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Check out these photos from Renan Ferreira vs. Matheus Scheffel at 2023 PFL 5 in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag]’s victory over Matheus Scheffel at 2023 PFL 5 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Watch Renan Ferreira punch himself into the 2023 PFL heavyweight playoffs.
Don’t mess with [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag].
The PFL heavyweight fighter proved once again why he’s one of the scariest and most dangerous fighters of the promotion’s 2023 season. At Friday’s 2023 PFL 5 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Ferreira (10-4) scored a brutal KO of [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (17-11) just 50 seconds into their contest.
With this result, Ferreira advanced to the 2023 PFL heavyweight playoffs, while Scheffel saw himself out of the season.
You can watch the KO in the video below:
RENAN FERREIRA IS GOING TO THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
ESPN & ESPN+
https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/tXnFGwfGNG
— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023
Ferreira rebounded from a unanimous decision loss to Rizvan Kuniev at 2023 PFL 2 in April to reach the playoffs. Now 4-2 in the promotion, the 6-foot-8 Brazilian enters the playoffs for the second straight season.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 5.
Check out these photos from Bruno Cappelozza’s victory over Matheus Scheffel at 2023 PFL 2 in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag]’s victory over Matheus Scheffel at 2023 PFL 2 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill/PFL)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the 2023 PFL 2 card in Las Vegas, which features women’s featherweights and heavyweights.
| Pacheco vs. Budd |
Cappelozza vs. Scheffel |
Kolesnyk vs. Ladd |
Ferreira vs. Kuniev |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 41-28 |
 Pacheco (76%) |
 Cappelozza (77%) |
 Ladd (85%) |
 Ferreira (51%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 44-25 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 43-26 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
 Kuniev |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 42-27 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 42-27/em> |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 40-29 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 40-29 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 39-30  2017 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 39-30 2018, 2022 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 38-31 2014 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 38-31 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 36-33 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
The PFL stays in Las Vegas this week with the start of the women’s featherweight and heavyweight regular seasons.
PFL 2023, Week 2 takes place Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, 2022 women’s featherweight season winner [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (19-4), who upset two-time champion Kayla Harrison in November, takes on former Bellator women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (16-5). Pacheco is a heavy 7-1 favorite at the betting window. Not surprisingly, then, our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Pacheco as one of our three unanimous picks on the main card.
In the co-feature, 2021 heavyweight season winner [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] (15-6) meets [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (17-9) in a rematch. Scheffel outworked Cappelozza for a unanimous decision in the 2022 regular season. Cappelozza is a 2-1 favorite and the second unanimous pick at 11-0.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (10-3), a high-profile signing from the UFC, gets her first PFL regular season fight when she takes on [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (7-5). Ladd is a -450 favorite and our third unanimous pick.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (9-3) meets [autotag]Rizvan Kuniev[/autotag] (12-2-1) at heavyweight, and it’s our lone contentious fight from a picks standpoint. Kuniev is a slight favorite at -175, but it’s Ferreira with the slimmest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Pacheco (76 percent), Cappelozza (77 percent), Ladd (85 percent) and Ferreira (51 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 2.
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Bruno Cappelozza will get an opportunity to avenge his most recent loss at 2023 PFL 2.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] will get an opportunity to avenge his most recent loss at 2023 PFL 2.
Cappelozza (15-6) will run things back with [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (17-9), who handed Cappelozza his most recent loss when he won by unanimous decision last June. Cappelozza rematches Scheffel at PFL 2 on April 7 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
Scheffel snapped Cappelozza’s five-fight winning streak, which included winning the 2021 PFL heavyweight title.
“I love challenges, and I know how tough he is,” Cappelozza told MMA Junkie and other reporters during PFL media day at Xtreme Couture. “I’m sure I’m preparing myself 100 percent for this fight.
“Of course I want to win the rematch for sure, and I’m sure it’s gonna be really good for me and my career.”
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After losing to Scheffel, Cappelozza’s 2022 season came to an end after an injury forced him out of his semifinal bout against Denis Goltsov. But his first-round finish over Stuart Austin in the fight before put him through to the semifinal, and the Brazilian is looking to return to peak form against Scheffel.
“Last year I fought twice, I won the first then I lost after that, but I have a lot of fights in my career, so I took it as an experience,” Cappelozza said. “It’s all about evolution, so I’m sure I’m gonna be ready and better for my next fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 2.
Check out the results from the 2022 PFL Championships, where six $1 million champs will be crowned in New York.
The final event of the 2022 PFL season takes place on Friday at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York, and MMA Junkie will keep you updated with live results throughout the event.
The 2022 PFL Championships event features 12 fights, including all six divisional finals for a $1 million grand prize.
In the main event, undefeated two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (15-0) goes for a title three-peat at women’s lightweight when she clashes with [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (18-4), whom Harrison has already defeated twice before.
The co-headliner will see [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (24-4) and [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (19-5) clash for the featherweight championship, while elsewhere on the card [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (9-3) makes her promotional debut vs. former Bellator titleholder [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (16-4) at women’s featherweight, plus much more.
Full results of 2022 PFL Championship include:
It only really took one shot for Ante Delija to take care of Matheus Scheffel and make himself $1 million richer.
It only really took one shot for [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] to take care of [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] and make himself $1 million richer.
Delija (23-5) needed a handful more to put away Scheffel (17-9), but one key punch started the sequence that put Scheffel on the canvas. Then Delija pounced on the chance to get the finish in his second shot at a PFL title.
Once Delija had Scheffel backed against the fence, he was patient. He landed some precision punches until Scheffel fell to the canvas, and then he was relentless to get the finish and PFL’s 2022 heavyweight crown, which came with a $1 million prize.
Delija was the 2021 heavyweight runner-up to Bruno Cappelozza. He lost to him to open his 2021 season, then again in the final. In 2022, though, he knocked out Scheffel in his first fight of the season, then closed the season with another knockout of him for a big turnaround after 2021’s disappointment.
REDEMPTION FOR ANTE DELIJA! HE IS NOW THE 2022 PFL HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION!
[#PFLWorldChampionship | BUY NOW https://t.co/9tors6rrKk | LIVE ON ESPN+ PPV] pic.twitter.com/oKncVXa6aY
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 26, 2022
The 2022 PFL finals took place Friday at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2022 PFL Championships.
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Check out the best photos from Ante Delija’s first-round knockout win over Matheus Scheffel to win the 2022 PFL heavyweight title.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] at the 2022 PFL Championships at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of the PFL)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the 2022 PFL Championships, which feature six $1 million playoff finals.
| Harrison vs. Pacheco |
Jenkins vs. Loughnane |
Delija vs. Scheffel |
Budd vs. Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier vs. Ray |
Sy vs. Taylor |
Akhmedov vs. Wilkinson |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 186-109 |
 Harrison (81%) |
 Jenkins (51%) |
 Delija (77%) |
 Budd (57%) |
 Aubin-Mercier (81%) |
 Sy (56%) |
 Wilkinson (56%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 196-104 2018 Champion |
Harrison |
 Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
 Akhmedov |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 187-113 |
Harrison |
Jenkins |
Delija |
 Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier |
 Taylor |
Wilkinson |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 186-114 |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Taylor |
Akhmedov |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 183-117 |
Harrison |
Jenkins |
Delija |
Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Taylor |
Wilkinson |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 183-117 2014 Champion |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Akhmedov |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 181-119 |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Taylor |
Wilkinson |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 178-122 |
 Pacheco |
Jenkins |
Delija |
Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Wilkinson |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 173-127 |
Harrison |
Jenkins |
Delija |
Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Taylor |
Wilkinson |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 172-128 2017 Champion |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Ladd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Wilkinson |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 163-137 |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Wilkinson |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 146-154 |
Harrison |
Loughnane |
Delija |
Budd |
Aubin-Mercier |
Sy |
Akhmedov |
The PFL closes out its 2022 season with six $1 million playoff finals this week.
The 2022 PFL finals take place Friday at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, two-time women’s lightweight season winner [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (15-0) goes after her third crown when she meets [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (18-4) for the third time. Harrison is 2-0 against the Brazilian. Harrison is a massive 8-1 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Pacheco is +470. But not all of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Harrison. One of our pickers has Pacheco in a big upset.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (19-5) takes on [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (25-4) in the featherweight final. Loughnane is a -180 favorite and has a 7-4 lead in our picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] (22-5) is a heavy -350 favorite in the heavyweight season final against [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (17-8). Delija, the 2021 runner-up, is one of our two unanimous picks at 11-0.
In a non-playoff showcase fight, former Bellator women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (16-4) takes on [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (9-3), who recently was released by the UFC and signed with the PFL. Ladd is a -230 favorite at the betting window, but it’s Budd who has a narrow 6-5 edge from our pickers.
In the lightweight season final, [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] (16-5) is a big -420 favorite against [autotag]Stevie Ray[/autotag] (25-10) and is our second unanimous pick.
[autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] (12-6-2) takes on [autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] (10-2) in the welterweight final. Sy nearly is a 2-1 favorite, but he has just a slim 6-5 picks lead.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] (24-7-1) meets 2-1 favorite [autotag]Rob Wilkinson[/autotag] (16-2) in the light heavyweight final. Australia’s Wilkinson has a 7-4 lead from our staff pickers.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Harrison (81 percent), Jenkins (51 percent), Delija (77 percent), Budd (57 percent), Aubin-Mercier (81 percent), Sy (56 percent) and Wilkinson (74 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2022 PFL Championships.
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2022 PFL Championships feature six title fights, former UFC contenders, and Muhammad Ali’s grandson on the promotion’s first pay-per-view.
The finale of the 2022 PFL postseason is set.
2022 PFL Championships takes place Friday, Nov. 25 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, the promotion announced Wednesday. The eight-fight main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view (8 p.m. ET) after the four-fight undercard on ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET).
While there are no surprises in terms of the six $1 million title fight matchups, which were configured during the post-season, a handful of showcase bouts were also added to the card – including one amateur bout involving the grandson of a boxing icon.
The event marks the first time the promotion has put on a pay-per-view card.
See below to check out the full 2022 PFL Championships lineup, with two bouts still to be added, according to promotion officials.
