As the PFL post-season approached, it was all or nothing for Alexander Martinez and Clay Collard in PFL 4, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser coming home.
In the end, Martinez kept his dreams of winning the grand prize of $ 1 million alive.
Martinez (10-2) faced a split over Collard (21-10) on Friday night to win the main event in the PFL 4 lightweight event, which took place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. However, the decision was not without controversy, as Collard seemed to surpass Martinez in damage in the third and decisive rounds, while Martinez surpassed Collard in control time.
The match itself was at a frantic pace, with Collard gaining momentum early with a constant blow, relentless pressure and a shot from the body. Collard carried that momentum into Round 2, putting Martinez on the mat with a perfect left hand, which proved to be the most damaging blow in the battle. However, Martinez turned the action back in his favor by grabbing Collard’s back in a ensuing skirmish and concluding a suffocation from behind, which nearly made Collard dead.
Surprisingly, Collard managed to endure the escape, creating a winning scenario to take it all, while the lightweight categories moved on to the final round.
Collard continued to find a permanent home with his body work and combination of shots in Round 3, while Martinez resorted to takedowns and top controls with little offense to show. However, the Paraguayan-born strategy worked as Martinez moved his PFL 2022 record to 2-0 and advanced to his first PFL playoffs.
In the co-headliner, PFL light heavyweight champion Antonio Carlos Jr. continued to seek a second prize of $ 1 million, winning a place in the PFL playoffs with a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) over Bruce Southo. .
Carlos Jr. (15-5) took takedowns in all three rounds and used plenty of clinching against the cage to gain the upper hand and overtake Southo (15-5) in a battle that was short of moments of action. “Shoeface” finally found its best attack in the last seconds of the match, when it rained a series of left-handed hands from the top position. The performance was ultimately enough to keep his undefeated PFL streak and improve his record to 4-0 (with one without a race) after leaving the UFC in early 2021.
Carlos Jr. now has to face his UFC veteran counterpart Omari Ahmedov in the semifinals of the PFL welterweight playoffs.
It may not have been beautiful, but Olivier Auben-Mercier did what he had to do to win his ticket to the playoffs – and become the first person to beat Rausch Manfio in the PFL cage.
In another undisputed battle that sparked booing from the Atlanta crowd, Aubin-Mercier (15-5) swept the results to capture a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over reigning PFL lightweight champion . None of the men scored 30 shots in the 15-minute race, but Aubin-Mercier simply outscored his enemy, leading the dance with takedown attempts and semi-active kicking, while Manfio’s attack was largely absent.
“It was a pretty bad fight,” Aubin-Mercier admitted with a laugh as the booers poured out on him, “but the gangsters are doing what they want, so I don’t care.”
Despite the loss, Manfio (16-4) still has a chance to continue in the PFL playoffs depending on the outcome of the match on June 24 between Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray.
Petit is already locked in the playoffs, but Ray can overtake Manfio with a final in the first or second round of the former UFC champion.
At the opening of the main card of the evening, Jeremy Stevens screeched his first victory under the umbrella of the PFL, although this was not enough to keep his dreams of $ 1 million alive. The UFC veteran of 34 fights took a separate decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) against the Irish lightweight Miles Price, but failed to qualify for the PFL playoffs after losing by decision to Collard in his debut in April.
Although he resorted to shaving his head and chin to gain weight, the just-bald Stevens (29-20) started vigorously on Friday, hunting Price (11-9) around the cage with heavy punches and a parade of kicks. to win the start round. But Price began to turn the tide in Round 2, mixing down attempts and even smashing Stevens with a solid combination of two strokes. The second round was ultimately a swing round, because the third belonged only to Price, who spent much of it controlling Stevens from the top.
Nevertheless, the performance broke a seven-match winless streak for Stevens and marked his first post-2018 UFC knockout victory in welterweight division with Josh Emmett.
The full results of PFL 4 can be seen below.
- Alexander Martinez def. Clay Collard by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Antonio Carlos Jr. def. Bruce Souto with unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Olivier Auben-Mercier def. Rausch Manfio with unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Jeremy Stevens Def. Miles Price by separate decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Omari Ahmedov def. Theodoras Auxtoulis by technical pass (hand and triangle strangulation) at 2:50 a.m. Round 2
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Nathan Schulte def. Marcin Held with unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Delan Monte def. Emiliano Sordi by technical knockout (strikes) in 1:32 of the 1st round
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Rob Wilkinson Def. Victor Pesta by technical knockout (hits) in 3:03 of the 1st round
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Josh Silveira won. Martin Hamlet by technical knockout (knee and punches) in 3:27 of the 1st round
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Nate Jennerman def. Jake Childers through submission (suffocation from behind) at 2:00 a.m. on Round 2
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