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Check out the best photos from Bubba Jenkins’ unanimous decision win over Chris Wade at 2023 PFL 1 in Las Vegas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag]’ unanimous decision win over [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] at PFL 2023, Week 1 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of PFL)
Check out the ceremonial faceoffs from the first PFL event of 2023.
LAS VEGAS – The 2023 PFL season kicks off Saturday and the promotion held its first ceremonial faceoffs Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.
2023 PFL 1 features the first of two regular season fights for its featherweight and light heavyweight fighters with a main card on ESPN/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.
In the main event, 2022 PFL featherweight champion [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (26-4) returns against former UFC bantamweight title challenger [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (23-11-1).
Also on the card, 2022 PFL light heavyweight champion [autotag]Robert Wilkinson[/autotag] (17-2) takes on former UFC light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (22-11).
Check out the ceremonial faceoffs above and the full fight card below.
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the PFL 2023, Week 1 main card in Las Vegas, which features featherweights and light heavyweights.
| Loughnane vs. Moraes |
Santos vs. Wilkinson |
Fleury vs. Jotko |
Khayvulaev vs. Kudo |
Jenkins vs. Wade |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 35-24 |
 Loughnane (88%) |
 Wilkinson (56%) |
 Jotko (88%) |
 Khaybulaev (88%) |
 Wade (61%) |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 37-22 |
Loughnane |
 Santos |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 37-22 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 37-22 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 35-24 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 34-25 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
 Jenkins |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 34-25 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 33-26  2018, 2022 Champion |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Jenkins |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 33-26 |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Jenkins |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 32-27 2014 Champion |
Loughnane |
Santos |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 32-27 |
Loughnane |
Santos |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Wade |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 31-28 2017 Champion |
Loughnane |
Wilkinson |
Jotko |
Khaybulaev |
Jenkins |
The PFL is back for its 2023 regular season, and featherweights and light heavyweights are up first.
PFL 2023, Week 1 takes place Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. 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.)
In the main event, 2022 featherweight season winner [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (26-4) takes on [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (23-11-1), a former WSOF bantamweight champion and ex-UFC interim title challenger who has fallen on rough times with five straight losses, including in his PFL debut this past November. Loughnane is the biggest favorite on the card at -750 at BetMGM; the comeback on Moraes is +500. Not surprisingly, our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Loughnane as one of three unanimous picks on the main card.
The co-main event also features a former UFC title challenger in [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (22-11), who takes on 2022 light heavyweight season winner [autotag]Rob Wilkinson[/autotag] (17-2), who has six straight wins by stoppage. Wilkinson is a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, and he has a big 8-3 lead in the picks from our staff members.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag] (24-6) will fight outside the UFC for the first time in nearly 10 years when he steps in on short notice to take on [autotag]Will Fleury[/autotag] (11-3) at light heavyweight. Jotko, who is moving up after years at middleweight, is a -250 favorite and the second of our unanimous picks at 11-0.
Our third unanimous pick is [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] (19-0-1), who is a 7-1 favorite in his featherweight season opener against [autotag]Ryoji Kudo[/autotag] (11-4-1). Khaybulaev won the 2021 featherweight season, but was out of action all of 2022.
And to open the main card, the man Loughnane beat this past November to win the $1 million featherweight season, [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (19-6), returns to take on 2021 finalist [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (22-8). Wade is a slight favorite at -175, and he has the narrowest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Loughnane (82 percent), Wilkinson (56 percent), Jotko (88 percent), Khaybulaev (88 percent) and Wade (61 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 1.
Chris Wade thinks he’s living ‘rent free’ in Bubba Jenkins’ head ahead of their rematch at the PFL’s first event of the 2023 season.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] thinks Bubba Jenkins has lost the mental battle ahead of their rematch.
Wade sees his opponent too emotional as they gear up to fight a second time on the main card of Saturday’s PFL 2023, Week 1 event at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Wade (22-8) doesn’t think Jenkins (19-6) is in the right state of mind, and that could cost him come fight night.
“I live rent free in that guy’s head,” Wade told reporters at Thursday’s media day. “He’s a broken man. He showed up and he looks a little deranged, honestly. He’s a special individual.
