Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from Danilo Marques vs. Satoshi Ishii at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Danilo Marques[/autotag]’ victory over Satoshi Ishii at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out these photos from Maira Mazar vs. Kaytlin Neil at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Maira Mazar[/autotag]’s victory over Kaytlin Neil at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out these photos of the fighters on the scale and their faceoffs at the 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 ceremonial weigh-ins in New York.
Check out these photos of the fighters on the scale and their faceoffs at the 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 ceremonial weigh-ins from The Theater at Madison Square Garden. (Photos courtesy of PFL)
Olena Kolesnyk is certain things will be different with Larissa Pacheco when they meet for a third time on Friday at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
[autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] is certain things are going to be different with Larissa Pacheco when they meet for a third time in Friday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 co-main event.
Pacheco (21-4) is the only person to beat Kolesnyk (9-5) in the past two years, and she’s done it twice. The Brazilian won the initial encounter by first-round knockout at 2021 PFL 6, then repeated the feat with another first-round finish due to strikes in the rematch during the 2022 PFL Playoffs.
It’s been a difficult matchup for Kolesnyk, 32, but with four wins in her past five fights, she thinks she’s improved to the point where the outcome will be different. Moreover, she thinks this is the definitive matchup of this PFL women’s featherweight season, despite the fact the winner will have to go through another round before claiming the $1 million season prize.
“In the beginning I thought it would be great to fight her in the finals, but nobody said that you can pick who we fight,” Kolesnyk told MMA Junkie Radio. “I guess the semifinals will be better because it will be three rounds. Better now than later. We know, you know and PFL knows this is actually the finals fight, because the other girls are easy ones. This fight will be understanding who will be the champion this year.”
The 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event takes place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
The way Kolesnyk explains it, she lost the first fight vs. Pacheco because of a “mistake” during a striking exchange. The said she offered Pacheco “too much respect” in the rematch, and that messed with her mentally.
Going into the third fight, however, Kolesnyk is focused and confident. The Ukrainian said she’s determined to win this PFL season, and derailing 2022 women’s lightweight champ Pacheco’s chance of becoming a two-division winner in back-to-back seasons would just be icing on the cake.
“God decided to send me Larissa again to do it again,” Kolesnyk said. “So, let’s fight again. I don’t care about who I fight. All I want to make happen is to be in the finals of PFL this year.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Check out our staff members’ picks and analysis for the women’s featherweight and heavyweight 2023 PFL semifinal fights in New York.
The PFL’s run toward six $1 million playoff finals takes its third and fourth steps Friday with women’s featherweights and heavyweights in the semifinals in New York.
The 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event takes place Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
Get playoff pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
The PFL’s playoffs are back this week with 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, which features women’s featherweights and heavyweights.
Here’s how to watch 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, with a complete lineup and playoff breakdowns by division.
A heavyweight missed his mark, and one showcase bout was lost, but the scheduled tournament matchups remained intact for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
A heavyweight missed his mark, one showcase bout was lost, and even one postseason fighter missed weight, but the scheduled tournament matchups remained intact after Thursday’s official weigh-ins for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
The event, which is down to eight fights total, takes place Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden with a main card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
The heavyweight and women’s featherweight semifinals were made official after all eight fighters hit their marks.
However, a heavyweight showcase bout between Louie Sutherland and Daiqwon Buckley shifted to super heavyweight after Buckley weighed in at 272.4 pounds, more than 6 pounds over the limit. Sutherland tipped the scale at 250.6.
The lightweight showcase bout between Chris Mixan and Eddy George was canceled after the New York State Athletic Commission’s decision not to license Mixan, according to a PFL news release. No specific reason was given.
Below are the 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 weigh-in results:
MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
*Kolesnyk fined 20 percent of her purse and penalized 1 point for missing weight
**Buckley fined 20 percent of his purse for missing weight
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Check out these photos of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 competitors facing off at the Empire State Building in New York.
Check out these photos of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 feature competitors facing off atop the Empire State Building in New York, including [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag], [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag], [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] and [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag]. (Photos courtesy of PFL MMA.)
Maurice Greene admits he was on the cusp of retiring from MMA competition until UFC champ Jon Jones pulled him out of a rut.
[autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] admits he was on the cusp of retiring from MMA competition until UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] pulled him out of a rut.
Greene (11-8), who meets Renan Ferreira (10-3) in Friday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 headliner at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, was struggling to find his way before Jones extended an invite to join his training camp as he prepared for a long-awaited return to the UFC.
That changed everything for Greene, he said, and now he finds himself a win over Ferreira in their heavyweight season semifinal from the chance to fight for the $1 million season prize later this year.
“Jon Jones really was the catalyst behind getting it all together,” Greene told MMA Junkie Radio. “Putting himself a camp together, inadvertently he gave (an opportunity) to a small group of men who came in and wanted to work hard and are good people. Take advantage of some training that you really can’t buy anywhere. You can’t go in a gym and really get it. It’s different. It’s tailored.
“I’m thankful to Jon for being a re-ignitor of my career. I was close to thinking about retirement because I didn’t have a gym and didn’t have any support. It reignited my flame a little bit and it taught me how to train hard and smart.”
[lawrence-related id=2669983,2669934]
Jones has shown a dedication to assisting Greene. Although “The Crotchet Boss” is 1-2 in his past three fights under the PFL banner, he’s managed to navigate his way into a playoff spot. Jones has been in the corner of Greene during his fights, lending his support and guidance.
Now Greene is at the doorstep of the most important fight of his life against Brazil’s Ferreira, and he intends to take advantage of the opportunity in the ESPN-televised main event.
“There’s no points involved now (in the standings),” Greene said of his semifinal bout. “I don’t have an incentive to finish him in the first round besides my own incentives. If the opportunity arises, you bet your sweet ass I’m going to finish him so I can get back out and have an even better training camp.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
We want your predictions for Friday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event in New York.
We want your predictions for Friday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event in New York.
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 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. The 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event takes place Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
Make your picks for the playoff fights below.
