The Professional Fighters League post-season is set at heavyweight, lightweight and featherweight after 2022 PFL 5.
In the headliner, Matheus Scheffel (16-8, 1-1 PFL) upset 2021 PFL champion Bruno Cappelozza (15-6, 5-1 PFL) in a heavyweight clash. Scheffel took the initiative early in Round 1 and scored with crisp punches. Cappelozza took a few good shots on the chin and had to back down to weather the storm. Scheffel looked fresher in the second stanza as he moved inside and outside his foe's guard with quick punches. When Cappelozza attempted to move the action to the canvas, "Buffa" stuffed his initiative. Cappelozza found his pace and distance in the third period, stinging his adversary and making him miss most of his power punches. Ultimately, it turned out that Cappelozza's late resurgence wasn't enough. When time had expired, the cageside judges rewarded Scheffel with three 29-28 scorecards and a unanimous decision victory.
The co-headliner ended after Steven Ray upset former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Anthony Pettis with a contender for submission of the year. Pettis (25-13, 1-3 PFL) showcased his unorthodox strikes, but Ray (24-10, 1-1 PFL) stayed composed and worked his way into the clinch with combinations. Pettis fired some question mark kicks in the second frame, whereas Ray answered with boxing combinations. When the moment presented itself, Ray took Pettis down and captured his back. Pettis attempted to roll out of the sticky situation, but Ray kept his opponent stuck in a tight body triangle. Much like the loss "Showtime" suffered at the hands of Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 120, the pressure seemed too much to handle for Pettis, who tapped and immediately started holding his ribs. The official end came at the 3:57 mark of Round 2.
Elsewhere, Klidson Abreu (17-5, 1NC; 2-1 PFL) upended Renan Ferreira (9-3, 1NC; 3-1, 1NC PFL) with a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-37, 30-27) R3, 5:00 at heavyweight; Chris Wade (22-7, 10-4 PFL) crushed fellow UFC vet Kyle Bochniak (11-7, 0-2 PFL) with a head kick followed by a series of punches 70 seconds into their featherweight bout; heavyweight Ante Delija (21-5, 5-2 PFL) kept Shelton Graves (9-6, 0-1 PFL) at bay to secure a unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) and a playoffs spot; Bellator MMA alum Bubba Jenkins (18-5, 4-1 PFL) manhandled Reinaldo Ekson (18-6, 1-1 PFL) to take home a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) and a spot in the featherweight playoffs; Denis Goltsov (29-7, 7-2 PFL) defeated UFC vet Maurice Greene (10-7, 0-1 PFL) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) and advanced to the heavyweight playoffs; two-time PFL 145-pound titleholder Lance Palmer (25-6, 12-3 PFL) outwrestled Sheymon Moraes (14-6, 3-2 PFL) en route to a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 29-28); UFC heavyweight alum Juan Adams (10-4, 1-0 PFL) smashed Sam Kei (8-6, 0-1 PFL) with punches at the 2:30 mark of Round 2; 145-pounder Ryoji Kudo (11-3-1, 1-1 PFL) melted Alejandro Flores Garcia (21-4, 2-1 PFL) thanks to a haymaker that halted the action at 2:52 into the opening period, flying to the playoffs; Brendan Loughnane (22-4, 5-1 PFL) secured a place in the featherweight playoffs after outpointing Ago Huskic (8-4, 0-0 PFL) on all scorecards (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
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