Semifinal fights and showcase bouts set for August 18 & 23 at
The Theater at MSG in NYC; Tickets Available Now
PFL Heavyweight Renan Ferreira faces Maurice Greene in main event on August 18;
Top-seeded PFL Lightweight Clay Collard faces Shane Burgos to headline August 23 event
Biaggio Ali Walsh returns to PFL SmartCage on August 23
2023 PFL Playoff events will air on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
NEW YORK (JULY 12, 2023) - The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league in the world, today announced the finalized fight cards for the second and third PFL Playoff events of 2023 live from The Theater at MSG in New York City, on August 18 and 23, airing on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
On August 18, PFL Playoff action will feature the Heavyweight and Women’s Featherweight divisions, with Renan Ferreira set to take on Maurice Greene in a Heavyweight main event affair. Greene steps in to replace Marcelo Nunes who was forced to withdraw due to injury. In the co-main event, 2022 PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion Larissa Pacheco will look to advance to her second consecutive PFL Championship when she faces Olena Kolesnyk in a win-or-go-home matchup.
PFL Playoff action continues on August 23 featuring the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions, with top-seeded Lightweight Clay Collard matching up with Shane Burgos with a trip to the PFL World Championship on the line. In the co-main event, 2022 PFL Lightweight Champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier returns to the PFL SmartCage against Bruno Miranda.
“We are thrilled to bring two 2023 PFL Playoff events back to New York City at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on August 18 and 23,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo. “Our athletes have worked all season long for this kind of opportunity, and sixteen fighters have the chance to punch their ticket to the 2023 PFL World Championship with a $1 million purse awaiting.”
August 18 PFL Playoff Event
ESPN Card
Heavyweight Playoff Bout: Renan Ferreira (2) vs. Maurice Greene (5)
Women’s Featherweight Playoff Bout: Larissa Pacheco (1) vs. Olena Kolesnyk (4)
Heavyweight Playoff Bout: Denis Goltsov (1) vs. Jordan Heiderman (4)
Women’s Featherweight Playoff Bout: Marina Mokhnatkina (2) vs. Amber Leibrock (3)
Showcase Bout: Nathan Kelly vs. Damion Nelson
ESPN+ Card
Showcase Bout: Chris Mixan vs. Eddie George
Showcase Bout: Abraham Bably vs. Anthony Wint
Showcase Bout: Danilo Marques vs. Satoshi Ishii
Showcase Bout: Laureano Staropoli vs. Ben Egli
Showcase Bout: Kaytlin Neil vs. Maira Mazar
Showcase Bout: Louie Sutherland vs. Daiqwon Buckley
August 23 PFL Playoff Event
ESPN Card
Lightweight Playoff Bout: Clay Collard (1) vs. Shane Burgos (4)
Lightweight Playoff Bout: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (2) vs. Bruno Miranda (3)
Welterweight Playoff Bout: Sadibou Sy (3) vs. Carlos Leal (2)
Welterweight Playoff Bout: Magomed Magomedkerimov (1) vs. Magomed Umalatov (4)
Amateur Bout: Biaggio Ali-Walsh vs. TBA
ESPN+ Card
Showcase Bout: Alexei Pergande vs. Shawn Stefanelli
Showcase Bout: Mostafa Rashed Neda vs. Korey Kuppe
Showcase Bout: Abigail Montes vs. Michelle Montague
Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. David Zelner
Showcase Bout: John Caldone vs. Nathaniel Grimard
PFL is the #1 fastest growing company in MMA and the #2 MMA company on a worldwide basis. PFL is the only league in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year, making PFL a “win and advance” meritocracy like all other major sports. PFL fighter roster hails from over 20 countries and 25% of PFL fighters are independently ranked in the top 25 of their weight-class. The company leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage powering real-time betting and next-gen viewing experience.
About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league. PFL is the #2 MMA company worldwide on all key metrics and the only with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship. The Company has four global live fight franchises: PFL League Season, PFL Challenger Series, PFL PPV Super Fights, and PFL Europe.
PFL airs live in the U.S on ESPN and ESPN+ and is broadcast and streamed to 140 countries with 25 international leading media partners, including DAZN, Stan Sport, Viacom18, RMC Sport, Globo, Star Times, FPT, CSM, DirectTV, ITV, and MBC. PFL has dozens of major brand sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, GEICO, Bose, US Marine Corps, and Celsius Energy Drink.
PFL is backed by blue-chip investors including Ares, Luxor Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Knighthead, Legends, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners.
MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with over 600 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demo of any sport, and true global revenue streams.
PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter (@PFLMMA); Facebook (/PFLmma)
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 25.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).