“Listen, I respect his wrestling accomplishments. I think he’s a tough fighter. I think he’s an athletic guy. Aside from that, his ego is the size of the room, and he can’t deal with losses very well. Nobody likes to lose, but when you’re going in fighting to the extent that you’re saying, ‘I don’t like your haircut. I don’t like your smile. I don’t like the way you breathe,’ either you’ve got some demons deep down that you’re hiding or you’re just very, very wound up.”
Wade thinks Jenkins is taking things too personal ahead of their rematch. He thinks that will play against Jenkins since he was in a similar position in his most recent fight and knows what that’s like.
“I took it really personal with Brendan (Loughnane) last year and his friends and everything like that, and it ate me up a little bit where I had some energy that I spent elsewhere,” Wade said. “I know he’s going to come out strong. But how much stronger can you come out when you do a flying knee and kick like he did the last time? At the end of the day, it’s just another fight.”
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Check out which UFC veterans are in MMA and boxing action across the globe this weekend.
The UFC idle this week after a trip to San Antonio for UFC on ESPN 43, where [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] picked up a big bantamweight win over [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag].
Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place, including Bellator and PFL kicking off their 2023 regular season. Those events, and others feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
This week, there are a total of 32 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and boxing this week from March 30-April 1.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
Two of the PFL’s 2022 season winners will take their first steps toward hope of a repeat in April.
Two of the PFL’s 2022 season winners will take their first steps toward hope of a repeat in April.
The promotion’s first event of the 2023 regular season is set for April 1 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels (the former Hard Rock Hotel Casino) in Las Vegas. Featherweights and light heavyweights will be on the card for their first matchups of the two-fight regular season. The event will have a main card on ESPN and ESPN Deportes following prelims on ESPN+.
[autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (26-4), the 2022 featherweight winner, will be at the top of the bill in a matchup against [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (23-11-1), the PFL announced Thursday. In the co-feature, 2022 light heavyweight winner [autotag]Rob Wilkinson[/autotag] (17-2) will take on [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (22-11).
Other matchups on the main card include 2021 season winner [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] (19-0-1) vs. [autotag]Ryoji Kudo[/autotag] (11-4-1) at featherweight; 2022 runner-up [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (19-6) vs. former finalist [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (22-8) at featherweight; and [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] (24-8-1) vs. [autotag]Will Fleury[/autotag] (11-3) at light heavyweight.
“The 2023 PFL regular season is shaping up for our best season yet, and I’m excited to watch our featherweight and light heavyweight divisions compete on April 1,” PFL president Ray Sefo said in a news release. “From returning PFL world champions to league debuts from MMA stars, fight fans across the world are in for a treat starting with PFL 1 in Las Vegas.”
The PFL’s second and third events of the 2023 regular season take place April 7 and April 14 from Las Vegas, as well.
Loughnane knocked out Jenkins in the fourth round this past November to win the 2022 featherweight season. He beat Kudo and Ago Huskic in the regular season, then beat Wade in the postseason semifinals. He has won 11 of 12 overall, including his $1 million finish of Jenkins.
Moraes will be looking to turn his career around. The former UFC bantamweight lost a vacant title shot against Henry Cejudo in June 2019, but rebounded with a win over former UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo later that year. After that, though, it’s been a struggle. He was knocked out in four straight fights by Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font, Merab Dvalishvili and Song Yadong and found himself outside the UFC by mid-2022. In his PFL debut this past November in a move to featherweight, he was stopped in the third round by a Sheymon Moraes TKO in a showcase fight.
Wilkinson hasn’t lost in five years – and it happened to be the UFC debut of future middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who knocked him out in the second round in Wilkinson’s native Australia. Since then, Wilkinson has won six straight, including his first four in the PFL in 2022 on his way to a TKO over Akhmedov to win the light heavyweight title this past November. All four of his PFL wins came by knockout or TKO.
Santos, a former UFC title challenger, has dropped five of his past six starting with his 205-pound title shot against Jon Jones in July 2019, which he lost by split decision. After that, he lost to eventual champion Glover Teixeira, then Aleksandar Rakic. He rebounded with a win over Johnny Walker in October 2021 before a loss to Magomed Ankalaev in March 2022 and a fourth-round TKO setback to new champ Jamahal Hill in August 2022. His fight with Wilkinson will be his PFL debut after nearly 10 years and 24 fights with the UFC.
