Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out which epic battle earned MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year award for 2023.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best fights from January to December 2023.
As voted on by our entire staff, here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for August.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Watch the highlights of Clay Collard’s insane war against Shane Burgos in the main event of 2023 PFL Playoffs 3.
[autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] delivered this week, easily, one of the best fights of the year.
The two lightweights went toe-to-toe for 15 minutes in a semifinal bout that headlined Wednesday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 3. In the end, Collard (25-10) defeated Burgos (16-6) by unanimous decision, which read 29-28 across all three judges’ scorecards.
It was an epic fight that had both fighters in trouble multiple times, and is arguably now the best fight in PFL history.
You can watch the replay of the highlights in the video above.
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Collard entered the lightweight playoffs as the No. 1 seed after picking up a unanimous decision win over Yamato Nishikawa and a second-round stoppage of Stevie Ray in his regular season bouts. With the result, he now advanced to the finals, where he will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who recorded a second-round TKO stoppage against Bruno Miranda in the co-main event of the card.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 3.
All six $1 million finals now are set for the PFL’s 2023 season after Wednesday’s playoff wrap in New York.
All six $1 million finals now are set for the PFL’s 2023 season after Wednesday’s playoff wrap in New York.
Semifinal fights were held at welterweight and lightweight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Those finalists will join the ones from four other divisions Nov. 24 in Washington, D.C., where they’ll fight for $1 million each.
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Wednesday, lightweights Clay Collard and Olivier Aubin-Mercier moved on to the final. Collard beat Shane Burgos in an epic battle. Aubin-Mercier’s knockout sent him back to his second straight final. And welterweights Magomed Magomedkerimov and Sadibou Sy will join them this fall.
In the video above, check out the highlights from Wednesday’s semifinal playoff final event.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 3.
Check out these photos from Clay Collard vs. Shane Burgos, a lightweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag]’s victory over Shane Burgos in a lightweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out these photos from Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Bruno Miranda, a lightweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag]’s victory over Bruno Miranda in a lightweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out the full results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 3, including which lightweights and welterweights advanced to the 2023 PFL Championships.
2023 PFL Playoffs 3 took place Wednesday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.
The event featured welterweight and lightweight playoff bouts at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card aired live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In the featured contest, [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (25-10) took on [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] (16-6) in a Fight of the Year contender lightweight semifinal bout. It was a brutal contest with high-volume striking, but in the end, Collard earned unanimous 29-28 scores from the official judges.
Fists were flying early and often in the first round, living up to the expectation of an exciting matchup. Collard’s volume was higher, mixing up punches to the body and head with sharp combinations. Burgos landed well early and added some nice kicks, but as the round wore on, Collard put a stamp on the round by hurting Burgos with shots to the chin.
Delivering just as advertised… Round 2 up now!!#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/7jEHWZt23m— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 24, 2023
Collard continued to march forward with accurate punches early in the second, causing blood to flow from Burgos’ face. Keeping his opponent honest, Burgos fired back with damaging inside leg kicks. Collard continued to pepper out jabs, but was knocked off his feet by a hard leg kick from Burgos. The momentum only lasted seconds, as Collard returned to his feet and landed a hard left hook to send Burgos to the mat. Collard followed him to the ground for more strikes, but the finish wouldn’t come as Burgos worked his way back up. The round closed with more striking exchanges on the feet.
Dropped him like a bad habit!#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/pbTUfHQvIp— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 24, 2023
The striking exchanges continued at a high clip in the final round. Burgos added punches to the body along with kicks, as Collard worked fast punches and showed excellent head movement. A hard inside leg kick prompted Collard to shoot for a takedown, but Burgos stuffed it and shook his fingers at his opponent. They returned to the center to trade more strikes, but the inside kicks from Burgos really bothered Collard. After a clinch against the cage, it was back to fighting in the phone booth in the center of the cage. More inside leg kicks affected Collard’s movement, but he kept firing as they traded blows until the final horn.
AND YOUR WINNER VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION… "Cassius" Clay Collard!!!#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/9VbU8b6uMy— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 24, 2023
The judges saw the fight unanimously for Collard, earning his first PFL finals appearance.
Collard entered the lightweight playoffs as the No. 1 seed after picking up a unanimous decision win over Yamato Nishikawa and a second-round stoppage of Stevie Ray in his regular season bouts. He now advances to the finals where he will face [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag], who recorded a second-round TKO stoppage against Bruno Miranda in the co-main event.
In the welterweight semifinal bouts, [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] defeated Carlos Leal by split decision, and [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] turned away Solomon Renfro to advance to the finals.
Check out the official results, details and highlight clips from each bout below.
Check out these photos from Sadibou Sy vs. Carlos Leal, a welterweight semifinals bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag]’s victory over Carlos Leal in a welterweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier will have the opportunity win two consecutive PFL championships after winning his semifinals bout in New York.
[autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] is heading back to the PFL finals.
In the co-main event of 2023 PFL Playoffs 3, Aubin-Mercier (20-5) stopped Bruno Miranda with heavy ground and pound to punch his ticket to a second-consecutive finals appearance. The lightweight semifinal bout took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, and was finished officially by TKO stoppage at 4:41 of Round 2.
The first round of the fight was competitive, but Aubin-Mercier appeared sharper and more poised than his opposition. In the second round, Aubin-Mercier found the finishing touches he needed.
After landing a laser of a left hand that dropped Miranda, Aubin-Mercier followed him to the ground, took full mount, and ground and pounded until referee Dan Miragliotta saw enough.
Check out video of the finish below (via X):
OLIVER AUBIN-MERCIER IS GOING BACK TO THE #PFLWorldChampionship!#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/wBgNOmCbRF— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 24, 2023
The 2022 lightweight champion, Aubin-Mercier will have a chance to repeat and earn another $1 million check. “The Canadian Gangster” defeated Shane Burgos by unanimous decision and knocked out Anthony Romero in his regular season bouts. He now awaits the winner between Clay Collard and Shane Burgos, who fight for their spot in the finals in the main event of the evening.
Up-to-the-minute results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 include:
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 3.
Check out these photos from Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Solomon Renfro, a welterweight semifinals bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag]’s victory over Solomon Renfro in a welterweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
