Jesus Pinedo wants to close out his PFL trilogy with Gabriel Braga in dominant fashion and prove he’s the much better fighter.
[autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] wants to leave no doubt he’s the better fighter in his rivalry with [autotag]Gabriel Braga[/autotag].
Pinedo, the 2023 PFL featherweight champion, is tied up at 1-1 with Braga, and the two will get a chance to settle the score in the semifinals of the 2025 PFL featherweight tournament.
Pinedo (24-6-1) and Braga (16-2) first fought in 2023, with Braga coming out on top in a close decision win. A few months later, they rematched in the final of the 2023 season, with Pinedo avenging his loss by third-round TKO to claim the 2023 PFL featherweight title and $1 million prize.
This time around, the Peruvian wants to show the MMA world that he’s vastly superior to Braga and close out the trilogy with a definite win.
“Braga is a tough fighter. No one can say otherwise,” Pinedo told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “He has a good record, he’s been winning his fights, but I have to be sincere: I think I will finish him quick. I know he’s a tough guy, but I’m going to make it look easy.”
Pinedo vs. Braga 3 is one of the most anticipated bouts of the 2025 PFL tournament series. It got a lot of fans talking after watching the two win their respective bouts at 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 earlier this month, and then face off in an intense staredown.
Braga was very aggressive during the staredown, but “El Mudo” was in no way intimidated by the Brazilian.
“No, the truth is that I wasn’t bothered,” Pinedo explained. “I know how it feels. I know that he has all the pressure on him. I’m coming off beating him and, in my opinion, the two times we fought I won them both with the last one being more dominant. He has the pressure. He knows what he’s dealing with. He knows who I am. I just hope he’s ready.”
Pinedo is, in the eyes of many, the favorite to win this year’s PFL featherweight tournament. It’s a much more different position than when he first entered the promotion as an unknown and unproven fighter in 2023.
“I feel like everyone know sees me with different eyes, and that’s recent,” Pinedo said. “Even after this fight, people are realizing that none of this was a coincidence. It’s all hard work. People know me and that motivates me because now nobody is going to underestimate me. I have to train very hard. Fights are going to be even harder now.”
Jesus Pinedo got the job done in the opening round against Adam Borics in the 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 co-main event.
Peru’s [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] said his pressure would be too much for Adam Borics to handle, and he was right.
In the co-feature of 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Fla., Pinedo (24-6-1) made quick work of a very durable Adam Borics, finishing the fight by TKO at 3:43 in Round 1.
Borics (19-3) provided some resistance initially, but Pinedo’s forward pressure became overwhelming as he blitzed forward with punches. During the barrage, Pinedo clipped Borics, sending him to the canvas. From there, Pinedo unloaded follow-up punches until the referee stopped the fight. Borics protested the stoppage, but the decision was already made.
Check out video of the finish below (via Instagram):
With the win, Pinedo advances in the featherweight tournament to face Gabriel Braga, who finished Frederik Durpas earlier on the card. It will be the third time the pair has met inside the cage; Braga won the first meeting by split decision to start the 2023 season, but Pinedo won the rematch in the championship by third round TKO.
Jesus Pinedo is eager to finally be able to use elbows in his return from a long layoff at 2025 PFL 1.
[autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] is eager to finally step in the cage, especially because the circumstances are much different.
Pinedo (23-6-1), who just a few years ago was one of the biggest stories in MMA, returns Thursday against [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (19-2) in a 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 featherweight quarterfinal fight in Orlando, Fla. “El Mudo” hasn’t competed since Nov. 24, 2023, the night he made history by crowning himself PFL featherweight champion and taking home the $1 million prize.
Also becoming the first Peruvian fighter to win a major belt in MMA.
After a series of injuries and canceled bouts, Pinedo finally gets to resume his career. And he’s happy to do so with the legalization of elbows in PFL and the removal of the season format.
