Manhattan, N.Y. – The first leg of the 2022 PFL playoffs have come to a close, and championships’ matchups have been determined. At lightweight, Stevie Ray will face off against Olivier Aubin-Mercier; both men defeated their opponents by unanimous decision this evening. At light-heavyweight, Rob Wilkinson will face off against Omari Akhmedov in the championship.
No. 1 Robert Wilkinson Defeats No. 4 Delan Monte in the First Round of the Light-Heavyweight Final
Aussie Rob Wilkinson squared off against the Brazilian Delan Monte to kick off the main card. Wilkinson came in as the one seed and obvious favorite after finishing both of his opponents during the regular season. Monte went 1-1 in the regular season, suffering a loss to reigning champion Antonio Carlos Junior. He bounced back by battering Emiliano Sordi, the 2019 light-heavyweight champ.
Monte came out swinging, pressuring Wilkinson back into the cage early on. Wilkinson survived the onslaught before landing a flurry of punches and a knee up the middle that leveled Monte, forcing the referee to step in. Robert Wilkinson gets the first-round KO stoppage and advances to the championship bout.
No. 2 Olivier Aubin-Mercier Claims UD Win Over No. 3 Alexander Martinez, Advances to Lightweight Final
Lightweights Olivier Aubin Mercier and Alexander Martinez looked to keep the card rolling. Aubin-Mercier came into this fight undefeated in the PFL; the Canadian got into the playoffs on the back of two decision wins. Martinez clinched the three seed with two impressive decisions over the likes of Stevie Ray and Clay Collard.
The first round was an action-packed five minutes filled with flurries on both sides. Mercier landed the more significant shots early on as Martinez worked on trading blows with the Canadian. Martinez picked his shots wisely and ultimately outlanded Olivier towards the end of the round.
Mercier came out like a man on fire in the second, dropping Martinez early and then taking full mount. Martinez attempted an armbar, but Olivier slipped out and worked on taking Martinez’s back for a rear-naked choke. Martinez kept the chin tucked to block the choke, but Oliver continued to smother Alex for the remainder of the round. Looked like a 10-8 round in favor of Mercier.
The third kicked off the same as the second as Mercier came out firing and unloaded a hard left hand that dropped Martinez. Olivier gained back control and worked a body triangle into multiple submission attempts. Martinez continues to fight the hands but is struggling to break free of Mercier’s body triangle. Olivier remained on the back of Martinez for the entirety of the round.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier secures a dominant unanimous decision win to advance him to the lightweight championship.
No. 2 Omari Akhmedov Claim’s UD Win Over Undefeated No. 5 Josh Silveira, Advances to Light-Heavyweight Championship
The clash of American Top Team teammates was a highly touted bout. Josh Silviera, son of legendary American Top Team coach Conan Silveira, is a former division one wrestler. He faces off against the Dagestani Akhmedov, a pioneer for Dagestani MMA fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makachev.
The first round began, and both light-heavyweight began to trade blows. Omari landed a body kick early that hurt Silveira. Both fighters stayed cautious of each others’ power, standing in the middle until Silveira landed a takedown on Akhmedov, who arose quickly. Akhmedov then held Silveira against the cage for the last thirty seconds, both fighters feeling the pressure of the exchanges.
The second began with Akhmedov attacking the body of Silveira, who countered by clinching and engaging in some dirty boxing. Akhmedov continued to put pressure and force Silveira towards the cage, and he took the center of the cage. Silviera proceeded to pick his shots, landing multiple leg kicks before looking upstairs for a flurry of jabs. Silviera shot for a takedown that Akhmedov slipped out of immediately to close out the round.
Both fighters came into the third throwing one-two’s and combinations up high as they exchanged blows. Akhmedov continued to walk Silveira down towards the cage as both fighters traded leg kicks and lead hooks. Silveira shot for a double-leg and attempted to gain wrist control but ultimately landed a double leg on Akhmedov to close out the final round.
Omari Akhmedov gets the unanimous decision win to advance to the light-heavyweight championship.
No. 4 Stevie Ray Gets the Upset Win Over No. 1 Anthony Pettis to Advance to Lightweight Final
In the main event, lightweights Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray rematch their bout from forty days ago in which Ray was victorious. Pettis is 1-1 this season; he choked out Myles Price with a triangle but lost his last fight against Stevie Ray because of an inverted twister. Ray is also 1-1 this season after dropping a unanimous decision to Alex Martinez, he secured the aforementioned inverted twister over Pettis.
Pettis came out throwing kicks to the body and head of Ray until a scramble from Pettis forced Ray into the cage. Ray pushed back into the center of the cage and landed a combination of kicks to the inside leg and head of Pettis. Ray then forced a double leg up against the cage, taking Pettis down up. Pettis attempts to resist, but Ray obtains side control and rains down fists. Pettis is forced onto his back, and Pettis is squeezed into a north-south choke. Nearing the end of the round, Pettis squirms out and lands a flurry on Ray that wobbles him, but the bell sounds before anything is to come of it.
The second began with both fighters trading in the center, Pettis landed a question-mark-kick up high, but Ray pressured him into the cage. Pettis pushed back into the center, but Ray clinched and backed Pettis up and took him down. Ray attempted to go for the back of Pettis as he knabs a body lock and works a rear-naked choke from the back. This continued for almost two minutes as Ray tried to work this position into the aforementioned inverted triangle, but the round closed out with Pettis fighting off the choke.
Pettis comes into the third as the aggressor, throwing kicks low to try to damage the legs of Ray. Ray clinches against the cage, and both fighters exchange hooks and uppercuts. Pettis tries to throw a high kick, but Ray shoots and secures Pettis against the cage as he attempts to connect his hands. Ray works this position into a crossbody as Pettis fights the hands. Once freed, he kicks out the right leg of Ray, causing him to roll over on the canvas as the bell rings to end the fight.
Ray wins the rematch via unanimous decision and advances to the lightweight championship.
The PFL playoffs continue on August 13th, with heavyweight and welterweight semifinals occurring at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
