Tag: Sadibou Sy

Why 2022 PFL welterweight champ Sadibou Sy moved to light heavyweight for upcoming season

Sadibou Sy won the 2022 PFL Championship at welterweight, but in 2024 will be competing two weight classes higher at light heavyweight.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] cashed a $1 millon prize for winning the PFL welterweight championship in 2022. This year, he will hunt for another seven-figure payday in a much heavier division.

For Sy (16-7-2), a 37-year-old, 6-foot-3 fighter, making 170 pounds was not easy. Having to complete that weight cut four times in seven months due to the PFL’s regular and postseason schedule made things that much worse. Even though Sy reached the end goal in 2022 by winning the championship and nearly went back-to-back in 2023, he will not put his body through that process again in 2024 as he jumps to the light heavyweight division.

“It wasn’t much of a discussion,” Sy told reporters at a media scrum at XTreme Couture when asked about changing weight classes. “I’ve been in 170 for a couple of years. First two seasons was pretty easy, and then it just became harder and harder to make weight – and I became better and better, so I fight longer and longer in the season, so it’s more weight cuts, less recovery time between. So, it was just grueling cutting 30-35 pounds each fight. So now, a lot more fun.”

Light heavyweight will be the third division Sy has competed in under the PFL banner. He entered the promotion at middleweight in 2018 and then switched to welterweight the following season.

Sy really hit his stride in 2022, winning all four bouts, including a win over Dilano Taylor to capture the championship. In 2023, Sy ripped through the regular season with two finishes, followed by a split decision in the first playoff bout, but lost to Magomed Magomedkerimov in the championship bout.

Admittedly, Sy said he was not sure if he would have moved to light heavyweight if he had won a second consecutive title, but that is the decision he has made now.

Sy will begin his 2024 season on April 12 against Josh Silveira (12-2), who competed for the light heavyweight championship last season but lost to Impa Kasanganay. Sy is excited to challenge himself right out of the gate, and getting to experience different looks.

“I love it,” Sy said. “It was a long time since I fought a southpaw, so I’m very excited to do that. For me, it’s fun to come into the division and actually face a guy that’s been proven in the division. I think that’s going to tell a lot of people where I’m at, because when people found out that I was going to move to 170, everyone was like, ‘Why? What are you doing?’ Just wait and see.”

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PFL names its top 10 knockouts of the 2023 season

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.

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Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Sadibou Sy at 2023 PFL Championship: Best photos

Check out these photos from Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Sadibou Sy at 2023 PFL Championship for the welterweight title.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag]’s welterweight title victory over Sadibou Sy at 2023 PFL Championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)

Magomed Magomedkerimov chokes Sadibou Sy to win second $1 million title | 2023 PFL Championship Fight Night HQ

No. 1 seed Magomed Magomedkerimov (33-6) meets No. 3 Sadibou Sy (16-6-2) in the PFL’s 170-pound season championship.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The PFL crowned its newest $1 million welterweight winner Friday.

No. 1 seed [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] (33-6) met No. 3 [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] (16-6-2) in the 170-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.

UFC champ Sean Strickland on PFL’s Sadibou Sy: ‘Best striker I’ve ever sparred’

UFC champ can’t rave enough about reigning PFL champ Sadibou Sy’s striking skills.

UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] rates the striking of reigning PFL welterweight champ [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] very highly.

One of Strickland’s main training partners at Xtreme Couture, Sy (16-6-2 MMA, 10-4-2 PFL) rematches Magomed Magomedkerimov in their welterweight final Friday at the 2023 PFL Championship event.

As Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) preps for his own title fight against Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 main event on Jan. 20, he raved about Sy’s striking and the difficulties it presents him in sparring.

“He (Sy) would be the welterweight champion (in the UFC),” Strickland said on his YouTube channel. “Then I’d probably have to fight him for the middleweight belt. Sadi is the best striker I’ve ever sparred. Proof is in the pudding, man. We’ve all seen your highlights. Generally when I spar Sadi, I’m like, ‘F*ck, this sucks. Why can’t I hit you, Sadi?! This is bullsh*t.’

“I’ll tell you what makes Sadi so good: The f*cking man thinks, dude. When he’s sparring, he just like – he’s calculated, he understands, you know? To be a really great standup artist, a lot of it comes from the mind. If someone gives you an IQ test, what do they test? They test you on reading patterns, predictability. When you’re sparring, all you’re doing is reading patterns and finding out predictabilities. High-level striking is a big IQ test.”

The 2023 PFL Championship event takes place Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The main card airs on pay-per-view (ESPN+) following prelims on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.

Sadibou Sy not surprised with Sean Strickland’s ascent to UFC champion: ‘We just help each other grow’

Sadibou Sy expected Sean Strickland to win the UFC middleweight title.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] expected [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] to win the UFC middleweight title.

Strickland pulled a stunning upset when he dethroned Israel Adesanya to become middleweight champion at UFC 293. A main training partner of 2022 PFL welterweight champion Sy, both men have been instrumental in each other’s training camps.

So, Sy knew just how good Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) is.

“I’ve said it so many times: There was nothing with that performance from Sean that was surprising for me,” Sy told reporters during a media scrum at Xtreme Couture. “I’m so happy for him, so proud of him, and he’s one of my main training partners. He was actually my last round now before coming here. We just help each other grow. I’m looking forward to keep growing with him.”

