This past Saturday night, the PFL had their final regular season event before the playoffs kickoff in August. Featherweights and welterweights took center stage and in the main event, 2022 featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane (29-5) took on Justin Gonzales (14-5).
Loughnane fought very well and he blasted Gonzales with a knee in the second round that opened up one of the nastiest cuts you’ll ever see. That cut caused the doctor to call off the fight giving Loughnane the five-point TKO victory in the second round. The former PFL champion earned the top featherweight seed with that win.
The two seed will go to Gabriel Braga (14-1) who got an injury TKO win over Bubba Jenkins (21-9) in the second round. Timur Khizriev (16-0) won another decision to earn himself three points. He went 2-0 in the regular season but with only two decisions, he got six points. Fortunately for him, it was still good enough for the three seed.
The final spot in the PFL Playoffs is going to Kai Kamaka (14-5-1) who also was able to win a decision to secure his six points on Friday night. The matchups for the featherweight playoffs are as followed:
- #1 Brendan Loughnane vs. #4 Kai Kamaka
- #2 Gabriel Braga vs. #3 Timur Khizriev
PFL Welterweights
In terms of the welterweights that competed on the card, all my attention was on the prelims as undefeated Russian contenders battled it out as Shamil Musaev (12-0) took on Murad Ramazanov (12-1). Musaev finished Ramazanov in devastating fashion in the second round which earned him ten total points on the season and the top seed in the playoffs.
Despite getting knocked out, Ramazanov actually held on to the final spot in the playoffs due to his first round finish in the opening round. Of course, that means that the first round of the playoffs will feature an immediate rematch between Musaev and Ramazanov.
On the PFL 6 main card, Magomed Umalatov (16-0) took on Brennan Ward (17-9). Umalatov scored a third round submission which locked up the two seed for him. The final spot in the PFL Playoffs went to Don Madge (11-5-1) who actually lost a decision to Neiman Gracie (13-5). However, just like with Ramazanov, Madge’s first round finish and six points from the first fight were enough to secure his spot. The matchups for the playoffs are as followed:
- #1 Shamil Musaev vs. #4 Murad Ramazanov
- #2 Magomed Umalatov vs. #3 Don Madge