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Check out these photos from the 2023 PFL 6 ceremonial weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from the 2023 PFL 6 ceremonial weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs in Atlanta. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the 2023 PFL Week 6 card, which features welterweights and lightweights.
| Aubin-Mercier vs. Romero |
Mitchell vs. Sy |
Burgos vs. Nishikawa |
Magomedkerimov vs. Zawada |
Lopez vs. Umalatov |
Collard vs. Ray |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 95-59 |
 Aubin-Mercier (86%) |
 Sy (88%) |
 Burgos (85%) |
 Magomedkerimov (88%) |
 Umalatov (90%) |
 Collard (65%) |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 98-56 |
Aubin-Mercier |
 Mitchell |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
 Ray |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 96-58 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 96-58 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Ray |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 94-60 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 92-62 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Ray |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 90-64  2014 Champion |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Ray |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -89-65 2018, 2022 Champion |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 88-66 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 87-67 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 85-69 2017 Champion |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 81-73 |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Burgos |
Magomedkerimov |
Umalatov |
Collard |
The PFL’s regular season wraps up this week with the third of three straight events in Atlanta.
PFL 2023, Week 6 takes place Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
Week 6 features welterweights and lightweights looking to punch their tickets to the postseason. The main card includes Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Anthony Romero, Shane Burgos vs. Yamato Nishikawa and Clay Collard vs. Stevie Ray at lightweight, plus Shane Mitchell vs. Sadibou Sy, Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. David Zawada and Nayib Lopez vs. Magomed Umalatov at welterweight.
Check out all the picks above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 6.
Check out these photos from the 2023 PFL 6 offical weigh-ins in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from the 2023 PFL 6 official weigh-ins ahead of the event taking place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out the full weigh-in results for 2023 PFL 6, which saw 24 fighters record their offical weight for Saturday’s competition.
All 24 fighters competing at 2023 PFL 6 stepped on the scale, but a couple of preliminary fighters missed their mark.
At Thursday’s official weigh-ins, the entire main card successfully made weight, including 2022 lightweight season winner [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag], who weighed in at 155.6 pounds. His opponent, [autotag]Anthony Romero[/autotag], came in at 155.4. The other 2022 season winner competing in the co-main event, [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag], made the welterweight limit by stepping on the scale at 170.6. He faces [autotag]Shane Mitchell[/autotag], who weighed 170.8.
[autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] came in heavy, initially weighing 171.4 for his welterweight bout against [autotag]Carlos Leal[/autotag], who weighed 170.6. On his second attempt, Taylor stepped on the scale slightly lighter at 171.2. Due to the miss, Taylor forfeits 20 percent of his purse and will lose one point in the welterweight standings, but the fight against Leal will proceed.
Brahyan Zurcher also missed weight for his featherweight showcase bout against Mike Bardsley. Zurcher weighed 146.8 pounds and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Bardsley, who made weight at 144.4.
2023 PFL 6 takes place Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+
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Below you can find the full results from the weigh-ins:
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
* Taylor weighed in at 171.4 on the first attempt. Due to the miss, he will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Leal.
** Zurcher missed weight and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Bardsley.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 6.
We want your predictions for Friday’s PFL 2023, Week 6 event in Atlanta.
We want your predictions for Friday’s PFL 2023, Week 6 event in Atlanta.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the PFL 2023, Week 6 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. PFL 2023, Week 6 takes place Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.
Make your picks for the fights below.
This week’s Spinning Back Clique is live at noon ET. Our panel discusses Conor McGregor, Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou, Bellator and more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Nolan King join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
Anthony Romero plans on introducing himself in a big way at 2023 PFL 6.
[autotag]Anthony Romero[/autotag] plans on introducing himself in a big way at 2023 PFL 6.
Romero (12-1) meets 2022 PFL lightweight champion [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] (18-5) in the main event on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.
Romero was victorious on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, but he wasn’t awarded a UFC contract. The UFC president encouraged other promotions to pick up then-unbeaten Romero, who eventually found himself competing in the PFL Challenger Series this past February. Unfortunately for Romero, that wasn’t enough to award him a contract either, until he got the call to face Aubin-Mercier – an opportunity he isn’t taking lightly.
“The goal is to win,” Romero told MMA Junkie Radio. “Regardless of what outside situations there are for other guys, I love to play my style, and if I have to go out there and get the six points and give everything I got, then I’ll do my best. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, you don’t have much to lose.’ Yeah, I don’t, but I love to win.
“That’s the problem is I don’t want to go out there and just try and then fail. I want to go out there and give everything I got, put my heart into this game, and I’m not going there to just allow him to go to the playoffs and he’s just fighting this nobody. I’m somebody. I’ve been in this game for a while. Like I said, six points is great, but the win is sweet for me.”
