Matches to Make After 2023 PFL 5
PFL 5 2023 Regular Season featured a number of fast, furious
finishes among female featherweights and male heavyweights.
In the heavyweight main event, 2022 PFL heavyweight champion
Ante
Delija battled
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Maurice
Greene. This was actually Delija’s first and only appearance
this season, as he was injured and unable to fight in a scheduled
April fight. However, he had won 4 in a row and 6 of 7 heading into
the Greene fight, including two impressive knockouts of Mattheus
Scheffel and one of Renan
Ferreira. Greene, meanwhile, had lost in his 2022 PFL debut
against Denis
Goltsov but had come back strong, knocking out Marcelo
Nunes in his first appearance this season. Greene began well,
winning the first round with his striking. However, Delija
consistently took him down over the next 10 minutes, taking the
final two stanzas for the close unanimous decision. Unfortunately
however, that means neither man will make the 2023 PFL
postseason.
In the co-main, 2022 PFL women’s lightweight championship Larissa
Pacheco squared off against Amber
Leibrock. Pacheco had won her last 7 fights, 5 of them by
brutal knockout, one a dominant victory over all-time WMMA great
Julia
Budd, and another a decision over seemingly unstoppable
Kayla
Harrison, handing the two-time Olympic gold medalist her first
defeat. Leibrock was riding a 4-fight winning streak of her own,
including a highlight-reel head kick knockout of Martina
Jindrova in her first PFL fight this season in just over 2
minutes. However, Pacheco showed that she was a completely
different caliber of fighter, brutally clobbering Leibrock with
punches, causing numerous staggers and knockdowns before the
referee saved her 45 seconds into the contest. Pacheco is a heavy
favorite to repeat as a PFL champion this year.
In other significant results, Denis
Goltsov needed just 18 seconds to dispose of Yorgan De
Castro, who was starring in UFC co-mains a few years ago.
Goltsov has a perfect 12 points and the No. 1 seed headed into the
postseason, with his knockout earlier this season over Cezar
Ferreira taking slightly over two minutes. Marcelo
Nunes came back strong after being finished by Greene, knocking
out fellow Brazilian and UFC veteran Danilo
Marques in the first frame, also making the postseason.
Brazilian knockout artist Renan
Ferreira came back to the PFL with a vengeance, requiring 50
seconds to leave 2022 PFL heavyweight runner-up Matheus Schefel a
prostrate mess on the canvas. Lastly, in a battle of young
undefeated prospects, Jordan
Heiderman prevailed when Patrick
Brady bowed out halfway through the first round due to a knee
injury.
Marina
Mokhnatkina won a competitive grappling battle against 20
year-old Evelyn
Martins, handing the prospect her first defeat. Martins came in
a pound over the limit but Mokhnatkina still proved stronger in
wrestling exchanges. Mokhnatkina heads to the postseason with a
perfect 2-0 record. Olena
Kolesnyk is the third fighter with such a mark, as she swept
all three rounds against undersized Yoko
Higashi. Let’s take a look at the PFL postseason semifinal
matchups:
Denis
Goltsov vs. Jordan
Heiderman
The experienced and technical Goltsov, with a record of 31-7 and
seemingly now in his prime, will be a huge favorite over 7-0
Heiderman. Amusingly though, they’re similar in age, with Goltsov
recently celebrating his 33rd birthday and Heiderman set to turn 32
in a couple of months. Still, “TUF 30” alum Heiderman is a strong,
athletic guy who may present some challenges to “The Russian
Bogatyr.” And if not, Goltsov may add a third straight fantastic
knockout win to his ledger.
Renan
Ferreira vs. Marcelo
Nunes
In this all-Brazilian clash, Ferreira will have a huge striking
advantage while Nunes, despite the KO over yet another Brazilian in
Danilo
Marques, will be looking to grapple. Nunes has lost by knockout
while Ferreira has lost by being taken down. Ferreira may have the
big advantage early with his dynamic striking, but if Nunes takes
it into deeper water, he may prevail. It will likely be a fun,
action-packed contest regardless of the victor.
Larissa
Pacheco vs. Olena
Kolesnyk 3
Pacheco has already smashed apart Kolesnyk twice already, the first
time in 4:48 and the second time in 2:09. Pacheco looks better than
ever now at featherweight and is in her prime at 28 years old,
while Kolesnyk is 33 and unlikely to improve much upon her previous
performances. Pacheco will be an astronomical favorite, but
regardless, it should be entertaining to see her deliver another
thrilling knockout.
Marina
Mokhnatkina vs. Amber
Leibrock
This is a classic striker vs. grappler matchup similar to Nunes vs.
Ferreira earlier, with the physically powerful sambo world champion
Mokhnatkina looking to wrestle and submit Leibrock from the opening
bell, while Leibrock will desperately try to keep it standing and
land a huge strike. Leibrock was submitted in Bellator by Jessica
Borga back in 2019, but has improved since then. Conversely,
Mokhnatkina has been defeated by strikers with weaker grappling,
dropping decisions to Liana Jojua
and Janay
Harding in 2018 and 2019, respectively. She too is a better
fighter now. This should be a closely-matched contest with each
fighter having a huge advantage in one area of the battle, and many
results possible.