PFL Announces 2023 Playoff Cards For August 18 And 23

The Professional Fighters League has announced the schedule and card for their heavyweight and women’s featherweight 2023 Playoff Semifinals.

According to a press release provided by PFL, the semifinal fights and a collection of showcase bouts are set for August 18 and 23. The events will take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

A heavyweight clash of Top-5 seeds in the division’s standings between Renan Ferreira and Maurice Greene will be the headline bout for the August 18 show. A men’s lightweight bout between Clay Collard and Shane Burgos will anchor the August 23 event.

Both events will air on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.

PFL PLAYOFFS 2023 – AUGUST 18 CARD

A berth in the PFL Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the main event.

Greene is stepping in as a replacement for Marcelo Nunes and he finds himself on the cusp of the biggest win in his mixed martial arts career. Greene has been extremely active in 2023, though he’s coming off a loss in his last fight against 2022 PFL Heavyweight champion, Ante Delija back in June.

With Delija out of the 2023 playoffs with an injury he suffered earlier this season, we’re guaranteed to see a new heavyweight champion crowned.

Greene scored a TKO win over Nunes, which suggests he is a solid opponent to face Ferreira and potentially advance to the finals.

Like Greene, Ferreira fell to Delija back in August 2022. Since that defeat, Ferreira has rebounded with a spectacular first-round KO of Mattheus Scheffel in June to put himself one win away from a championship fight.

The winner of Ferreira-Greene will meet the winner of Denis Goltsov and Jordan Heiderman, a fight that will also be a part of the August 18 card.

In the co-main event, top-seeded women’s featherweight Larissa Pacheco will attempt to turn back No. 4 Olena Kolesnyk in their semifinal matchup. Pacheco is as hot as any fighter in MMA. She is riding an eight-fight win streak which includes wins over Kayla Harrison, Julia Budd and two stoppage victories over Kolesnyk.

Can Kolesnyk find a way to get past Pacheco after two previous losses, like the latter did in her third meeting with Harrison? That’s one of the major storylines ahead of an event packed with high-stakes matchups.

Here is a look at the entire August 18 card.

ESPN Card

Heavyweight Playoff Bout: Renan Ferreira (2) vs. Maurice Greene (5)
Women’s Featherweight Playoff Bout: Larissa Pacheco (1) vs. Olena Kolesnyk (4)
Heavyweight Playoff Bout: Denis Goltsov (1) vs. Jordan Heiderman (4)
Women’s Featherweight Playoff Bout: Marina Mokhnatkina (2) vs. Amber Leibrock (3)
Showcase Bout: Nathan Kelly vs. Damion Nelson

ESPN+ Card

Showcase Bout: Chris Mixan vs. Eddie George
Showcase Bout: Abraham Bably vs. Anthony Wint
Showcase Bout: Danilo Marques vs. Satoshi Ishii
Showcase Bout: Laureano Staropoli vs. Ben Egli
Showcase Bout: Kaytlin Neil vs. Maira Mazar
Showcase Bout: Louis Sutherland vs. Daiqwon Buckley

PFL PLAYOFFS 2023 – AUGUST 23 CARD

More PFL Playoff action is coming on August 23 at MSG. In the main event, a lightweight clash between two of the division’s most talented strikers sits atop the card.

Clay Collard and Shane Burgos clash in their semifinal meeting with a shot at the winner of the night’s other lightweight semifinal on the line.

The winner of the Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Bruno Miranda bout will face the winner of Collard-Burgos for the right to be named the 2023 PFL Lightweight champion.

“Our athletes have worked all season long for this kind of opportunity, and sixteen fighters have the chance to punch their ticket to the 2023 PFL World Championship with a $1 million purse awaiting,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo.

Also on the August 23rd card, Sadibou Sy attempts to follow his highlight-reel finish of Shane Mitchell in June with a victory over Carlos Leal in a welterweight semifinal match.

In an amateur showcase fight, Biaggio Ali-Walsh, the grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali will also be in action. Here is a look at the entire card for the August 23 show.

ESPN Card