Rob Wilkinson will look to become the first Australian to claim gold in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), with the Tasmanian-born fighter to challenge for the light heavyweight title.
The 30-year-old is set to take on MMA veteran Omari Akhmedov at the famous Madison Square Garden on Saturday morning (AEDT), with the chance to make just shy of $1.5 million in the process.
Originally from Tasmnania, Wilkinson moved across to America and while he is now fighting out of Colorado, his home will always be Australia.
During his career, Wilkinson has fought in Australia, Europe and US and is a crafty striker with plenty of knockout power.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ROB WILKINSON'S FIGHT
Wilkinson has a 16-2 record, with his only two defeats coming in the UFC - one of which was at the hands of former champion and pound-for-pound king Israel Adesanya.
Since the loss to Adesanya, the Tassie brawler has been on a five-fight win streak and will come into the tournament final clash with Akhmedov with plenty of momentum.
Wilkinson has mainly performed in the world of mixed martial arts during his career, but has also won professional boxing and kickboxing fights.
In his last five fights, Wilkinson has finished his opponents - four times via KO/TKO and once via submission - and looms as a dangerous fighter in the PFL.
Rob Wilkinson lands a NASTY knee to close the show 😤 #PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/1vQ8lSvZQh
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 5, 2022
The structure of the PFL is completely different to most combat sport organisations, with a league system used instead of having match-makers or rankings, like we see in the UFC or Bellator.
Wilkinson's place in the final against Akhmedov grants him the opportunity to pocket $1 million USD, which is a huge incentive on top of becoming Australia's first PFL champ.
And in a huge boost for Aussie fighting fans, Stan Sport will be broadcasting the event live from 9am AEDT on Saturday morning. Wilkinson's fight is scheduled to begin at 12pm AEDT, with the main event set for 3.30pm AEDT.
Also on the card will be Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, who will be looking to gain her third PFL World Championship when she faces knockout artist Larissa Pacheco inside the cage.
MAIN CARD
- WOMEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Kayla Harrison vs Larissa Pacheco
- LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Rob Wilkinson vs Omari Akhmedov
- FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Brendan Loughane vs Bubba Jenkins
- HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ante Delija vs Matheus Scheffel
- WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT: Aspen Ladd V Julia Budd
- LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Stevie Ray V Olivier Aubin-Mercier
- WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Sadibou Sy vs Dilano Taylor
PRELIMINARY CARD
- FEATHERWEIGHT: Marlon Moraes vs Sheymon Moraes
- LIGHTWEIGHT: Natan Schulte vs Jeremy Stephens
- CATCHWEIGHT: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs Gleison Tibau
- WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT: Dakota Ditcheva vs Katherine Corogenes
- AMATEUR LIGHTWEIGHT: Biaggo Ali Walsh vs Tom Graesser
