PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE LIGHTWEIGHT AND FEATHERWEIGHT PLAYOFF BRACKETS SET FOLLOWING PFL 5
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.: The second half of the 2019 Professional Fighters League (PFL) season continued with PFL 5 Lightweight and Featherweight action at Ocean Casino Resort, in Atlantic City, N.J. This was their final chance to earn points in the standings and clinch a Playoff spot. The ten-fight event featured a clinical win by returning Lightweight Champion Natan Schulte, the first knockout victory of 2018 Featherweight Champion Lance Palmer’s career, bounce-back wins by Jeremy Kennedy, Alex Gilpin and Nate Andrews, and the first draw of the 2019 season.
“The PFL format continues to invigorate MMA fans, as our roster of elite athletes fight to make the Playoffs, where one-million dollars is on the line for each of our six weight classes,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the PFL. “Our Featherweights and Lightweights left it all in the cage, and these fights showcased the depth of the PFL roster, with highly contested battles throughout.”
“This was the last chance for our Lightweight and Featherweight fighters to earn points toward a Playoff spot, and we saw some fighters go out and seize their moment,” said Ray Sefo, President of Fighter Operations of the PFL. “Natan Schulte and Lance Palmer showed why they were champions last season, but tonight’s performances showed there are a number of fighters capable of ending their reign come October in Las Vegas.”
2018 PFL Lightweight Champion Natan Schulte continued his undefeated run in the PFL, defeating UFC veteran Jesse Ronson by Unanimous Decision to secure the #1 Seed. Schulte has just one loss in the last seven years. The win eliminated Ronson from playoff contention. Schulte will face #8 seed Ramsey Nijem.
In the final fight of the night, Chris Wade defeated Akhmed Aliev by Unanimous Decision, earning 3 points and clinching the #3 seed in the Lightweight division, setting up a rematch with Nate Andrews, who he defeated at PFL 2. Andrews bounced back from that loss with a Unanimous Decision win over Rashid Magomedov.
Islam Mamedov scored the first early finish of the night in a dominating performance, defeating Bao Yincang by first-round TKO, earning 6 points and clinching the #2 spot in the 2019 Lightweight Playoffs. This was Mamedov’s 17th straight win. Mamedov missed the 2018 Playoffs due to injury and is proving to be a top contender for the title and million-dollar prize. Mamedov will face #7 seed Loik Radzhabov, who defeated Ylies Djiroun by split decision.
In Featherweight action, returning Champion Lance Palmer clinched the #1 seed in the division with an electrifying third-round TKO win over Luis Rafael Laurentino. This was Palmer’s first career knockout, and he improves to 7-0 in the PFL. Lance will face #8 seed Gadzhi Rabadanov. Laurentino still advances to the Playoffs with 6 points, finishing as the #3 seed.
In another highly anticipated Featherweight match, Movlid Khaybulaev and Andre Harrison battled to the first draw of the 2019 PFL season. Movlid showed he has what it takes to go the distance, following up his 10-second KO of the Year with a hard-fought draw that earned him 1 point and the #2 seed. In the first-round, Movlid knocked Harrison to the ground with his patented flying knee, but it wasn’t enough to finish him. Harrison bounced back in the second, landing heavy punches that drew blood from Movlid. With the draw, Harrison ends the Regular Season with 4 points, good enough for the #5 seed. Movlid will face #7 seed Daniel Pineda, who tallied 3 points after his opponent failed to make weight.
Harrison will face Alex Gilpin in the 2019 Playoffs. Gilpin earned an impressive win over Freddy Assuncao by way of first-round submission (guillotine choke), scoring 6 points and clinching the #4 seed. Gilpin, who lost at PFL 2 to 2018 Champion Lance Palmer, tallied an early takedown before locking in a standing guillotine as Assuncao got back to his feet. The referee stopped the fight as Assuncao lost consciousness.
ESPN2 action began with last year’s Featherweight runner up Steven Siler being eliminated from Playoff contention by PFL newcomer and former UFC fighter Jeremy Kennedy. Kennedy, who started his UFC career 3-0, rebounded from a devastating loss at PFL 2 to secure a spot in the 2019 PFL Playoffs with 3 points. He improved his record to 14-2 and will face #3 seed Luis Rafael Laurentino in a rematch.
The 2019 PFL regular season concludes with PFL 6 on August 8th at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City with Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight and Lightweight action. PFL 6 features a battle between the top seeded Heavyweights Kelvin Tiller and Denis Goltsov. Last season’s Light Heavyweight runner up Vinny Magalhaes will look to bounce back from a tough loss at PFL 3.
PFL 6 will air across ESPN2, ESPN+, — the industry-leading sports streaming service —in addition to TSN in Canada, and on a wide and diverse group of premier global distribution partner platforms reaching over 150 countries around the world.
Final Lightweight Standings
| Rank | LIGHTWEIGHTS | Total Points | PFL 5 Pts | PFL 5 Result | |
| 1 – x | Natan Schulte | 9 | 3 | Win – Unanimous Decision | |
| 2 – x | Islam Mamedov | 9 | 6 | Win – 1st round TKO (3:32) | |
| 3 – x | Chris Wade | 6 | 3 | Win – Unanimous Decision | |
| 4 – x | Akhmed Aliev | 6 | 0 | Loss – Unanimous Decision | |
| 5 – x | Rashid Magomedov | 3 | 3 | Loss – Unanimous Decision | |
| 6 – x | Nate Andrews | 3 | 3 | Win – Unanimous Decision | |
| 7 – x | Loik Radzhabov | 3 | 3 | Win – Split Decision | |
| 8 – x | Ramsey Nijem | 3 | 0 | Loss – Walkover | |
| 9 – e | Ylies Djiroun | 0 | 0 | Loss – Split Decision | |
| 10 – e | Bao Yincang | 0 | 0 | Loss – 1st round TKO (3:32) | |
| 11 – e | Jesse Ronson | 0 | 0 | Loss – Unanimous Decision | |
| 12 – e | Carlao Silva | 0 | 0 | Loss – Walkover |
x = clinched a playoff spot
e = eliminated from playoff contention
Final Featherweight Standings
| Rank | FEATHERWEIGHTS | Total Points | PFL 5 Pts | PFL 5 Result | |
| 1 – x | Lance Palmer | 7 | 4 | Win – 3rd round TKO (2:45) | |
| 2 – x | Movlid Khaybulaev | 7 | 1 | Draw – Majority | |
| 3 – x | Luis Rafael Laurentino | 6 | 0 | Loss – 3rd round TKO (2:45) | |
| 4 – x | Alex Gilpin | 6 | 6 | Win – 1st round submission (2:52) | |
| 5 – x | Andre Harrison | 4 | 1 | Draw – Majority | |
| 6 – x | Jeremy Kennedy | 3 | 3 | Win – Unanimous Decision | |
| 7 – x | Daniel Pineda | 3 | 3 | Win – Walkover | |
| 8 – x | Gadzhi Rabadanov | 3 | 0 | Loss – Walkover | |
| 9 – e | Alexandre Almeida | 3 | 3 | Win – Unanimous Decision | |
| 10 – e | Steven Siler | 0 | 0 | Loss – Unanimous Decision | |
| 11 – e | Peter Petties | 0 | 0 | Loss – Unanimous Decision | |
| 12 – e | Freddy Assuncao | 0 | 0 | Loss – 1st round submission (2:52) |
x = clinched a playoff spot
e = eliminated from playoff contention
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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