The MLB season fills a wide swath of the calendar with 162 games, an entire summertime (and beyond) of ups and downs. The NBA and NHL seasons have only half as many games, but the twists and turns keep the ride going for months. The same is true in the NFL, with its recently expanded 17-game regular season slate stretched out over the fall and winter.
Then there’s the PFL season. Two fights. That’s all you get to prove yourself and secure a playoff spot.
That means the 2021 season is both at its halfway point and in its homestretch, with three fight cards across the next three weeks to settle the standings in six weight classes. No one is assured one of each division’s four playoff spots yet, although several fighters who earned six points for first-round finishes in their opening bouts are in enviable positions. Among those going strong is the biggest 2021 debutee, former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald.
But the real story might be those who are not in position to advance. A pair of two-season champions, lightweight Natan Schulte and featherweight Lance Palmer, both lost their first bouts and have zero points. So does former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. And another ex-UFC titlist, heavyweight Fabricio Werdum, has just one point after seeing his opening result — originally deemed a loss — overturned.
This month will make or break the hopes and $1 million dreams of a lot of fighters. Here is the lineup of remaining fights in the six weight classes, with one bout in each division singled out for special attention.
Heavyweight
Fabricio Werdum (1 point) vs. Brandon Sayles (5 points)
June 25
In his season opener, Sayles faced a fighter whose big name — Usman — is best known because of his UFC champion brother. Mohammed Usman is the 32-year-old younger of Kamaru, and Sayles choked him out in the second round of their regular season opener. Now Sayles gets a former UFC heavyweight champion in the flesh, in Werdum, whose opening bout was a roller-coaster ride. He won (by submission, except the referee didn’t see the Renan Ferreira tapout). He lost (by TKO, after Ferreira kept fighting, post-tap). His result was overturned to a no contest (after Werdum appealed the loss).
Even with the point he was ultimately awarded, the 43-year-old Brazilian has work to do to lock down a playoff spot. He and Ferreira are tied for fourth place, so even a victory here doesn’t guarantee Werdum anything. A finish, especially an early one, would significantly boost his chances. One factor in Werdum’s favor: Ferreira faces unbeaten defending champ Ali Isaev.
Other heavyweight bouts:
Light heavyweight
Antonio Carlos Junior (6 points) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (-1 point)
June 17
Carlos and his fellow UFC veteran from Brazil, Cezar Ferreira, both maximized their scoring opportunities in their opening bouts, earning six points for first-round finishes. Now Carlos takes on another countryman who also has a UFC pedigree. Magalhaes did not even make it to the cage for his first PFL fight last month, as he missed weight and was pulled from the bout.
Now he’s back, with a negative point total and a lot of ground to make up. The fight within the fight: Both Carlos and Magalhaes are multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champions. Let the black belt grappling begin.
Other light heavyweight bouts:
Welterweight
Magomed Magomedkerimov (-1 point) vs. Curtis Millender (0 points)
June 17
This could be our only opportunity to see Magomedkerimov, the 2018 season champion and a winner of 11 fights in a row. The Russian was poised to repeat in 2019, as he made it to a semifinal slot against Ray Cooper III, whom he had defeated in the previous year’s finale. But Magomedkerimov had to pull out because of illness, and Cooper went on to win the million bucks.
Magomedkerimov pulled out of this season’s opener as well, this time for visa complications. So he sits in last place, with even a finish in this bout not a guarantee to buy him a ticket to the playoffs. Let’s see what he can do against Millender, who fought in the UFC and Bellator and dropped his first bout of the 2021 PFL season to Rory MacDonald.
Other welterweight bouts:
Men’s lightweight
Anthony Pettis (0 points) vs. Alexander Martinez (3 points)
June 10
Closing out a fight card is always a point of pride, a symbol of an athlete’s skill and marketability. For Pettis, there is added value this time. The former UFC lightweight champion derives a competitive advantage from his placement on the June 10 fight card as the last regular season bout (prior to the technical main event that will feature Claressa Shields’ pro MMA debut). By the time he steps into the cage to face Martinez, Pettis will know what he needs to do in order to secure a playoff spot.
This weight division is wide open, with no finishes in any of the first five lightweight bouts of the season. While five fighters sit tied with three points, one of them — Raush Manfio, who served as Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s injury replacement earlier in the regular season — isn’t scheduled to fight. Aubin-Mercier has been cleared to compete on June 10.
Pettis is not part of that lead pack, after dropping his opening bout to Clay Collard. Two-time-defending champ Schulte has zero points as well. There will be a lot of jockeying for position throughout the night, culminating with Pettis’s last stand.
Other men’s lightweight bouts:
Women’s lightweight
Kayla Harrison (6 points) vs. Cindy Dandois (0 points)
June 25
Based on her first PFL fight performance, it does not look good for Dandois. That doesn’t make her any different from the other women in the lightweight field, though. No one has shown anything that would suggest that she can hang with Harrison.
But Dandois is at least an interesting opponent. She is a UFC, Bellator and Invicta veteran with a victory over recent UFC title challenger Megan Anderson. But most interesting of all is that the Belgian’s core martial art is judo.
Will that help her against the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist? Will Dandois have just enough judo chops to nullify that realm and turn this into a striking contest? Or will the judo background embolden Dandois beyond her abilities, making her susceptible to being ragdolled over and over?
Other women’s lightweight bouts:
Featherweight
Brendan Loughnane (6) vs. Tyler Diamond (3)
June 10
How good is Loughnane? It’s been a topic of hot debate since he was on Dana White’s Contender Series. That was in 2019, and even a dominant victory (albeit without a finish) did not earn him a UFC contract. But that worked out in the PFL’s favor, and perhaps Loughnane’s too.
If what we saw in his opening bout — a two-minute knockout win over a one-time World Series of Fighting title challenger — is an accurate depiction of the 31-year-old Englishman’s level as a fighter, Loughnane will be a serious threat to pocket $1 million on New Year’s Eve.
Other featherweight bouts: