PFL 5: 2024 Regular Season

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

I'm going to choose Collard over Mads without any doubt. Burnell cardio is the weakest point of his game, if the fight goes until the third round at Salt Late I wouldn't be surprised if even a Collard who is 0-2 in round at this moment manages to get a TKO win over a tired Mads Burnell.

* Edited at 04.30.2024, 4:14 AM ET *

Interesting they’ve put the top two in the LHW standings against each other yet the other three winners all face losers. Pretty stiff for Wilkinson and Silveira. Looks like they are trying to ensure Impa as the defending champ and Shoeface as the love of Brazil make it through to the playoffs. 

You’d think being at altitude most of the LHWs will try to finish it early to avoid the cardio drain! 

@Amettxpc 

. Collard just knocked out Patricky Pitbull, he's not 0-2.

Sorry, my choice of words wasn’t correct when referring to the potential scenario: I think that even if Collard could end up being 2 rounds down on the scorecards, it’s almost 100% certain that he will finish in the third round, taking into account the altitude of Salt Lake and Burnell's cardio issues. 

In Fact, Collard is 1-0 in PFL this season (although technically he is 1-1 counting the fight in Arabia against McKee).

Some nice match up here, Those 2 division are the mot exciting this year.

Wilkinson-Silveira will battle hard for a playof spot while the 3 other just have to not get upset.
Silveira had an easy win du to injury in the 1st and Wilkinson is a roid cheater so no problem with those to having it a litle harder.

Hope Espinoza can pull another trick here againts the boring grinder.
Dufort vs Piccoloti is garante fire!

* Edited at 05.03.2024, 3:37 PM ET *

Ibragim Chuzhigaev is fighting Albrektsson now

Kasanganay vs. Nedoh
Impa Kasanganay, TKO, R2
There is a big step up from the regional scene to the world stage which sadly Nedoh learned in his last fight. Surely he won't be in a great state to fight just 10 weeks later so you'd think Impa takes this one easily. Impa too fast for Nedoh, however Nedoh still has power so Impa needs to be wary not to get caught. Nedoh needs the confidence to throw his punches like he did against Powell in the final last year...

Wilkinson vs. Silveira
Rob Wilkinson, TKO, R1
Wilkinson too big and too strong for Silveira in this one. Weird stat is that in Silveira's last three wins, two of those have come due to injury to the opponent. Probably needs a third injury to be a chance of winning this one.

Yagshimuradov vs. Biyong
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, DEC
Dovlet just needs the win to go through to the finals so I reckon he'll play it calmly and not take many risks. Possibly copy Shoeface and take Biyong to the ground since he looked awful there.

Júnior vs. Polizzi
Antônio Carlos Júnior, SUB, R2
Don't know how Polizzi makes this fight after looking like a walking zombie against Impa last time out. Another case of Shoeface knowing all he needs is a win to progress and smart money says that win comes via submission.

Sy vs. Breese
Sadibou Sy, DEC
Basically a nothing fight in the scheme of things with neither much hope of going to the finals. Whoever wins needs a first round finish, then hope for at least one upset from the Impa, Dovlet, or Shoeface fights. And even then it may not be enough if they aren't quick finishing. In the end I'll say Sy can win a boring decision, but not really sure either way. Sy got unlucky with the injury, but a dislocated thumb shouldn't stop him from fighting 10 weeks later. Breese got maybe 1 or 2 shots off against Wilkinson, so doesn't look all that impressive.

Albrektsson vs. Chuzhigaev
Karl Albrektsson, DEC
kinda risky but im a fan of karl, idk why hes still with this promotion. ufc would be much better

Collard vs. Burnell
Mads Burnell, SUB, R2
I’m shocked at the % here. Mads is very hit or miss and shouldn’t be in this weight class, but at the same time collard is also a featherweight fighting up, so mads isnt going to be at the same discrepancy he usually is at. The striking in this fight will be crazy, both guys are no strangers to brawls, and love to put out insane output. Collard is a much better striker in terms of technique, but he doesn’t know what leg kicks are and defense is an afterthought. Mads is a very good striker himself, but his issue is lack of power, and he’s a little soft to the midsection; we saw a body shot take him out last time and he has gassed due to body work before. I think his cardio is great, but at elevation and with collards body work, it could get ugly. Something I think a lot of people are forgetting is that mads is a really good grappler. He doesn’t use it as much as he should, but when he does go to it he is very crafty. Collard is simply trash on the mats, his defense has improved since his ufc days but he is still very bad on the ground; constantly making mistakes and ending up in bad positions. I’ll never forget when he had that 18 year old kid dead to rights, but kept letting him get back into the fight with takedowns and leg kicks. If mads gets him down, I think he’s gonna get an easy sub. He fights at XC and I know they’re going to gameplan well. Mads needs a big win if he wants to remain in playoffs, so I think instead of ****i g around on the feet, he will grapple this time. If he stands with collard, he can definitely make it competitive but I don’t think he will win striking

Kasanganay vs. Nedoh
Jakob Nedoh, TKO, R1
Impa is so much more skilled than Nedoh, but this is the one time he’s giving up an absurd size advantage. Impa has done pretty well with size discrepancy all things considered, but Nedoh is a big big boy. He looked pathetic against yags which is why I’m hesitant to pick him, but if impa trades with him I really think Nedoh is going to chin him. Nedoh allegedly knows how to wrestle (I haven’t seen it), but impa has improved a lot in that area. That being said, I think Nedoh is going to be too big for impa to takedown. Maybe he can get him down, but holding him there is gonna be tricky. Again, nedoh looked like a can againdt yags, which concerns me cuz he’s not that much bigger than impa, but at the same time impa really shouldn’t be at lhw imo

Pitbull vs. Miranda
Bruno Miranda, TKO, R3
I like this matchmaking a lot, these two are going to throw down until someone gets ko’ed. This is a hard one to call tho as both have a lot of flaws. I like Miranda’s Muay Thai, but he is also kind of slow imo and will telegraph shots. His grappling is dog**** as well but pitbull isn’t much of a threat there. Pitbull has a ton of experience and is a pretty good striker, but he looked so awful against collard. Patricky is a solid vet but I think he’s nearing the end of his career. Also, turning around so quickly after a ko (albeit not a bad one) cannot be a good idea at 38 years old. Patricky is actually insanely durable but collard steamrolled him with ease, definitely a little concerning. Give me the dog here

Wilkinson vs. Silveira
Rob Wilkinson, TKO, R1
This is a tricky one. I really am not sold on Wilkinson yet, but with PFLs tourney format and favoritism, it’s hard to see him getting a matchup he will lose. Yes, he’s clearly improved a ton since ufc days (and is juicing) but I can’t help but feel when the right guy comes along he’s gonna get destroyed. That being said, silviera is not that guy. He has good skills but shouldn’t be in this weight class. he’s just not athletic or dangerous enough to threaten Wilkinson anywhere. Should be an easy night at the office for him. Also, silviera is going to gas instantly at elevation

Yagshimuradov vs. Biyong
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, TKO, R1
Freebie for yags here. I was very surprised to see yags steamroll Nedoh like that; I was expecting him to weather the early storm and then take over with wrestling but instead, he beat Nedoh at his own game and demolished him. Now, he’s getting a freebie. Biyong is a massive human and scary looking, but he is harmless. Like genuinely such a waste of physical gifts and talent. He has no idea how to grapple & im not sure he even game plans for fights. Yags can beat him however he wants, probably with takedowns but I could see a standing ko like last time as well

Júnior vs. Polizzi
Alex Polizzi, DEC
I think I’m going to go with my man Polizzi again. It sadly looks like his chin is shot, but that shouldn’t be an issue here against a grappler in ACJ. ACJ is a phenomenal bjj player but we have seen him lose to American wrestlers before in the past. Polizzi may be an idiot, but he is a fantastic wrestler with unlimited cardio. Even at elevation I think Polizzi will be fine as he is a workhorse. He is low iq, and can be swept/reversed/etc but as long as you don’t finish him, he is going to keep wrestling until the final bell. I think he is good enough to not get subbed, and we have seen ACJ play bjj on his back before. He looked great in his return, but he also fought a very low level guy. I’m still not all that sold on ACJ being back; he is older, doesn’t primarily need to fight anymore, and was doing everything but mma for the past year and a half. Maybe I look like a ****** again, but I’m gonna go with my boy Polizzi while I still can

Primus vs. Renfro
Brent Primus, SUB, R2
This is a weird one. I don’t rate renfro very highly but he is dangerous early on. Primus’s standup is also a liability. However, renfro is very low iq and I can’t see him avoiding the grappling long enough to get a ko. Primus is old tho and who knows, maybe he will slow down with elevation. That being said, renfro isn’t exactly known as a cardio machine either so who knows

Sy vs. Breese
Tom Breese, SUB, R1
I picked breese last time and he pulled a classic stunt. I guess in hindsight I shouldn’t have gone against Wilkinson, but I still rate breese. The problem with breese is he doesn’t have the heart for mma; the second it gets tough he looks for the easy way out. That being said, when he does show up he looks great. His striking has always been bad but he’s a really high level grappler. Sy at 205 does not impress me at all. I ended up switching to him because I thought he was going to beat silver is, and as weird as that fight ended, it showed me all I need to know. His tdd is just not the same at this weight class. He’s a very good striker, with a huge frame and amazing athleticism, but his style is very dependent on having a size advantage. Not only will he not have it here, but unlike his last opponent (who could be at 185), breese is a big boy. Maybe sy can get him to quit, but I think sy gets grapple ******

Rabadanov vs. Espinoza
Gadzhi Rabadanov, DEC
Okay this one is hard to call. Gadzhi is so much better than Espinoza, but he has a very bad habit of fighting to his opponents level. Not only that, but he gasses badly every fight & that’s only going to be exasturbated here since the fight is at elevation. Now, Espinoza is really bad imo; sure, he’s got a good record and hasn’t lost in pfl, but he has kept being giving freebie matchups. His last fight he was soundly losing before getting a comeback ko. I think Gadzhi is better everywhere but this being at elevation scared me; I could totally see him winning early and then slowing down halfway through the fight

Dufort vs. Piccolotti
Michael Dufort, SUB, R1
I wish they gave Dufort someone better but hey I’m all here for it. Dufort is awesome to watch, he doesn’t care if you hit him, he’s going to keep walking forward until he can get you down. His bjj is very creative and he’s always looking for subs. I was really impressed against mads how he broke him down with body shots. Picolloti is decent but has been finished multiple times, Dufort is going to cause chaos and find something in a scramble like he always does. He isn’t as skilled as some of the guys in his bracket, but I think he’s a dark horse to take the 155 belt

Romero vs. Cossio
Anthony Romero, DEC
Cassio has been on a crazy streak but he is not that good. Most of his wins are come behind victories where he was going to lose a decision but locked up a Hail Mary sub. For example he was clearly losing his last fight but pulled off an insane triangle on a very based opponent. I think Romero is too well rounded for him. Maybe he gets a finish as well but I doubt it since he likes to take the path of least resistance

Albrektsson vs. Chuzhigaev
Ibragim Chuzhigaev, TKO, R3
Chuzhigaev is a welcome signing by pfl. He was killing it in ksw so it’s good to see him on the world stage. Albrektsson is fun but he can’t wrestle well. Chugizaev is going to dominate him there

* Edited at 05.15.2024, 10:43 AM ET *