“For me, everything remains the same, but it is true that they changed the format of the tournament and the rules,” Pinedo told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “There are elbows allowed now, which is something I like because I felt like it was a weapon that was taken away from me. In the past fights, I’m someone who likes to use elbows a ton, and now you’ll get to see that.
“I’m ready for this format, and I do feel like it’s better. You will now see who’s the best, not just who wins.”
Pinedo has a tough welcome matchup in Borics, a Kill Cliff fighter who is 5-1 in his past six outings, including a victory over Pinedo’s friend and former teammate, Enrique Barzola.
The 31-year-old is eager to fight again, and he promises to put away Borics.
“I’m ready. I know that he’s a good rival,” Pinedo said. “I know he has a good record and has fought very big names, but I’m ready and totally sure that that day I will come out victorious. I will break him.”
Jesus Pinedo has withdrawn from the PFL vs. Bellator champions card.
[autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] will not compete next week in the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions event.
The 2023 PFL featherweight champion has withdrawn from the card due to undisclosed reasons, and his bout against [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] has been removed from the event, which is scheduled to go down on Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia. “Pitbull” won’t be getting a replacement opponent.
The news was announced by PFL on Saturday morning.
•Jesus Pinedo is OUT •Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Pitbull is off the card •Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis will now be fought at a catchweight of 165lbs
Pinedo (23-6-1), a former UFC fighter, was looking to continue his impressive run. He pulled off one of the biggest surprises in PFL history. The Peruvian stopped Brendan Loughnane, Bubba Jenkins, and Gabriel Braga en route to winning the 2023 PFL featherweight title. He’s currently 7-1 in his past eight fights. Pinedo’s only loss during that stretch came against Braga, which he later avenged.
Freire (35-7), on the other hand, was looking to put a bad stretch behind him with this return. In 2023, he went 0-2 before getting sidelined due to injury. The Brazilian lost to Sergio Pettis in June in an attempt to capture the Bellator bantamweight title and become the first fighter to win titles in three weight classes, and was knocked out by Chihiro Suzuki in a big upset at a Rizin event in Japan.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” debates if PFL or Bellator has an advantage, and the potential for a complete sweep.
Next month, the best of the best in PFL and Bellator will travel across the globe for a unique event.
On Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions event goes down, and it places champs from both promotions against one another. The top four fights on the card will be champion vs. champion bouts, all three rounds, with no title on the line.
This event will give us [autotag]Renan Ferreria[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag], [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] and other PFL vs. Bellator matchups.
Should either promotion bring a broom for the clean sweep, or will both sides pick up victories?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells and Brian “Goze” Garcia discussed the matchups with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
You can watch their discussion in the video above, and check out this week’s episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.
Check out the faceoffs from the first press conference ahead of the inaugural PFL vs. Bellator event in South Florida.
The first PFL vs. Bellator press conference took place Wednesday, and afterward the fighters in attendance came face to face for the first time.
The first PFL vs. Bellator event since the acquisition takes place Feb. 24 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a main card that streams on ESPN+ and DAZN pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+ and ESPNews. The entire card pits PFL fighters vs. Bellator fighters and is chalk full of current and former champions from each promotion.
In the main event, reigning PFL heavyweight champ [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] takes on Bellator heavyweight champ [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag]. The co-main event pits PFL light heavyweight champ [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] moving back down to middleweight to face Bellator 185-pound champ [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag]. A showdown between current featherweight champions, [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] from the PFL and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] of Bellator, is also on tap.
In addition to the fights between current champions, a host of matchups between former champs and title challengers are also slated.
You can watch all of the faceoffs from the first PFL vs. Bellator press conference at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., in the video above.
Below is the complete PFL vs. Bellator lineup:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 3 p.m. ET)
Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson
Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Freire
Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
Clay Collard vs. A.J. McKee
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, ESPNews, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico
Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey De Santis
Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL vs. Bellator.
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.
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.
Relive the PFL’s best knockouts of the year with this video ranking the top 10.
