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Check out these photos from Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira at 2023 PFL Championship for the light heavyweight title.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag]’s light heavyweight title victory over Josh Silveira at 2023 PFL Championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
No. 1 seed Josh Silveira meets No. 3 Impa Kasanganay in the PFL’s 205-pound season championship.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The PFL crowned its newest $1 million light heavyweight winner Friday.
No. 1 seed [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] (12-1) met No. 3 [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] (14-3) in the 205-pound season championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.
Go inside the matchup below, from the backstory and the buildup through the end of the fight itself, with stats, photos, preview videos, highlight videos, quotes, recaps and more.
The story will update throughout the fight and event.
A second generation fighter, PFL finalist Josh Silveira was born with a martial artist’s mentality that he still carries today.
Money is cool, but [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] is looking for something a bit more meaningful to his sense of martial arts accomplishment.
For the second straight year, Silveira (12-1 MMA, 5-1 PFL) is on the verge of a $1 million prize. He faces former UFC fighter [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 4-0 PFL) in a light heavyweight final at 2023 PFL Championship. The event takes place Nov. 24 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., and streams on ESPN+.
“I would say the belt (means more than money),” Silveira recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “The belt drives me the most. Being champion, having that title, being part of a good organization and really cementing my name. The sport is growing. I think I have a good personality. I think I fight well. I think the money is going to come in all shapes and sizes.
“But I think the gold belt, especially for my father, and (it’ll) place a good stepping stone, a key moment into my great career. This is just the beginning. I think the gold belt for sure is the type of mentality you should have. The money is going to come and go but we really want to cement ourselves in that championship category, for sure.”
Perhaps Silveira’s preference for pride over dollars was handed down to him by his father, Conan, a former UFC fighter and longtime American Top Team coach. Silveira is a second-generation fighter. He’s been around an MMA gym for as long as he can remember.
“I think the PFL season format can kind of be tough,” Silveira said. “You need good coaching to understand that, ‘Hey, we’re going for our fourth fight. You’re more than ready. We’ve just got to sharpen up these little tools, do a couple of adjustments, get you ready for two more rounds, and that’s it.’ To be honest, the work feels good. The work feels done already. I feel like I’ve just been fighting all year long. It’s no problem with that. I feel great. My dad is just a guy who does a couple of adjustments, sometimes when he sees me getting too antsy. It is for a world championship fight. His goal is to keep me calm and collected and let’s go really cap this thing off and win this thing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.
Losing taught Josh Silveira just how much he loves the sport.
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Losing taught [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] just how much he loves the sport.
Silveira was eliminated by Omari Akhmedov in the 2022 PFL light heavyweight semifinals, which marked his first-career loss. He was able to rebound with three straight wins this year to punch his ticket to the finals.
Silveira (12-1) meets Impa Kasanganay (14-3) in the light heavyweight final Nov. 24 at 2023 PFL Championships, which takes place at The Anthem in Washington D.C. and streams live on ESPN+ PPV. The loss to Akhmedov was a tough pill to swallow for Silveira, but he used it as motivation going into this year.
“What I learned about myself was understanding that PFL sometimes when they put you in a $1 million situation, you might think, ‘Is this it? Is this the end?'” Silveira told MMA Junkie at a PFL media day on Wednesday. “I didn’t win the million. Do I move onto something else? Obviously in this situation, that’s not me. That’s what it taught me: It doesn’t matter if it’s for $1 million or a world championship, it’s about love.
“I love doing this, so I knocked the dust off my shoulders and I got back to what I love doing. It’s a blessed life I have. The loss is just a little speed bump in the road, but this is my life. My biggest nightmare is not doing MMA, not waking up and punching a guy in the face, and getting punched, kicked, being exhausted. This is just my life, and that was the biggest takeaway from it.”
Watch Silveira’s full pre-fight scrum in the video above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championships.
Check out he full results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 1, which features featherweight and light heavyweight semifinal bouts in San Antonio.
2023 PFL Playoffs 1 took place Friday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.
The event featured featherweight and light heavyweight semifinal bouts at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio. 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 main event, [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (21-7) took on [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] (22-6-1) in a featherweight semifinal bout. Pinedo entered the contest with a one-point deduction due to missing weight Thursday morning. Jenkins won both of his regular season bouts by picking up a unanimous decision over Chris Wade and a submission against Sung Bin Jo. Pinedo went 50/50 in his regular season outings, starting off with a split decision loss to Gabriel Alves Braga, but rebounding nicely with a first-round finish over 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] (12-1) faced [autotag]Ty Flores[/autotag] (13-5) in a light heavyweight semifinal. Silveira’s regular season run did not see a second round, as he submitted Sam Kei and picked up a TKO win against Delan Monte due to injury in the opening frame. Flores picked up unanimous decision wins over Monte and Dan Spohn in his regular season fights.
Full 2023 PFL Playoffs 1 results include:
Josh Silveira punched his ticket to the PFL light heavyweight championship with a devastating finish of Ty Flores in San Antonio.
[autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] punched his ticket to the PFL light heavyweight championship with a nasty highlight reel finish.
In the co-feature of 2023 PFL Playoffs 1 at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Silveira (12-1) scored another first-round finish – the third of his 2023 campaign. Ty Flores (13-5) couldn’t escape Silveira’s clutches in their light heavyweight semifinal bout and was stopped at 4:46 of Round 1.
Silveira was just a step ahead of Flores all the way up to the moment where he caught him in a Thai clinch and began unleashing brutal knees for the first-round finish. It was a brutal moment, which prompted the referee to rush in as soon as the final knee Silveira landed sent Flores stumbling into the fence. Flores debated the stoppage, but Silveira was right there ready to land more punches if the referee did not step in.
Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):
JOSH SILVEIRA IS GOING TO THE SHIP! #PFLWORLDCHAMPIONSHIP#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/zbdTqLj0xk— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 5, 2023
Silveira is now set to face Impa Kasanganay in the light heavyweight championship with a $1 million prize on the line. Kasanganay defeated Marthin Hamlet earlier in evening to advance to the final.
All three fights of Silveira’s 2023 PFL run have ended in the first round. He stopped Sam Kei with a submission, won a TKO due to injury against Delan Monte, and stopped Flores with brutal knees Friday evening.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 1.
Top PFL light heavyweight playoff seed Josh Silveira said it won’t be “Skittles and rainbows” on the way to a shot at $1 million.
There are plenty of high hopes around [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] heading into the PFL’s 2023 playoff season.
But the American Top Team light heavyweight has been here before. In 2022, Silveira (11-1) went into the playoffs unbeaten in his career, but was upset as a 2-1 favorite by Omari Akhmedov. This season, after two first-round stoppages in the regular season. Silveira (11-1) is the 205-pound division’s No. 1 playoff seed against Ty Flores (13-4).
The two fight on Friday’s PFL playoff opener at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
Silveira told MMA Junkie Radio the mental hurdles in the PFL’s format help prepare him for the postseason and what he hopes is a run to the $1 million title this year.
“MMA in general is a stressful sport. Just knowing that you’re going to get locked in a cage with somebody, that’s already a stressful moment just by itself,” Silveira said. “… The physical break – I’ll get breaks. My dad will give me breaks. He’s like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to go rest.’ But it’s the mental aspect. You win a fight in the PFL and you already have another fight announced already. ‘Here’s your next opponent. This is the next guy you’re fighting right here.’ Boom, you win. Boom, you win. Boom.
“I think there’s a mental barrier sometimes where I’m just like, man, this is such a long season. I feel like I don’t get a mental break. But that’s the job. You’ve got to cope with that the best you can. You have to understand that fighting for $1 million dollars isn’t going to be Skittles and rainbows and ‘what a beautiful day it is outside.’ There’s going to be tornadoes and hurricanes and tsunamis and it’s just about being consistent – understanding that it is a long season … understanding that you’ve got to respect your body, respect how you feel, respect the moment. And just show up to the gym just getting it in – just showing up and understanding that this is a long season.”
Silveira choked out Sam Kei in the first round in April for 6 points. Against Delan Monte in June, he picked up a TKO win 90 seconds in due to a Monte injury for another 6. He was one of just three fighters across six divisions to get the max of 12 points in the regular season.
At -650, Silveira is far and away the biggest betting favorite on the card. That doesn’t mean he’s taking the fight as a walk-through to the $1 million final against the winner of Friday’s second light heavyweight semifinal between Marthin Hamlet and Impa Kasanganay.
“I think of Ty Flores as a killer ready to take me out, ready to take what’s mine, ready to embarrass me on TV, on ESPN,” Silveira said. “I take all of that very seriously. I want to prepare for this monster, this nightmare, and when I get there, I’ll make adjustments. If it is as bad as I think it is, then we’re ready. And if it’s not that, then it’s going to be a hard night for him. I’m ready. I’m a finisher, but I’m ready to fight 15 minutes. I’m ready to fight 25. I don’t give a crap.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 1.
Check out the disclosed 2023 PFL 4 fighter pays released by the state of Georgia.
PFL returned to Atlanta this past Thursday for the first of three shows in consecutive weeks at Overtime Elite Arena.
2023 PFL 4 featured final regular season bouts at light heavyweight and featherweight, as well as a pair of showcase fights. The event saw a shocking main event result when former UFC fighter [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] knocked out 2022 PFL featherweight champion [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] with a brutal knee and punches in Round 1.
Also on the card, 2021 PFL featherweight champion [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] defeated former UFC fighter [autotag]Tyler Diamond[/autotag], and former UFC bantamweight title challenger [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] retired after a knockout loss to [autotag]Gabriel Braga[/autotag].
MMA Junkie acquired a list of the 22 athletes’ disclosed payouts from the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission. The amounts do not include bonuses, sponsorships, or any other discretionary payments.
Two fighters, 2022 PFL featherweight runner-up [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] and Khaybulaev, topped the list at $100,000 and were the only two athletes on the card with disclosed six-figure payouts.
Scroll below to see the disclosed pay for each 2023 PFL 4 fighter.
Check out these photos from Josh Silveira’s victory over Delan Monte at 2023 PFL 4 in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from Josh Silveira’s victory over Delan Monte at 2023 PFL 4 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out how the remaining PFL light heavyweights reacted to the failed drug tests and removals of half of the division from the 2023 season.
The 2023 PFL light heavyweight season was forced into a major makeover.
Five of the 10 fighters competing in this year’s 205-pound weight class failed drug tests stemming from their first regular season bouts back in April in Las Vegas. The list included: Krzysztof Jotko, Mohammad Fakreddine, Will Fleury, Thiago Santos, and 2022 PFL light heavyweight champion Robert Wilkinson.
This forced the promotion to pull and replace the fighters with failed drug tests and resume the season with half the division’s roster being newcomers.
MMA Junkie asked the remaining light heavyweights [autotag]Ty Flores[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag], [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] and [autotag]Delan Monte[/autotag], who didn’t fail drug tests, about their reactions to the failed drug tests and changes in the division:
