Ferreira, Pacheco Dominate En Route To 2023 PFL World Championship
(Press Release)
- Heavyweights Renan Ferreira and Denis Goltsov to Square off for $1 Million at 2023 PFL World Championship
- Women’s Featherweights Larissa Pacheco and Marina Mokhnatkina to Square off for $1 Million at 2023 PFL World Championship
- 2023 PFL Playoffs Continue August 23 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City Across ESPN Networks and Streaming Platforms; Tickets Available Now
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), continued the 2023 PFL Playoffs with an action-packed night of fights live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The evening’s card featured four Playoff bouts across the Heavyweight and Women’s Featherweight divisions.
In the night’s main event, Renan Ferreira clinched a spot in the $1 million PFL World Championship with a first round knockout of Maurice Greene. Ferreira dominated the action and now takes aim at Denis Goltsov and a PFL World Heavyweight Championship.
In the evening’s co-main event, top-seeded Larissa Pacheco needed just 14 seconds, a PFL Women’s record, to dominate Olena Kolesnyk. The TKO victory returns Pacheco to the $1 million PFL World Championship where she will look to become the first two-division women’s champion when she faces Marina Mokhnatkina.
In Heavyweight Playoff action, Denis Goltsov punched his ticket to the 2023 PFL World Championship with a dominant first round submission victory over Jordan Heiderman. Goltsov, now 32-7, heads to the PFL World Championship for the first time.
2023 PFL Playoff action kicked off in the Women’s Featherweight division with a record setting performance by Marina Mokhnatkina. Mokhnatkina submitted Amber Leibrock with an armbar at 1:45 of the first round marking the fastest submission in PFL women’s history. The submission victory puts Mokhnatkina a step closer to a PFL World Championship.
“Tonight four remarkable fighters continued their million dollar PFL Championship dreams,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “We look forward to our final PFL Playoff event this Wednesday, August 23, which will determine the remaining matchups in the 2023 PFL World Championship.”
“Tonight the PFL once again provided fans around the world with can’t miss action,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo. “Congratulations to the four athletes who punched their tickets to the 2023 PFL World Championship.”
In the first main card bout on ESPN, 2023 PFL Challenger Series alum Nathan Kelly turned in a dominant performance defeating Damion Nelson by unanimous decision. The victory was Kelly’s eighth straight.
In a Heavyweight Showcase bout, Danilo Marques used his reach and striking to keep Satoshi Isii at bay for three rounds winning by unanimous decision and earning his 15th career victory.
Kicking off the card on ESPN+, Maira Mazar defeated Kaytlin “Katniss” Neil by split decision improving her career record to 9-6.
The PFL will continue 2023 Playoff action again from The Theater at Madison Square Garden for the final playoff event Wednesday, August 23. Eight fighters across the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions will enter the PFL SmartCage in pursuit of a 2023 PFL World Championship opportunity.
All 2023 PFL Playoff events are live on ESPN, ESPN2/ESPN+ and ESPN3 (Spanish), as well as on premier global distribution partner platforms reaching 160 countries around the world.
COMPLETE RESULTS
ESPN Card
#2 Renan Ferreira defeats #5 Maurice Greene by 1st Round (punches, 4:46)
#1 Larissa Pacheco defeats #4 Olena Kolesynk by 1st Round TKO (punches, 0:14)
#1 Denis Goltsov defeats #4 Jordan Heiderman by 1st Round Submission (arm-triangle choke, 4:16)
#2 Marina Mokhnatkina defeats #3 Amber Leibrock by 1st Round Submission (armbar, 1:45)
Nathan Kelly defeats Damion Nelson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
ESPN+ Card
Danilo Marques defeats Satoshi Isii by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Maira Mazar defeats Kaytlin Neil by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league. PFL is the #2 MMA company worldwide on all key metrics and the only with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship. The Company has four global live fight franchises: PFL League Season, PFL Challenger Series, PFL PPV Super Fights, and PFL Europe.
PFL airs live in the U.S on ESPN and ESPN+ and is broadcast and streamed to 140 countries with 25 international leading media partners, including DAZN, Stan Sport, Viacom18, RMC Sport, Globo, Star Times, FPT, CSM, DirectTV, ITV, and MBC. PFL has dozens of major brand sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, GEICO, Bose, US Marine Corps, and Celsius Energy Drink.
PFL is backed by blue-chip investors including Ares, Luxor Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Knighthead, Legends, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners.
MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with over 600 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demo of any sport, and true global revenue streams.
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