Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from Mads Burnell vs. Clay Collard at 2024 PFL 5 in Salt Lake City.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag]’s victory over Clay Collard at 2024 PFL 5, which took place at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL)
Check out these photos of 2024 PFL 5 competitors facing off at Mount Olympus in Salt Lake City.
Check out these photos of 2024 PFL 5 competitors facing off at Mount Olympus in Salt Lake City. (Photos courtesy of PFL MMA)
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,473, the guys welcome in UFC guest [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag], discuss the latest news, and look ahead to this weekend’s PFL, Bellator and UFC events. Tune in!
Mads Burnell explains why he isn’t focused on what he has to do against Clay Collard to make the 2024 PFL playoffs.
PFL lightweight [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] is focused on the things he can control.
Just days away from his 2024 PFL 5 main event bout against Clay Collard at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Burnell (18-6 MMA, 0-1 PFL) is aware that he needs to do more than just pick up a win over Collard (25-12 MMA, 7-4 PFL) to make the playoffs. However, he doesn’t know every scenario that would get him in because that’s the least of his concerns.
“All I need is to go out and perform,” Burnell told MMA Junkie Radio. “Numbers and all that sh*t don’t mean a thing, so no, I haven’t really looked into it.”
At 2024 PFL 2 in April, Burnell was submitted in the second round by Michael Dufort, putting his playoff hopes against the wall. With zero points in the standings, Burnell needs a first or second-round finish to give himself the best chance at fighting for $1 million in the playoffs, but he also needs some help with the other fight outcomes.
“I didn’t go into this tournament thinking about a million dollars; I’m still not thinking about a million dollars; I’m just thinking about f*cking whooping ass,” Burnell said. “That’s all I’m thinking about. If you keep whooping ass, then eventually, that million dollars will be in my bank account.
“… I’m just thinking about going in there and doing me and whooping ass, and putting on a great performance. What happens, happens. That’s out of my control. All I can control is myself and my performance, so that’s what I’m focusing on. I do that, then everything else will go how I want it.”
Collard currently sits in second place with five points in the standings, as a part of a three-way tie with Dufrot and Brent Primus. Elvin Espinoza rounds out the top four with four points.
Burnell knows everyone believes the fight against Collard will be exciting, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s just another matchup in which he has to be ready for any and all possibilities to unfold.
“If you expect anything going into a fight, you a dumb sh*t,” Burnell said. “It’s a fight. He could come out with a flying, spinning heel kick or some sh*t, or he could come out and try to wrestle. You never know. We’re going to figure out, you guys are going to figure out, I’m going to figure out, he’s going to figure out – it’s going to be a scrap, that’s for sure.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,472, the guys welcome in [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] for an interview, who will be facing Clay Collard in the main event of 2024 PFL 5. The fellas also had huge news to cover with [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] being out of his fight against Michael Chandler, and the new UFC 303 lineup. Tune in!
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)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET)
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.
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:
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 5.
Former Bellator fighter Mads Burnell is “super happy” to enter the PFL’s season format while not worrying about cutting as much weight.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] is just days away from beginning a new fighting experience and couldn’t be happier about the future.
Burnell (18-5), who fought under the Bellator fighter from 2020-23, switched to PFL after it acquired the promotion. While some things will remain the same, such as some familiar faces behind the scenes, but when it comes to business inside the cage, there will be several differences for the Danish fighter.
“I’m excited about it,” Burnell told reporters at a media scrum at XTreme Couture. “The only difference is that now you kind of know when you’re fighting and stuff like that. I’m super happy about that. That’s actually why when I heard they were going to merge, I was like I need to get in that. If you fight for UFC, Bellator, or whatever, it can be a little inconsistent when you’re fighting. But here, you know when and where to fight, so it’s super cool.”
For the PFL season format, Burnell will also be making the move from featherweight to lightweight. He is aware that cutting weight so often is not a wise decision due to its negative effects on his performance.
“Now I got to make weight so often, and the last four or five times making ’45 have been super, super tough,” Burnell said. “So, I think it’s natural progression. When I started fighting, I was 19. I was walking around like 163, 164 soaking wet. I just turned 30 like two weeks ago, and the weight is a little different than it was when I was 19. I became a man, so it’s only natural progression I’m going up a weight class.”
Burnell’s new journey begins at 2024 PFL 2 on April 12, when he faces Michael Dufort (12-4) for his first regular season bout. He will be looking to extend his two-fight streak in what he hopes will be the first of many entertaining fights going forward.
“For me, it’s like I’m in this because I want to put on exciting fights,” Burnell said. “When it’s all said and done, I want the up-and-comers to look at me how I was looking at the (Arturo) Gatti, (Micky) Ward’s, the (Evander) Holyfield’s, stuff like that. The million is just the cherry on top, but this just gives me extra opportunity to put on exciting fights, knowing when I’m fighting – it’s perfect.”
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Bellator featherweight Mads Burnell blasts the evolution of modern jiu-jitsu for making the art less effective for MMA.
[autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] is not happy with the evolution of jiu-jitsu, and thinks it comes with a cost, at least in MMA.
With jiu-jitsu vastly changing and evolving from self-defense to more of a sport in recent years, Burnell (17-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) thinks it’s become less effective in fighting. Returning at Bellator 299 this Saturday against Daniel Weichel (42-14 MMA, 11-6 BMMA), Burnell (17-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) was pretty vocal about the current state of jiu-jitsu.
“It’s soft as f*ck to say it mildly,” Burnell said at the Bellator 299 media day on Thursday. “They’re going for worm guard, spider guard, this guard, that guard. The old-school way like Renzo and Rickson (Gracie) did it like to get the takedown, get on top, get to mount, punch somebody in the face and choke people. That’s how it works in MMA. But this soft sh*t where they butt scoot and try to get each other’s foot, that sh*t don’t fly in MMA.”
It may be surprising to see Burnell critical of jiu-jitsu given that it’s his main weapon in MMA. Burnell has 10 stoppage wins in his record, and nine of those have come by way of submission.
“It’s funny because I’m good on the ground, but I actually think jiu-jitsu is soft,” Burnell said. “I actually don’t like it, especially how it is today. I really don’t like it. I don’t like the tournaments and how they call it fights. How can it be a fight when no one is getting slapped? I really don’t like how jiu-jitsu is today.”
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Either way, Burnell is focused on MMA and not jiu-jitsu. He’s hoping to build momentum from his win over Justin Gonzales in April and further himself from that two-fight losing streak in 2022. The 29-year-old finds Weichel to be the perfect opponent to do just that.
“He’s a legend, that’s why I called him out,” Burnell said. “I’ve said this before, but it was mostly to reel him in. I’ve been wanting to fight this guy since I almost became a pro. He fought in Denmark when I was 10 years old in a fight card I was live watching in 2004, so it’s pretty cool to fight him.
“He’s all around a good fighter and has fought who’s who. If you look at his track record, that’s the type of record you want to have. He fought anybody, anytime, anywhere, and I respect that a lot.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.
Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC remains in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 228.
The event takes place at the UFC Apex and features a lightweight bout between [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] and [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag].
Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA, kickboxing, muay Thai and bareknuckle boxing this week from Sept. 22-23.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