Some nasty knockouts were on display this year in the PFL.
From [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag]’s masterful spinning wheel kick in the playoffs to [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag]’s PFL debut, there were plenty of quality finishes in the smart cage. And now with the season over, the promotion ranked its best knockouts as the following:
1. Sadibou Sy def. Shane Mitchell
2. Cedric Doumbe def. Jordan Zebo
3. [autotag]Amber Leibrock[/autotag] def. Martina Jindrova
4. [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] def. Brendan Loughnane
5. [autotag]Denis Goltsov[/autotag] def. Yorgan De Castro
6. [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] def. Maurice Greene
7. [autotag]Carlos Leal[/autotag] vs. Dilano Taylor
8. [autotag]Lewis McGrillen[/autotag] def. Salih Culucan
9. [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] def. Olena Kolesnyk
10. [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] def. Marthin Hamlet
You can watch the replay of the top 10 PFL knockouts in the video above.
2023 was a wild year for Jesus Pinedo. The newly crowned PFL champion looked back on it all.
The PFL seasons have been host to many incredible stories, but perhaps its most fairytale run came by the hands of Peru’s [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag].
Seven months ago, Pinedo was unknown to the MMA world when he entered PFL’s 2023 featherweight tournament. Not only was he one of the lesser-known fighters, but many might’ve seen him as another body for some of the established names to get easy points and a highlight en route to the playoffs.
Yet, that was not the way Pinedo looked at himself. He willed what many would’ve seen as a cheesy sports movie script into reality.
The 2023 PFL featherweight title
“Honestly, I didn’t think about it until the following week,” Pinedo told MMA Junkie when asked about his remarkable run to becoming the 2023 PFL featherweight champion. “I was laying in bed, and I was thinking for a moment, and I said, ‘I wiped out the entire division.’
“I didn’t just win, I won decisively. I hadn’t thought about that aspect. I finished every fight. I’m happy about that because you can see the fruit of my sacrifice that I’ve been doing for many years. It wasn’t just this year, it’s work that dates years back.”
It was straight out of a movie. Pinedo became this season’s featherweight champion after coming back from dire circumstances.
The 27-year-old lost a close split decision to then-undefeated contender Gabriel Braga in the first of two regular season bouts. That meant he needed a first-round finish in the remaining bout to qualify for the playoffs.
To make matters worse, he was matched up against Brendan Loughnane, who was the champion of the season prior, and coming off a nasty TKO finish over former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes. Well, against all odds, Pinedo did what few saw coming. He dropped Loughnane with a knee to the chin and then put him out with ground-and-pound. It was a giant upset.
Qualifying to the playoffs in the last spot, Pinedo would then get matched up against the No. 1 seed and last year’s featherweight runner-up: Bubba Jenkins. Again, Pinedo answered the call and stopped Jenkins in less than two rounds.
“El Mudo” advanced to the final as an unlikely underdog and had to face the man who beat him at the start of the season – a confident Braga, who had never tasted defeat. Yet, like a cheesy sports movie, Pinedo went out there and finished him, too.
“I was just thinking, ‘I did it. I did it. I’m finally champion,'” Pinedo said as he recalled what was going through his head the moment he stopped Braga. “It’s something I’ve dreamt since I was a kid. It was a dream come true. That’s what I yelled, ‘I’m the champion.'”
The win meant Pinedo was champion of PFL’s 2023 featherweight season, and that came with a lot more than just a belt. However, most importantly, the win was proof that he’s among the best featherweights today.
“Yes, I feel like I’m one of the best in the world,” Pinedo said. “I mean, I’m champion of one of the best organizations in the world. However, I just don’t want this to stay in words. I now want to be fighting against the best. I’m in the best phase of my career and I want to take advantage of that. I want super fights. I want the best.”
2023 PFL Championships at The Anthem in Washington D.C., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)
History for Peruvian MMA
Pinedo’s campaign marked more than a giant milestone for a fighting career. It was a historic moment for an entire country.
