyweight board [autotag]Cezar Ferreira[/autotag] (14-8) will look to build off his 37-second knockout over Nick Roehrick when he faces [autotag]Chris Camozzi[/autotag] (25-15).

A grapplers delight between [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (11-5-1), who submitted Tom Lawlor in his promotional debut, and 2018 light heavyweight finalist [autotag]Vinny Magalhaes[/autotag] (19-12-1) will serve as the featured prelim.

The full 2021 PFL 5 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN 2, 9 p.m. E.T.)

  • Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Nikolay Aleksakhin
  • Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn
  • Cezar Ferreira vs. Chris Camozzi

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. E.T.)

  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Vinny Magalhaes
  • Marthin Hamlet vs. Cory Hendricks
  • Jason Ponet vs. Joao Zeferino
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Curtis Millender
  • Tom Lawlor vs. Jordan Young
  • Aleksei Kunchenko vs. Sadibou Sy

[vertical-gallery id=607024]