Tag: clay collard

PFL announces 2025 lightweight tournament field

Three former champions highlight the 2025 PFL lightweight tournament field.

Three former champions highlight the 2025 PFL lightweight tournament field.

On Wednesday, the PFL announced the eight-man field will consist of 2024 PFL champion [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] (24-4-2), former Bellator champion and 2024 PFL finalist [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (15-4), UFC veteran and former Cage Warriors champion [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (20-6), former Bellator title challenger [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (24-4), 2023 PFL finalist [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (25-14), UFC veteran [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] (18-7), Bellator veteran [autotag]Alfie Davis[/autotag] (17-5-1), and Bellator veteran [autotag]Jay-Jay-Wilson[/autotag] (10-1).

[autotag]Sergio Cossio[/autotag] (27-10-1) and [autotag]Robert Watley[/autotag] (15-3) will serve as the tournament alternates.

The lightweight tournament quarterfinals take place April 18 at 2025 PFL 3 from Universal Studios Florida in Orlando and stream on ESPN/ESPN+. No matchups have yet been revealed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGirz29RuUK/?img_index=1

Last year, Rabadanov and Primus advanced to the PFL lightweight championship, with Rabadanov claiming the title by third-round knockout.

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Changes hit PFL’s Utah debut: Salt Lake City gets ‘El Dirte’ Sanchez

The lineup for the PFL’s event a month from now in Utah has been adjusted and once again is complete.

The lineup for the PFL’s event a month from now in Utah has been adjusted and once again is complete.

Former UFC fighter [autotag]Andrew Sanchez[/autotag] (14-7), who won Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” against Khalil Rountree, will step in to give [autotag]Karl Albrektsson[/autotag] (14-5) his third opponent of the card. First, Ibragim Chuzhigaev pulled out, and now “El Dirte” Sanchez is in for [autotag]Laurynas Urbonavicius[/autotag].

The PFL makes it’s debut in Salt Lake City on June 21 at Huntsman Center. The card is headlined by a lightweight showdown between [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag]. Along with lightweights, light heavyweights are on tap trying to get to the 2024 postseason.

Sanchez went 5-5 over more than five years in the UFC, and along with the “TUF” title, had a Performance of the Night bonus for his only finish in the promotion, a knockout of Wellington Turman in August 2020.

After a two-fight skid, Sanchez won a fight under the Eagle FC banner, then stepped in on short notice a year ago for his PFL debut and took a split decision from Taylor Johnson.

With the changes, the PFL Week 5 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Mads Burnell vs. Clay Collard
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Jakob Nedoh
  • Bruno Miranda vs. Patricky Pitbull
  • Josh Silveira vs. Rob Wilkinson
  • Simon Biyong vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov
  • Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Alex Polizzi

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Brent Primus vs. Solomon Renfro
  • Tom Breese vs. Sadibou Sy
  • Elvin Espinoza vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
  • Michael Dufort vs. Adam Piccolotti
  • Sergio Cossio vs. Anthony Romero
  • Karl Albrektsson vs. Andrew Sanchez
  • Julian Ruiz vs. Brayhan Zurcher

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.

Clay Collard vs. Mads Burnell headlines 2024 PFL 5 in Salt Lake City

Lightweights and light heavyweights are on tap when the PFL regular season touches down in Salt Lake City.

Lightweights and light heavyweights are on deck as regular season continues for 2024 PFL 5 in Utah.

PFL makes it’s debut in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 21 at Huntsman Center. The card will be headlined by a lightweight showdown between [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] and [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag], promotion officials announced Monday morning.

Utah’s own Collard (25-12-1) is No. 2 in the lightweight standings after finishing Patricky Freire by Round 2 TKO at 2024 PFL 2. Meanwhile, Burnell (18-6) will look to rebound after a second-round submission loss to Michael Dufort, who sits in the No. 1 spot.

In the co-main event, 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] (16-4) faces Slovenia’s [autotag]Jakob Nedoh[/autotag] (8-2). Despite finishing Alex Polizzi in the first round at 2024 PFL 2, Kasanganay finds himself at No. 4 in points, after Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (third), Josh Silveira (second), and Rob Wilkinson (first) all notched faster finishes on the same night. Nedoh was knocked out by Yagshimuradov in his first regular season matchup.

The PFL Week 5 lineup includes:

  • Mads Burnell vs. Clay Collard
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Jakob Nedoh
  • Bruno Miranda vs. Patricky Pitbull
  • Josh Silveira vs. Rob Wilkinson
  • Simon Biyong vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov
  • Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Brent Primus vs. Solomon Renfro
  • Tom Breese vs. Sadibou Sy
  • Elvin Espinoza vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
  • Michael Dufort vs. Adam Piccolotti
  • Sergio Cossio vs. Anthony Romero
  • Karl Albrektsson vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
  • Brayhan Zurcher vs. TBA

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.

A.J. McKee def. Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions: Best photos

Check out these photos from A.J. McKee vs. Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions in Saudi Arabia.

Check out these photos from [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag]’s submission victory over Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photos courtesy of PFL)

UFC veterans in MMA, karate and kickboxing action Feb. 22-25

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to Mexico for UFC Fight Night 237.

The event at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City features a flyweight clash between former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag].

Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Feb. 22-25.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

MMA Junkie’s 2023 Fight of the Year: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

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.

Honorable mentions

PFL lists its top 5 fights of the 2023 season

Relive the PFL’s best fights of the year with this video ranking the top 5.

In 2023, MMA delivered some top-notch fights, and several of those went down under the PFL banner.

From a wild, standup battle between [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag], to [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag]’s close loss to [autotag]Gabriel Braga[/autotag], which kicked off his incredible championship run, PFL was home of some barn burners. Now with the season over, the promotion ranked its best knockouts as the following:

1. Clay Collard def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision
2. [autotag]Zach Juusola[/autotag] def. [autotag]Brandon Jenkins[/autotag] via unanimous decision
3. Magomed Umalatov def. Nayib Lopez via unanimous decision
4. Gabriel Braga def. Jesus Pinedo via split decision
5. [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] def. [autotag]Marina Mokhnatkina[/autotag] via unanimous decision

You can watch the replay of the highlights of the top 5 PFL fights in the video above.

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