As the PFL postseason approaches rapidly, Alexander Martinez and Clay Collard were all or nothing in PFL 4, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser returning home.
In the end, it was Martinez who kept his dreams of winning the $ 1 million grand prize alive.
Martinez (10-2) made a split decision over Collard (21-10) Friday night to win the PFL 4 lightweight main event, which took place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The decision was not without controversy, however, as Collard appeared to overtake Martinez for damage in the third and decisive round, while Martinez overtook Collard in control time.
The fight itself was fought at a frantic pace, with Collard gaining momentum from a steady blow, relentless pressure and a assault on the body. Collard took that momentum in round 2, dropping Martinez on the mat with a perfect left hand that ended up being the most damaging blow of the fight. However, Martinez turned the action in his favor by grabbing Collard’s back in a later fight and blocking a naked strangulation that nearly had Collard dead.
Surprisingly, Collard got a breakaway, setting up a stage that took the entire winner away as the lightweights headed into the final round.
Collard continued to find a place consistent with his body work and his combination of strokes in round 3, while Martinez resorted to knockouts and superior control with little offense to prove it. However, the Paraguayan native’s strategy worked, as Martinez moved his PFL record to 20-0 in the 2022 season and advanced to his first PFL playoff group.
In the co-headline, PFL lightweight defending champion Antonio Carlos Junior continued his quest for a $ 1 million second prize by securing a place in the PFL playoffs with a unanimous decision (30 -27, 30-27, 30-27) on Bruce Souto.
Carlos Junior (15-5) scored knockouts in all three rounds and used a lot of cage hooking to win the hand and beat Souto (15-5) in a fight that was sorely missed in the moments of action. “Shoeface” finally found his best offense in the final seconds of the fight when it rained a series of left-handed hands from the first position. Finally, the performance was enough to preserve his undefeated PFL career and advance his record to 4-0 (with a no competition) since he left the UFC in early 2021.
Carlos Junior is now scheduled to face veteran UFC teammate Omari Akhmedov in the semifinals of the PFL lightweight playoff group.
It may not have been pretty, but Olivier Aubin-Mercier did what he had to do to get his ticket to the playoffs and become the first man to improve Raush Manfio in the PFL cage.
In another apathetic fight that provoked boos from the Atlanta crowd, Aubin-Mercier (15-5) swept the scorecards to capture a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) on the current one. PFL lightweight champion. Neither man totaled even 30 ground attacks during the 15-minute competition, but Aubin-Mercier simply outscored his enemy, leading the dance with elimination attempts and a semi-active kick-off. Manfio’s attack was largely absent.
“It was a pretty bad fight,” Aubin-Mercier admitted, laughing as it rained on him, “but gangsters do what they want, so I don’t care.”
Despite the defeat, Manfio (16-4) still has a chance to advance to the PFL playoffs based on the outcome of the June 24 bout between Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray.
Pettis is already stuck in a playoff spot, but Ray could jump on Manfio with a first- or second-round finish from the former UFC champion.
In the opening of the main card of the night, Jeremy Stephens achieved his first victory under the umbrella of the PFL, although it was not enough to keep alive his dreams of a million dollars. The 34-fight UFC veteran made a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over Irish lightweight Myles Price, but was unable to qualify for the PFL playoffs after losing a decision against Collard in his debut in April.
Despite having to shave his head and beard to gain weight, a newly bald Stephens (29-20) started strong on Friday, chasing Price (11-9) around the cage with heavy blows and a parade of calf stitches to claim opening. round. But Price started to change course in round 2, mixing elimination attempts and even breaking Stephens with a tough two-shot combination. The second round was ultimately the swing round, because the third belonged solely to Price, who spent much of it controlling Stephens from the first position.
Independently, the performance broke a seven-win streak with no wins for Stephens and marked his first win since the 2018 knockout against UFC featherweight Josh Emmett.
The full results of PFL 4 can be seen below.
- Alexander Martinez defeated. Clay Collard by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Antonio Carlos Junior defeated. Bruce Souto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated. Raush Manfio by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Jeremy Stephens defeated. Myles Price by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Omari Akhmedov defeated. Teodoras Aukstuolis by technical presentation (arm-triangle odd) at 2:50 in round 2
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Nathan Schulte defeated. Marcin Detained by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Delan Monte defeated. Emiliano Sordi for TKO (Puncs) at 1:32 of the round
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Rob Wilkinson defeated. Viktor Pest for technical knockout (fist cup) at 3:03 in round 1
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Josh Silveira defeated. Marthin Hamlet for TKO (knees and punches) at 3:27 of round 1
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Nate Jennerman defeated. Jake Childers through the presentation (later suffocation) at 2:00 in Round 2