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Ante Delija won the battle, but he may have lost the war.
The 2022 PFL heavyweight champion faced Maurice Green on Friday night in Atlanta in the main event of PFL 5. The problem for Delija was that due to missing his first fight of the season, he needed a first-round finish to qualify for the 2023 playoffs — and while Delija was able to secure the victory, it only came via decision after a back-and-forth battle with Green.
Green proved durable throughout the contest, clinching and grappling with the heavyweight champion, but it was Delija who landed the harder and heavy strikes to ultimately eke out a trio of 29-28 scorecards to win a unanimous decision.
Because of the PFL’s points system, neither Delija nor Greene qualified for the heavyweight playoffs, with Denis Goltsov, Renan Ferreira, Jordan Heiderman, and Marcelo Nunes instead claiming the four spots in the $1 million bracket.
Pacheco continues to dominate
Larissa Pacheco continues to run the smart cage.
Pacheco annihilated Amber Leibrock in the co-main event, stopping Leibrock in just 45 seconds with punches.
The quick finish locked Pacheco in as the No. 1 seed in the women’s featherweight playoffs and puts the 2022 lightweight champion in prime position to become the first ever two-division champion in PFL.
Ferreira runs through Scheffel
Renan Ferreira is going back to the PFL playoffs after icing fellow 2022 playoff contender Mattheus Scheffel 50 seconds into the first round.
Ferreira came out aggressively, immediately putting Scheffel on the back foot with big punches. Scheffel did his best to stand his ground and fire back, landing some shots of his own, but Ferreira simply walked through the blows before face-plating Scheffel with a savage left hook.
The win was a good bounce back for Ferreira and secured his spot as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. He will face Marcelo Nunes in the semifinals.
Biaggio Ali Walsh continues to ascend
Muhammad Ali’s grandson seems to have some of “The Greatest” in him.
As the lone amateur fight on the card on Friday, and given prime placement on the main card, Ali Walsh had big expectations on his shoulders and the 24-year-old delivered, knocking out Travell Miller in under 90 seconds with a blitzing combination against the fence.
The win was Ali Walsh’s fourth as an amateur and afterwards the exciting young prospect said he has no intention of making the jump to the pros just yet.
Ladd gets first PFL finish
In the opening fight of the main card, former UFC bantamweight Aspen Ladd finally got her first finish in the PFL, submitting Karolina Sobek in the second round with an armbar. Sobek came out of the gates storming in the fight, repeatedly tagging Ladd with combinations, but Ladd was able to stymie her with takedowns and impressive top control, taking the back and moving to mount at points. In the second round, after scoring another takedown, Ladd was able to start attacking an armbar, and after some maneuvering, forced the submission with just seconds left in the round.
Unfortunately for Ladd, the finish was not enough to secure her spot in the playoffs given her previous loss.
Full PFL 5 Results:
Renan Ferreira def. Matheus Scheffel via KO (punches) at :50 of Round 1
Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Travell Miller via KO (punches) at 1:27 of Round 1 — amateur bout | Watch finish
Aspen Ladd def. Karolina Sobek via submission (armbar) at 4:57 of Round 2
Denis Goltsov def. Yorgan De Castro via KO (punches) at :18 of Round 1
Marina Mokhnatkina def. Evelyn Martins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marcelo Nunes def. Danilo Marques via KO (punches) at 3:40 of Round 1
Julia Budd def. Martina Jindrova via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Olena Kolesnyk def. Yoko Higashi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jordan Heiderman def. Patrick Brady via TKO (injury) at 2:26 of Round 1
Isaiah Pinson def. Denzel Freeman via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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