Sy (16-6-2 MMA, 10-4-2 PFL) will look to avenge his 2021 semifinals loss to Magomed Magomedkerimov when the pair rematch in their welterweight final at the 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 23, which takes place at The Anthem in Washington D.C. and streams live on ESPN+ PPV.

Sy’s road to the finals includes two highlight reel finishes – shutting down Jarrah Al-Silawi with a nasty knee to the body and a walkoff wheel kick of Shane Mitchell. He punched his ticket against Magomedkerimov with a split decision win over Carlos Leal.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championships.

Sadibou Sy wants to prove he can outgrapple Magomed Magomedkerimov at 2023 PFL Championships

Sadibou Sy rematches Magomed Magomedkerimov at 2023 PFL Championships, and is willing to prove he can take the fight anywhere.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] is one of the most dangerous strikers on the entire PFL roster, but has plans on showing off more areas of his game in an upcoming championship bout.

Looking to make it back-to-back welterweight title wins, Sy (16-6-2 MMA, 10-4-2 PFL) meets Magomed Magomedkerimov for the second time at the 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 23. During the regular season, Sy added two impressive highlight clips to his reel during with a nasty knee to the body of Jarrah Al-Silawi and smooth walkoff wheel kick of Shane Mitchell. Magomedkerimov (33-6 MMA, 15-1 PFL) may look to avoid exchanges on the feet, which is something Sy welcomes.

“I hope he will,” Sy told reporters during a media scrum at Xtreme Couture when asked if he thinks Magomedkerimov will look to make the fight a grappling affair. “Because for me, I want to fight him (there) because I want to show myself that not only is he not going to be able to outgrapple or outwrestle me, I’m going to outwrestle him.”

Throughout his PFL journey, Sy has steadily shown improvements in all areas of his game. When he first arrived in the promotion, his takedown defense wasn’t where it needed to be to reach championship fights. Now, he’s one fight away from his second consecutive title thanks to focusing on his evolution as a fighter.

“To be able to work on something, and see improvements and see that it works, that’s why I started this,” Sy explained. “Like I said in the previous question with Magomed, if he’d going to wrestle, I want to be able to see like, OK, how’s my wrestling today compared to two years ago? Those things excite me.”

Magomedkerimov defeated Sy in their first meeting in 2021 by unanimous decision. This time around, Sy is a more complete fighter with elevated confidence who hasn’t lost in the seven fights since. When asked how he plans on getting his hand raised on Nov. 23, Sy laughed as he quipped a fantastic response.

“Oh, the ref is just going to lift it.”

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2023 PFL Playoffs 3 official results: Clay Collard wins instant classic semifinal bout vs. Shane Burgos

Check out the full results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 3, including which lightweights and welterweights advanced to the 2023 PFL Championships.

2023 PFL Playoffs 3 took place Wednesday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.

The event featured welterweight and lightweight playoff bouts at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. 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 featured contest, [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (25-10) took on [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] (16-6) in a Fight of the Year contender lightweight semifinal bout. It was a brutal contest with high-volume striking, but in the end, Collard earned unanimous 29-28 scores from the official judges.

Fists were flying early and often in the first round, living up to the expectation of an exciting matchup. Collard’s volume was higher, mixing up punches to the body and head with sharp combinations. Burgos landed well early and added some nice kicks, but as the round wore on, Collard put a stamp on the round by hurting Burgos with shots to the chin.

Collard continued to march forward with accurate punches early in the second, causing blood to flow from Burgos’ face. Keeping his opponent honest, Burgos fired back with damaging inside leg kicks. Collard continued to pepper out jabs, but was knocked off his feet by a hard leg kick from Burgos. The momentum only lasted seconds, as Collard returned to his feet and landed a hard left hook to send Burgos to the mat. Collard followed him to the ground for more strikes, but the finish wouldn’t come as Burgos worked his way back up. The round closed with more striking exchanges on the feet.

The striking exchanges continued at a high clip in the final round. Burgos added punches to the body along with kicks, as Collard worked fast punches and showed excellent head movement. A hard inside leg kick prompted Collard to shoot for a takedown, but Burgos stuffed it and shook his fingers at his opponent. They returned to the center to trade more strikes, but the inside kicks from Burgos really bothered Collard. After a clinch against the cage, it was back to fighting in the phone booth in the center of the cage. More inside leg kicks affected Collard’s movement, but he kept firing as they traded blows until the final horn.

The judges saw the fight unanimously for Collard, earning his first PFL finals appearance.

Collard entered the lightweight playoffs as the No. 1 seed after picking up a unanimous decision win over Yamato Nishikawa and a second-round stoppage of Stevie Ray in his regular season bouts. He now advances to the finals where he will face [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag], who recorded a second-round TKO stoppage against Bruno Miranda in the co-main event.

In the welterweight semifinal bouts, [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag] defeated Carlos Leal by split decision, and [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] turned away Solomon Renfro to advance to the finals.

Check out the official results, details and highlight clips from each bout below.

Sadibou Sy def. Carlos Leal at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3: Best photos

Check out these photos from Sadibou Sy vs. Carlos Leal, a welterweight semifinals bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 in New York.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag]’s victory over Carlos Leal in a welterweight semifinal bout at 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)