Anthony Pettis‘ playoff future is on the line. So is Lance Palmer‘s. Their tension-laden storylines are highlights on Friday’s PFL 6 (Broadcast continues at 10 p.m. ET, ESPN 2) card, which wraps up the regular season as four divisions lock up their playoff brackets.
The event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is headlined by lightweight Kayla Harrison, but the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist is in good playoff position going into her women’s lightweight bout against Cindy Dandois.
Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion signed by the PFL this season, lost his season-opening bout in April, and he needs to finish Raush Manfio in order to make the playoffs.
Palmer, the PFL’s featherweight champion in both of the promotion’s seasons — 2018 and 2019 — needs a finish as well, and he needs his to happen within the first two rounds. That will be a formidable challenge, as he will be facing a fighter, Movlid Khaybulaev, who has never lost.
Finally, there’s the heavyweight division, which is led by three fighters who earned finishes at PFL 3: Bruno Cappelozza and Denis Goltsov, who each have 6 points following first-round stoppages, followed by Brandon Sayles, who ended his fight in Round 2. With both Fabricio Werdum and Mohamed Usman sidelined, among others, there are four fresh faces among those looking to punch their tickets to the playoffs.
Follow along throughout the night as we break down the action, as it happens.
Heavyweight: Denis Goltsov (6 points) vs. Brandon Sayles (5 points)
Fight in progress…
Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza (12 points) def. Muhammed Dereese (0 points) by first-round TKO
Cappelozza apparently does not like to linger inside the cage. He won his first fight of the 2021 PFL season in 46 seconds, and this time he came out with a fury right from the start.
The 32-year-old Brazilian didn’t get the stoppage immediately, despite unloading on DeReese in the opening minute. But shortly thereafter, Cappelozza wobbled his opponent with a left hook, flurried against the cage and landed a head kick just as DeReese was crumbling to the canvas.
The knockout came at 2:21 of Round 1, good for 6 points and a season total of 12 — clinching a playoff spot and putting him atop the heavyweight standings, pending one more heavyweight fight on the card.
Women’s lightweight: Larissa Pacheco (12 points) def. Olena Kolesnyk (-1 point) by first-round KO
Pacheco had 3 points and a playoff spot sewed up before the fight even began, after Kolesnyk missed weight Thursday.
She wanted more, and boy did she get it.
Pacheco opted to take the fight and a chance to earn a few extra points for seeding, but early on she took some shots during aggressive exchanges, particularly during a flurry late in Round 1, in which Kolesnyk landed a couple of punches to the head and moved towards Pacheco in pursuit. Kolesnyk then walked directly into a left-right combination from Pacheco that instantly floored her and suddenly finished the fight. Referee Gasper Oliver stepped in and called an end to the fight before Pacheco could even get to the ground.
The knockout at 4:48 was Pacheco’s second first-round knockout of the season, giving her 12 points in the standings. That sends the 26-year-old Brazilian into the playoffs, with an excellent chance of her being the No. 1 seed. Pacheco has eyes on reigning champion Kayla Harrison, who was scheduled to fight in the PFL 6 headliner with a chance at No. 1 herself and a playoff spot already locked up. Harrison defeated Pacheco twice in 2019, including a matchup in the 2019 PFL women’s lightweight finals.
Heavyweight: Ante Delija (6 points) def. Chandler Cole (0 points) by first-round TKO
Delija needed a first-round finish in order to have any hope of a playoff spot, and he fought with an urgency that increased its intensity as the seconds ticked off the clock.
The 30-year-old from Croatia had Cole in trouble a couple of times early, and he had to deal with a couple of reversals of position. Cole gave him problems until Delija got top position on the canvas in the final minute of Round 1 and began furiously unloading punches. Cole covered up, but that was not enough for referee Keith Peterson, who implored him, “Fight back!”
Cole did not budge from his defensive shell, so the ref jumped in at 4:39 to wave off the bout. That gave Delija 6 points, putting him in playoff position pending results later in the night.
Cole, who is 33 and from Coeburn, Virginia, was making his PFL debut.
