Six champions were crowned at the PFL World Championship Finals, with two back-to-back winners. All winners earned $1 million paydays and now have a fight with a Bellator champion within their respective division coming up.
In the main event, Olivier Aubin-Mercier beat the dangerous Clay Collard via a unanimous decision score to become a two-time PFL lightweight champion. Aubin-Mercier managed to neutralize Collard's power through the fight. The Canadian fought through leg kicks that affected his ability to walk. Collard couldn’t take advantage of the injured leg, even with 41 of his 129 strikes landed as leg kicks. Aubin-Mercier landed five takedowns, which was enough to win the fight.
“The Canadian Gangster” has won ten in a row. Aubin-Mercier said he would take a break from combat sports after the fight. He teased retirement, but it is unknown if this is the last time we will see him in the cage.
Renan Ferreira beat Denis Goltsov in the co-main event to become the PFL heavyweight champion. Ferreira was suffocated in round one but bounced back in round two and landed huge rights to take Goltsov down. The Brazilian now could face Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader or Francis Ngannou next.
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History was made in the PFL SmartCage, as Larissa Pacheco became the first two-division champion in PFL history. Pacheco, who beat Kayla Harrison in the lightweight tournament last year, beat Marina Mokhnatkina to become the 2023 featherweight champion. The fight went the distance, which wasn’t expected by many. A game Mokhnatkina brought it to Pacheco, and she almost ended the fight with a kneebar. However, Pacheco used her power (landing 155 of 203 shots) to hurt Mokhnatkina and win via unanimous decision.
PFL owner Donn Davis stated Pacheco would face Bellator champion Cris Cyborg next. A fight between Cyborg and Kayla Harrison has been teased for months, but he wants to stick with champion vs. champion.
In a rematch from the 2021 PFL welterweight semi-finals, Magomed Magomedkerimov defeated Sadibou Sy via submission. Magomedkerimov landed several crisp shots and two takedowns, as Sy tried to be creative and go for several knockout shots. Magomedkerimov went 2-0 against Sy to become a two-time welterweight champion.
He’s expected to face new Bellator champion Jason Jackson next.
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Impa Kasanganay was cool, calm, and collected as he outstruck Josh Silveira to become the PFL light heavyweight champion. In 2020, Impa became viral following a brutal knockout loss against Joaquin Buckley. In November 2023, he proved to be the better man in a fight between American Top Team and Kill Cliff. It was a shutout, with Kasanganay landing 112 of 255 shots (76 for 180 for Silveira). He avoided several takedowns and enhanced his win streak to six.
At one point during the Contender Series years ago, UFC CEO Dana White said, "If one of these other organizations signs him (Kasanganay), he could be top five in the world or world champion one day." He was right. Kasanganay called out Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov after his easy win.
The first championship fight of the night saw Jesus Pinedo beat Gabriel Braga to win the featherweight tournament. Pinedo, who lost against Braga to open the year, avenged that loss by winning via TKO. It was considered an early stoppage, but Pinedo appeared to get hot as the fight ended. Pinedo ended a Cinderella Story-type run after beating 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane earlier this year.
Following the contest, Pinedo squared up against Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire.
Also on the PFL card, Kayla Harrison returned after a year away. She easily beat Aspen Ladd, who replaced Julia Budd. Meanwhile, former champion Ray Cooper III had ring rust against Derek Brunson, the former UFC fighter who made his PFL debut. "Blonde Brunson" got the win against Cooper, who missed weight before the fight.
The Sporting News provided results from the full 2023 PFL World Championship Finals card. Check it out!
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2023 PFL World Championship Finals full card results
Main card
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Clay Collard via unanimous decision (49-36, 49-46, 49-46); PFL Lightweight Finals
- Renan Ferreira def. Denis Goltsov via TKO (0:26 into round two) PFL Heavyweight Finals
- Larissa Pacheco def. Marina Mokhnatkina via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46); PFL Featherweight Finals
- Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Sadibou Sy via guillotine choke (1:17 into round three); PFL Welterweight Finals
- Impa Kasanganay def. Josh Silveira via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45); PFL Light Heavyweight Finals
- Kayla Harrison def. Aspen Ladd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Derek Brunson def. Ray Cooper III via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-25)
Prelims
- Jesus Pinedo def. Gabriel Braga via TKO (0:58 into round three); PFL Featherweight Finals
- Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Joel Lopez via KO (1:24 into round two)
- Phil Caracappa def. Khai Wu unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)
- Jesse Stirn def. Josh Blyde via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)
