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It was a night of excitement Friday night in Atlanta as 2021 heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza came up short against Mattheus Scheffel and Anthony Pettis, who were hit by a crazy submission at PFL 5.
Scheffel came into the main event as a formidable underdog, having been eliminated in his PFL debut in April. But “Buffa” delivered one of the best performances of his career, defeating Cappelozza in a three-round war. Cappelozza and Scheffel spent almost the entire fight on their feet, with each man having his moments, but it was Scheffel’s power and volume that dominated the day as he rocked the former champion in the first round and continued to support him for the rest the fight topped scorecards by 29-28 from all three judges.
Unfortunately for Scheffel, he may have just beaten the former champion, but it wasn’t enough to redeem his ticket to the heavyweight playoffs. Instead, Cappelozza earned the number 4 number 4 via a first-round KO in his bout with Stuart Austin in the PFL 2 and will face Denis Goltsov in the heavyweight semifinals later this year.
Stevie Ray angers Anthony Pettis with shocking submission
The excitement continued in the co-main event as Stevie Ray secured the biggest win of his career. The UFC and PFL vet submitted Anthony Pettis with a modified twister — dubbed a “modified body lock” by the broadcast crew — in the second round to secure his berth in the lightweight playoffs.
After a back and forth in the first round, Ray was able to reverse a takedown attempt by Pettis in the second and take his back, locking in a body triangle. As Pettis tried to get out of it, he got caught in a spine crank and Ray forced out a tap, leaving Pettis writhing in pain afterwards. The win earned Ray five points, enough to sneak up to No. 4 for the lightweight tournament, where he will face Pettis again – if Pettis can keep up.
Klidson Abreu suffocated Renan Ferreira
Klidson Abreu came into the evening needing a great performance to make it to the heavyweight playoffs and although he dominated Renan Ferreira it wasn’t enough to make it to the semifinals. Abreu suffocated Ferreria with relentless takedowns and ground-and-pound, but failing to secure a finish, Abreu only picked up three points, bringing his season point total to six. Unfortunately for Abreu, Ferreria also has six points but he came on from an assist in the first round and the way the PFL rules are structured gives Ferreria the advantage, even over the man who dominated him. As a result, Abreu will be used as the first alternate for the heavyweight semifinals, while Ferreria will face Ante Delija.
Chris Wade knock out Kyle Bochniak
Chris Wade put his stamp on the final featherweight fight of the regular season of 2022 by knocking out Kyle Bochniak with a headbutt and subsequent punches in the first round. Wade threw a headbutt early in the first round, sending Bochniak to his knees and Wade didn’t miss his opportunity, leaping onto his shaken opponent and pounding him with punches until the referee intervened. The stoppage came just 70 seconds into the fight and secured Wade first place overall. He now faces Brendan Loughnane in the first round of the playoffs.
Ante Delija survived Shelton Graves
Ante Delija secured a spot in the PFL playoffs with an uninspired victory over Shelton Graves in a main card heavyweight bout. The 2021 heavyweight runner-up didn’t make much of an impression in his playoff win, surpassing Graves in the three rounds. Arguably the biggest moment of the fight was a clash of heads that split Delija’s nose and penalized Graves for a point, resulting in a 29-27 aggregate score for Delija. Delija meets Renan Ferreria in the first round of the semifinals.
Bubba Jenkins dominates Reinaldo Ekson
Bubba Jenkins managed to secure entry into his second straight PFL playoffs, dominating Reinaldo Ekson with his superior wrestling en route to sweeping the scorecards with three 30-27. Jenkins showed improved striking play in spurts but mostly used his wrestling pedigree to repeatedly bring down Ekson, securing a few good slams in the process. Next, Jenkins faces Ryoji Kudo in the semifinals of the featherweight tournament.
Denis Goltsov overwhelmed Moritz Greene
In the opening game of the main card, Denis Goltsov redeemed his ticket to the heavyweight playoffs with a smothering performance against Maurice Greene. Greene simply had no response to the wrestling and grappling from Goltsov, who was repeatedly hitting takedowns and threatening submissions from the top position. In the end, Goltsov swept the scorecards with three 30-27 wins and will advance to the PFL Heavyweight Semifinals on 9 points, where he meets 2021 champion Bruno Cappelozza.
Two champions earn spots in the PFL featherweight playoffs.
In the first two bouts of the night, Brendan Loughnane and Ryoji Kudo secured their featherweight playoff spots, with Kudo knocking out Alejandro Flores in the first round and earning six points, and Loughnane a hard-fought unanimous decision over late substitute Ago Huskic. Loughnane goes into the playoffs No. 4 while Kudo enters the playoffs No. 2 based on his first-round result.
Check out the full PFL 5 results below.
main card
Defeated Matheus Scheffel. Bruno Cappelozza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Defeated Stevie Ray. Anthony Pettis by Submission (Modified Body Triangle) – Round 2, 3:57
Defeated Klidson Abreu. Renan Ferreira by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Chris Wade defeated. Kyle Bochniak by TKO (head kick and punches) – Round 1, 1:10
Defeated Ante Delija. Shelton Graves by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Bubba Jenkins defeated. Reinaldo Ekson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Denis Goltsov defeated. Maurice Greene by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Provisional Map
Defeated Lance Palmer. Sheymon Moraes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Juan Adams defeated. Sam Kei via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:30
Defeated Ryoji Kudo. Alejandro Flores via KO (punch) – Round 1, 2:52
Brendan defeated Loughnane. Ago Huskic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
