After an eventful six-event season, Professional Fighters League’s (PFL’s) 2022 playoffs kick off tonight (Fri., Aug. 5, 2022) with the Lightweight and Light Heavyweight semifinals.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE results and real-time play-by-play coverage of the entire PFL Playoffs 1 main card below, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. We’ll also provide quick results for the “Prelims” undercard on ESPN+, which will start streaming at 6 p.m. ET.
The evening’s main event features a rematch between UFC veterans Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray. The pair first locked horns in June, when “Braveheart” forced “Showtime” to tap to an ultra-tight body triangle. In the co-feature, Omari Akhmedov takes on fast-rising late replacement Josh Silveira, while the opening two bouts see Olivier Aubin-Mercier look to make it five straight against Alexander Martinez and Rob Wilkinson squares off with upset artist Delan Monte.
PFL PLAYOFFS 1 QUICK RESULTS:
Anthony Pettis vs. Stevie Ray
Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Alexander Martinez
Rob Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte — Wilkinson def. Monte by TKO (knee and punches) at 1:37 of Round One
Marcelo Nunes vs. Dylan Potter
Cory Hendricks vs. Marthin Hamlet — Hamlet def. Hendricks by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Mahmoud Sebie vs. Itso Babulaidze — Babulaidze def. Sebie by TKO (punches) at 4:30 of Round One
PFL PLAYOFFS 1 ROUND-BY-ROUND COVERAGE:
155 lbs.: Anthony Pettis vs. Stevie Ray
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
205 lbs.: Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Alexander Martinez
Round one: Both toss out low kicks. Body kick to spinning back fist from Martinez, neither land clean. Brief clinch. Nice counter left by OAN. One minute in. Low-high combination, another counter left to answer a Martinez head kick. 2-3, 1-2. Martinez staying active with his kicks. Hard step-in hook from OAM two minutes in. 2-1 attempt. Martinez low kick, walks into a counter left. Another 1-2 by OAM. Two minutes to go.
Martinez very busy with the kicks but it’s OAM’s hands doing work so far. OAM body kick and check hook. He tries to punch his way in and Martinez puts him on the fence with a minute to go. OAM reverses and separates with a left hand. Hard check hook. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
Round two: Martinez staying busy with the kicks, but OAM finding the mark with some heavy punches as he does. Hard 1-2 and down goes Martinez. OAM follows him into guard, postures out of an armbar, and takes the back. Body triangle locked up. Fighting the hands. Two minutes in. Still looking for the choke, not landing a ton from the back as he does. Two minutes to go.
More of the same. One minute to go. 10-8 Aubin-Mercier.
Round three:
Final result:
205 lbs.: Rob Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte
Round one: They trade jabs to start. 1-2-3 lands for Wilkinson, then a check hook. Monte chopping right, Wilkinson counter right. Another check hook by Wilkinson, who eats a pair of heavy rights as Monte barrels in. Knees to a body lock for Monte but Wilkinson slings him to the mat, landing punches. Back up a minute in. Yet another lead right from Monte, but Wilkinson comes back with rapid-fire punches. As soon as Monte tightens his guard, Wilkinson grabs the back of his head and slams home a perfect knee that sends Monte teetering to the mat.
Final result: Wilkinson def. Monte by TKO (knee and punches)
For more PFL 2022 news and notes, click here.