Ante Delija and Renan Ferreira rolled the dice when they signed with the Professional Fighters League. The bet could soon pay off for one of them.
Delija and Ferreira will square off when their 2022 heavyweight semifinal co-headlines PFL 8 on Saturday at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. The winner moves on to compete for $1 million in November. Delija enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories. The Mirko Filipovic protégé last fought at PFL 5, where he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Shelton Graves on June 24. Ferreira, meanwhile, finds himself on the rebound after dropping a unanimous verdict to Klidson Abreu at the same card. The setback snapped the 6-foot-8 Brazilian’s three-fight winning streak.
As Delija and Ferreira make final preparations for their forthcoming battle, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
32: Years of age for Delija, who was born on Aug. 7, 1990 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
9: Delija wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 42% of his career total (21). His list of victims includes Matheus Scheffel, Chandler Cole, Oli Thompson and Valentijn Overeem. Delija holds six other wins by submission (29%) and six more by decision (29%).
38: Seconds needed for Delija to force a corner stoppage against Erni Strmonja at a Noc Gladijatora show in April 2011. More than a decade later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
5: Countries in which Delija has plied his mixed martial arts trade. He has gone 13-1 in his native Croatia, 5-2 in the United States, 1-2 in Russia, 1-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 1-0 in Japan.
90: Combined victories between the four opponents—Bruno Cappelozza (twice), Marcin Tybura, Denis Smoldarev and Dion Staring—who have beaten Delija. They carry a .709 cumulative winning percentage (90-37).
32: Years of age for Ferreira, who was born in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 23, 1989.
7: Ferreira victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 78% of his career total (nine). His list of victims includes Jamelle Jones, Stuart Austin and Fabricio Almeida Goncalves. Ferreira owns one other victory by submission (11%)—he turned away Jared Vanderaa with a second-round triangle choke under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner in 2019—and another by decision (11%).
3: Sub-minute finishes on the Ferreira resume. He wiped out Marcio Marques with punches in 43 seconds at an MMA Fest event on Dec. 14, 2013, punched out Austin in 31 seconds at PFL 8 on Aug. 19, 2021 and took care of Jones with a front kick and follow-up punches at PFL 2 on April 28, 2022.
8: Organizations in which Ferreira has suited up as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone 3-1 with one no-contest in the PFL, 1-1 in LFA, 1-0 in Future Fighting Championships, 1-0 in New Corpore Extreme, 1-0 in Festival de Lutas da CUFA, 1-0 in Acai do Japa Fight, 1-0 in MMA Fest and 0-1 in Fam Fight.
.725: Cumulative winning percentage between the three opponents—Abreu, Brett Martin and Vinicius Moreira—who have defeated Ferreira. They sport a combined record of 37-14.
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