PFL Sets 10-Bout Lineup for First 2023 Playoffs Event on Aug. 4

OFFICIAL: PFL San Antonio card is set as Featherweights and Light Heavyweights look to book their ticket to the 2023 #PFLWorldChampionship 🏆💰

[Fri, August 4th |#PFLPlayoffs | 🎟️https://t.co/FD4ZBDPl3o] pic.twitter.com/GeZw1elvmX

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 29, 2023

The first of the three Professional Fighters League playoffs events is now on the books.

Per a release from the promotion on Thursday, it has populated its Aug. 4 billing at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. Featherweights and light heavyweight semifinal matches are slated atop the PFL 7: 2023 Playoffs event, along with six additional “showcase” bouts to prepare for future tournaments or even potential Challenger Series slots. The company will then switch gears after this playoff card for two shows in New York later in the month.

Headlining the ESPN-based evening will be a 145-pound semifinal between top seeded Bubba Jenkins (21-6) and no. 4 seed Jesus Pinedo (21-6-1) on one side of the featherweight bracket. Jenkins is just one of three men in his weight category to win twice this season, with a revenge decision over perennial playoff competitor Chris Wade followed by a consciousness-depriving rear-naked choke over Sung Bin Jo to claim nine points. Peru’s Pinedo just had his hand raised once in 2023, but it came in the biggest possible moment as he flattened former champ Brendan Loughnane in 94 seconds.

The co-main attraction takes place at 205 pounds, as top-seeded Joshua Silveira (11-1) battles it out with fourth seed Ty Flores (13-4). One of only three competitors this season to claim the maximum 12 points thanks to two finishes in Round 1, Silveira choked out Sam Kei and followed it with a win over Delan Monte when the Brazilian injured his knee at the 90-second mark. While Flores also secured two victories this season, he did so by decision, against Monte and Dan Spohn. The latter came after he missed weight by 5.2 pounds and was deducted one playoff point, but still made it in.

The other two semifinal pairings are as follows: Gabriel Braga (11-0) vs. Movlid Khaybulaev (21-0-1, 1 NC), where both featherweights sport undefeated records and have a great deal to win or lose; and Marthin Hamlet (12-4) vs. Impa Kasanganay (13-3), where the former notched two wins including a finish along the way and the latter clawed his way into the 205-pound bracket after throttling Tim Caron for a five-point clinching performance. Also, of note, the organization has scheduled a pair of fights in its burgeoning women’s flyweight category on the prelims.

PFL 7, 2023 Playoffs Lineup:

Bubba Jenkins vs. Jesus Pinedo – featherweight semifinal
Joshua Silveira vs. Ty Flores – light heavyweight semifinal
Gabriel Braga vs. Movlid Khaybulaev – featherweight semifinal
Marthin Hamlet vs. Impa Kasanganay – light heavyweight semifinal
Elvin Espinoza vs. Keoni Diggs – lightweight
Thad Jean vs. Ali Omar – welterweight
Desiree Yanez vs. Lisa Mauldin – women’s flyweight
Satoshi Ishii vs. Danilo Marques – heavyweight
Chelsea Hackett vs. Ky Bennett – women’s flyweight
Billy Elekana vs. Chuck Campbell – light heavyweight