Pinedo became the first champion of a major organization to come out of Peru. The Inca nation has had its footprint in MMA with Claudio Puelles, Enrique Barzola, and others standout fighters, but never had a world champion.
“This is unprecedented,” Pinedo said. “I’m the first to achieve a world title in MMA for Peru. Everyone in Peru is happy. The media is talking about it a lot.
“For me, it’s an honor to represent my country. I always try to represent as best as possible. This is a dream come true. It’s an honor. There’s just so many feelings together after so many years of hard work. I’m extremely happy to be able to bring back Peru a world title.”
If glory and history weren’t enough, Pinedo also took home $1 million, which equates to $3,751,952 Peruvian Soles. This is a lot of money, especially in Peru.
“It’s incredible, right? A million dollars is a fortune,” Pinedo said. “It’s a lot of money.”
Although $1 million is a life-changing sum, and one that unfortunately few MMA fighters ever comes across in the entirety of their careers, Pinedo was never focused on the tournament prize. In the numerous interviews Pinedo did with MMA Junkie throughout the season, the Peruvian would brush off the questions around the $1 million and remind that it was the title that he was after.
But now with a hefty transaction to his bank account, Piendo has some new questions to answer.
“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about what I’m going to do with the money,” Pinedo said. “I guess I will have to treat and buy something for myself. I’ll think about it. For now, I have a week-long vacation with my entire family because this whole year I haven’t really seen them much.”
It’s uncertain where that money will go exactly towards to, but that’s not much of a point of concern for Pinedo. He does hope, however, to remain as hungry as he was in his path to the PFL title.
“I just have to keep a cool head and keep the same level of hunger,” Pinedo said. “I need to keep training the same way I was training for these fights, and I can’t let the money take away my focus or my hunger to be at the top. This is all for passion, glory, history, recognition. I’m going to invest well that $1 million and keep focused on my training.”
2023 PFL Championships at The Anthem in Washington D.C., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)
Legacy fight vs. Bellator featherweight champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’
This year’s PFL season came with a new wrinkle. Days before the 2023 PFL Championship, the promotion announced that it purchased Bellator along with the entirety of its roster.
On the night of the championship finals, PFL founder Donn Davis revealed that they expect to run PFL champion vs. Bellator champion superfights in 2024. This pits Pinedo against arguably the biggest and most respected name in Bellator – Patricio Freire.
“Without a doubt the biggest name I’ve faced,” Pinedo said with certainty. “He’s a legend of the sport.”
Pinedo already put himself on the map with his run in the 2023 PFL featherweight season. But if he were to be victorious against ‘Pitbull,’ he would undoubtedly prove to be among the best fighters in the sport. The opportunity to prove just that fires up Pinedo.
“Yeah, I’d be extremely happy if the fight happens, I’m pretty sure it does,” Pinedo said. “It’s just a matter of negotiation. I’m ready, like I said. I’m very happy about the opportunity. I always watched him fight. I’ve been watching him fight for many years. He’s a veteran of MMA.”
Patricio Freire vs. Jesus Pinedo
What’s next?
The 2023 PFL title win just seems like the start of big things to come for Pinedo, at least that’s what he intends it to be.
The PFL plans to run Bellator simultaneously with their regular seasons. They presented the merger as fighters potentially having two options on how to run their careers: Regular matchmaking or season format.
Pinedo is unsure of how negotiations will shake out and what lane he’ll end up competing in. However, either or, he’ll be ready.
“We’ll see what my team decides, how my manager negotiates what’s next,” Pinedo explained. “I’m just going to keep training hard, and I’ll be ready for whatever.
“If it’s next year’s season, I’m totally ready to get another belt. If it’s superfights, I’m totally down for that, too. That excites me a lot, to be fighting against very well-known names. That’s always been a dream of mine, and now I’m ready.”
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