Women’s lightweight: Genah Fabian (8 points) def. Julija Pajic (0 points) by second-round TKO
Fabian took her time early in her fight against Pajic with no apparent urgency, calmly piecing her up for a good nine minutes. But there was no indication that Pajic with under any threat of a finish — something Fabian needed in order to make the playoffs.
Then Fabian, a 31-year-old New Zealander, landed a right kick to the head to wobble Pajic, and she followed with a straight left hand that dropped Pajic. Fabian then landed a flurry of punches against the cage to earn a second-round TKO at 4:16 of Round 2. That gave Fabian 5 points, and a season total of 8 — good for a guaranteed spot in the PFL playoffs.
Palic, who is 31 and from Croatia, has been finished in both of her 2021 PFL fights.
Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira (4 points) def. Carl Seumanutafa (0 points) by unanimous decision
Ferreira did not tap this time around. That much we can say with certainty. Problem was, the 31-year-old from Brazil was unable to make his opponent tap out either. So there will be no playoffs for Ferreira.
Ferreira took a unanimous decision with three scorecards of 30-26, but the 3 points gave him a total of just 4. His first bout had been a no contest with Fabricio Werdum. Originally, it was a TKO by Ferreira, but Werdum claimed that Ferreira had tapped out, and the New Jersey athletic commission overturned the result.
Seumanutafa, a 31-year-old Samoan who fights out of San Francisco, was making his season debut. After persevering through a couple of submission attempts, including a choke-out attempt in Round 2 during which he repeatedly raised his thumb to indicate to the referee he was OK, Seumanutafa rallied in Round 3 to end his opponent’s hope of advancing.
Women’s lightweight: Taylor Guardado (6 points) def. Laura Sanchez (0 points) by unanimous decision
It was a matchup of fighters with 1-1 pro records, and yet the back-and-forth was skillful and smart. Guardado just had a little extra — actually, more than a little.
The 29-year-old from Las Vegas scored timely takedowns in all three rounds, escaped some submission tries by Sanchez and put on a gritty performance to earn another 3 points for a season total of 6, which put her in strong position to qualify for a playoff spot.
All three judges scored the bout 30-27 for Guardado.
Sanchez, who is 30 and fights out of Milwaukee, has lost both of her PFL bouts this season.
Women’s lightweight: Mariana Morais (3 points) def. Kaitlin Young (3 points) by split decision
Morais got better and busier as the fight wore on. Early on, she was throwing her punches one at a time, and Young was slipping many of them and returning counter shots. The 25-year-old Morais, from Brazil, was not taking control.
But she picked up the pace with her strikes, and also started utilizing her judo, and that turned a close fight her way. It may have helped that Morais had former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in her corner shouting advice across the cage.
By Round 3, Morais was landing combinations and leading the dance. In the end, two judges scored it for Morais (30-27 and 29-28) and the other saw it for Young (29-28).
The victory gave Morais 3 points in the standings, and the 35-year-old Young came in with 3 points as well. Barring an unlikely multi-way tie in the standings, Morais and Young were left on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Heavyweight: Jamelle Jones (6 points) def. Klidson Abreu (0 points) by first-round KO
Jones was making his PFL debut kicking off the final regular-season card, and with only one fight to accumulate points to qualify for the playoffs, he needed to make a bold statement and do it quickly if he was going to have any chance of continuing his 2021 campaign. He did exactly that, setting the bar high for the heavyweights still to come.
The 33-year-old from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was in with an opponent who had 10 submissions, but Jones showed no reluctance to taking the fight to the canvas and keeping it there. He got a quick takedown and immediately began landing big shots, even when Abreu put him in full guard. Jones didn’t stop dropping big leather until the Brazilian rolled over, immobile, and referee Gary Copeland jumped in to end it at 1:43.
The quick TKO gave Jones 6 points, putting him in prime position to make the playoffs. For now.
Still to come:
ESPN2 | Watch
Women’s lightweight: Kayla Harrison vs. Cindy Dandois
Lightweight: Anthony Pettis vs. Raush Manfio
Men’s lightweight: Lance Palmer vs. Movlid Khaybulaev