The 2023 PFL 1 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)
Brendan Loughnane heading to the PFL featherweight final after an impressive win over Chris Wade.
[autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] put on one of the best – if not the best – performance of his career Saturday.
The PFL featherweight put on a striking clinic against veteran [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] in the co-main event of 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 in London. Loughnane (25-4) outpointed Wade (22-8) to win a unanimous decision that read 30-27 across all three judges’ scorecards.
With the win, Loughnane is now set to take on Bubba Jenkins, who submitted Ryoji Kudo earlier, in the 2022 PFL featherweight final expected to go down in November.
Loughnane, who was fighting on home soil, put on an absolute clinic.
In the first round, both fighters started pretty evenly matched. Around the two-minute mark, Wade landed a head kick followed by a takedown. He controlled Loughnane for almost a minute, and then Loughnane was able to get back to his feet. Loughnane stunned Wade with a couple of clean shots before getting pressed against the cage. Loughnane would eventually break away and picked apart Wade with varied shots until the final bell.
The second round was all Loughnane. In an outstanding performance, Loughnane stuffed any takedown attempts thrown his way and pieced up a very tough Wade on the feet. Wade was making Loughnane work, but he had little to offer on the feet. Loughnane looked sharp.
In the final five minutes, the momentum carried over. Wade made the fight a little more complicated for Loughnane, but it was still mainly one-way traffic.
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With this win, Loughnane makes the PFL finals for the first time in his career. He had come up short in his first season back in 2021, losing to Movlid Khaybulaev by split decision in the semifinals. The Englishman is 7-1 since joining the PFL in 2019.
Meanwhile, Wade fails to qualify to the finals after being the runner-up last season. Wade is 10-5 since joining the PFL in 2018 following his departure from the UFC. He’s competed in three seasons, with his first being at lightweight and his past two at 145 pounds.
Up-to-the-minute 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 results:
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
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The 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 event takes place Saturday, join us for official results.
The 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 event takes place Saturday, and you can join us for official results.
The event takes place at Copper Box Arena in London. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of post-lim qualifiers on ESPN+.
In the main event, two-time women’s lightweight season winner [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (14-0) takes on [autotag]Martina Jindrova[/autotag] (6-2). Harrison is the No. 2 seed; Jindrova is No. 3. In the other semifinal, No. 1 seed [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (17-4) fights No. 4 [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (7-4).
At featherweight, No. 1 [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (22-7) meets No. 4 [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (24-4) in a highly anticipated fight between two heated rivals. On the other side of the bracker, No. 2 [autotag]Ryoji Kudo[/autotag] (11-3-1) meets [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (18-5).
Official 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN, 2 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
POSTLIM CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
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Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,287, the guys chat with two-time PFL champion [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] and featherweight [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] ahead of their 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 bouts. They also preview UFC 278 card headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2. 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.
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Chris Wade has no problem playing visitor.
[autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] has no problem fighting on his opponent’s home soil.
The PFL featherweight standout returns to the cage this Saturday to take on Brendan Loughnane in the co-main event of 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 in London. The bout is part of the 2022 PFL featherweight semifinals. Wade (22-7) feels the $1 million prize inching closer and closer, and has no issues with fighting Loughnane in his home country.
“I feel fine about it,” Wade told reporters at Thursday’s 2022 PFL 9 media day. “It’s not really enemy territory in sport. The energy will be cheers for him and boos for me, but I like the energy nonetheless.
“I was telling someone yesterday that it was a lot more difficult to be quarantined and in the quiet and in the dark, than it is to feed off negative energy. I’ll take any energy rather than nothing.”
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Both Wade and Loughnane have been very honest about their distaste for each other in the lead up to the bout. Wade is convinced he’ll come out the winner, and is willing to even take it a step further and give a specific prediction.
“I truly believe that I’m going to submit him,” Wade said. “He’s never experienced somebody like me before. He thinks that he has, but I promise you that he hasn’t. I don’t know whether it’s going to be a choke or I take his arm or whether I take his leg, but I’m going to take something. I’m going to bring it back home with me. I promise you that.”
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