Aubin-Mercier is unbeaten since joining the PFL, using a grappling heavy approach for the most part to suffocate his opponents. While Romero doesn’t view Aubin-Mercier as the most entertaining fighter, he credits him for his IQ.
“He plays a very smart game,” Romero said. “The rules of the PFL play in his favor against guys – especially guys coming from the UFC, they’re kind of taught to be entertaining and look for the big finishes, take risks.
“You hear Dana all the time crapping on people about not looking for the finish, just playing it safe, and I feel like OAM (Aubin-Mercier) does that. He plays it safe to get those points and make it to the playoffs and not take those big risks. Who knows what his plan is now, but I’m expecting the best guy as my opponent.”
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Reigning PFL lightweight champ Olivier Aubin-Mercier got past one stern test, but thinks his biggest still lies ahead.
Reigning PFL lightweight champion [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] got past one stern test but thinks his biggest still lies ahead.
Aubin-Mercier (18-5) spoiled Shane Burgos’ promotional debut when he defeated him by unanimous decision in the season opener at 2023 PFL 3 in April. Aubin-Mercier views Burgos as one of the best fighters this season, but not better than 2018 and 2019 PFL lightweight champ [autotag]Natan Schulte[/autotag] (24-5-1), who Aubin-Mercier edged out by split decision last April. Schulte also notched three points to kick off his 2023 PFL campaign when he defeated Stevie Ray.
“I wouldn’t say the biggest threat, but one of the biggest threats yeah,” Aubin-Mercier told MMA Junkie Radio on Burgos. “I still think Natan Schulte is the guy to beat this year, but there were two guys to beat I think, and it was Natan and it was Burgos. I think I have one more big guy to beat.”
Aubin-Mercier is unbeaten since joining PFL in 2021, making him the current lightweight to beat. But the Canadian fighter views each fight separately and admits he expected to have a tougher time against fellow UFC alum Burgos.
“I don’t see it as a title defense, but it went good anyway,” Aubin-Mercier said. “It was three rounds, so I wouldn’t count that as a title defense. It was good. It was easier than I thought, and I feel great.”
Aubin-Mercier’s next assignment comes against Anthony Romero at 2023 PFL 6 on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. On the same night, Schulte meets 2021 PFL champion Raush Manfio.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 6.
Shane Burgos’ PFL debut loss left a sour taste in his mouth.
[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]’ PFL debut loss left a sour taste in his mouth.
Burgos (15-4) was suffocated by 2022 PFL lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier in their season opener at 2023 PFL 3 in April, which didn’t sit well with him. He was outpointed in a unanimous decision loss.
Burgos is known for his exciting style, but was slowed down when he failed to fend Aubin-Mercier off of him.
“I hated that last one – obviously because I lost,” Burgos told MMA Junkie Radio. “But it wasn’t an exciting fight, and that pisses me off. That really irked me. I pride myself in being an exciting fighter, being somebody the fans always want to watch. I wouldn’t want to watch that. That sucked, man. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t exciting. Maybe the last 25 seconds were exciting, but not for a 15-minute fight.”
Burgos will look to keep his playoff hopes alive when he meets Yamato Nishikawa (21-4-6) at 2023 PFL 6 on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Nishikawa also lost his first fight, so Burgos is banking on both men being eager for a quick finish, which should deliver an exciting fight.
“I was pissed about (the first loss), so going into the next one, I am carrying a little bit of that – but I don’t need to carry too much of it because I know the guy I’m fighting, he’s in the same position I am,” Burgos said. “We both need a win. We both need a win by finish, basically.
“So I know he’s not going to be coming into that one looking to stall, and just run the clock. I fully expect him to try and take me out, which – that’s what I want. I want that kind of fight. I want that guy that’s going to come in here try to kill because that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
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The 2023 PFL regular season schedule is complete as the promotion will head to Atlanta for the second straight year.
The PFL is headed back to Atlanta.
On Thursday, the promotion announced 2023 second-half regular season dates, all of which will take place at Overtime Elite Arena, a venue the promotion visited for the first time last season.
The three events are set for June 8, June 16, and June 23 and will feature the final regular season matchups for competitors across all six weight classes. The events will stream on ESPN and ESPN+.
The weight classes for each date are as follows:
𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀! Get Ready! PFL returns to the @OvertimeElite Arena! #2023PFL4: June 8th#2023PFL5: June 16th#2023PFL6: June 23rd pic.twitter.com/2nm9anlZ0M
— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 9, 2023
The 2023 PFL regular season kicks off April 1 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, where the first half of the regular season is scheduled to take place over the course of three consecutive weekends.
