Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio are understandably upset after the PFL suspended both fighters after a lackluster fight between them this past Friday night.
The matchup, which saw Schulte earn a unanimous decision victory that earned him a spot in the 2023 PFL playoffs, was effectively voided by the promotion after opting to instead promote Shane Burgos into the slot instead. As a result, Schulte will no longer compete in the playoffs, which costs him a chance at potentially earning the $1 million prize if he became champion at the end of the season.
In response, Schulte took to Twitter to express his disdain with the decision while calling for ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou to take a stand after he inked a lucrative deal with the PFL, which included a spot on the PFL Athlete Advisory Board where he’ll have a voice in decisions made by the promotion.
“I am very unsatisfied with the decision that was taken by the PFL last night to favor Shane Burgos’ entry into the playoffs,” Schulte wrote on Twitter. “You remember Francis Ngannou’s fight against Derrick Lewis. He didn’t throw six punches the whole fight and he wasn’t cut for his performance that night.
“So I ask you Francis Ngannou, since you protect the rights of the fighters, do you think this decision is correct?”
As for Manfio, his manager Brian Butler of Suckerpunch Entertainment, issued a statement regarding the PFL’s decision to penalize his fighter despite doing nothing wrong.
The fight, while certainly not the most entertaining affair, isn’t being called into question for legitimacy but the PFL still opted to punish Manfio and Schulte, who are longtime friends and teammates.
“To make a subjective decision like this from a promoter that stakes its claim in fighter advocacy is just a bad look, in my opinion,” Butler said in a statement sent to MMA Fighting. “Judges make bad calls all the time with less repercussion. Raush and Natan are best friends and have been exclusive training partners for each other for years. Natan is the godfather of Raush’s daughter. To say they know each other’s styles, tricks and techniques inside and out is a gross understatement.
“Situations like bad style matchups and lackluster fights happen in this sport all the time but the unique thing about the PFL and the ‘tournament/point format’ is that it would sort itself out on its own in the end. Our client got half his pay and zero points to move forward in the tournament. This is distasteful and unnecessary.”
Messages to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission regarding the Schulte vs. Manfio fight have not been answered at this time, although there’s been no indication that the result of the bout is coming under question.
Instead this seems to be an arbitrary ruling from the PFL in regards to the playoff format, which obviously the promotion controls. Burgos, who was a high-profile free agency signing after previously competing in the UFC, went 1-1 during the season but initially missed the playoffs without enough points accumulated based on the PFL’s format.
Now Burgos will get the chance to compete for the $1 million prize while Schulte sits at home after the PFL eliminated him from the season.
