After a dominant promotional debut back in April, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title challenger Rory MacDonald looks to seal a spot in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Welterweight playoffs tonight (Thurs., June 16, 2021) against fellow Octagon veteran Gleison Tibau.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the PFL 5 main card below, which begins at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. We’ll also provide quick results for the “Prelims” undercard on ESPN+, which will start streaming at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The card, which exclusively features Welterweights and Light Heavyweights, will also see PFL favorite Ray Cooper III square off with Russian standout Nikolai Aleksakhin in the co-feature. “Bradda Boy” is sitting pretty at six points, while Aleksakhin is still looking to get on the board after his promotional debut ended via eye poke.
Up at 205 pounds, former tournament champion Emiliano Sordi takes on Dan Spohn, while long-time Octagon veterans Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira and Chris Camozzi collide in the opening bout on ESPN2.
The undercard features several notable names, most notably a battle of top-tier grapplers between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alums Antonio Carlos Junior and Vinny Magalhaes.
PFL 5 QUICK RESULTS:
Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau
Ray Cooper III vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin
Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn
Cezar Ferreira vs. Chris Camozzi
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Marthin Hamlet Nielsen vs. Cory Hendricks — Hendricks def. Nielsen by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:09 of Round Three
Joao Zeferino vs. Jason Ponet — Zeferino def. Ponet by submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:16 of Round Two
Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Curtis Millender — Magomedkerimov def. Millender by submission (Ezekiel choke) at 1:57 of Round One
Tom Lawlor vs. Jordan Young — Lawlor def. Young by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Sadibou Sy vs. Alexey Kunchenko — Kunchenko def. Sy by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
PFL 5 ROUND-BY-ROUND COVERAGE:
170 lbs.: Rory MacDonald vs. Gleison Tibau
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Ray Cooper III vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
205 lbs.: Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
205 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira vs. Chris Camozzi
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Final result:
For more on PFL and its ongoing season, click here.