Preview: PFL 2 2024

Light Heavyweight

Rob Wilkinson (17-4, 4-0 PFL) vs. Tom Breese (18-4, 1-0 PFL)

ODDS: Wilkinson (-400), Breese (+300)

Wilkinson is arguably the favorite to win the light heavyweight tournament, but he has some reasonable doubts to address. After starting his career 11-0, Wilkinson’s stock plummeted when he was knocked out in his first two UFC fights. To his credit, those losses came against Siyar Bahadurzada and a tricky Nigerian kickboxer making his UFC debut named Israel Adesanya. After “The Last Stylebender” knocked Wilkinson out of the promotion, he ran off a string of six straight finishes before claiming the 2022 PFL light heavyweight title. Wilkinson seemed destined to repeat the following year before he tested positive for a banned substance following his fight with Thiago Santos. Having been on the sidelines for over a year, the Australian hopes to return and destroy everything in his path. Wilkinson’s all-around game is dangerous. He still has the hand speed from his days as a middleweight, but his right hand can sleep light heavyweights. He is capable on the ground, but his seven career submissions are misleading. His last one came in 2019 against an overmatched opponent.

The Birmingham, England, native went 5-3 during his six years in the promotion and shared the Octagon with top talents like Sean Strickland and Brendan Allen. Once cut, Breese rediscovered his momentum in Europe, fighting in Amsterdam’s Levels Fight League and Poland’s Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. Breese carries a three-fight win streak into this match and has a clear advantage on the ground. The Englishman has submitted 12 poor souls throughout his career and has mastered finding a home for his rear-naked choke, but he does not compare to Wilkinson on the feet. Breese is not a big puncher and has not knocked out anyone since 2020. The longer Breese keeps this standing, the more trouble he will face. Wilkinson is going to come forward and put leather in his face. He must take this fight to the ground and find a way to get to Wilkinson’s neck. Assuming that Wilkinson’s the same fighter he was when we last saw him, it will be hard to trap the fleet-footed Aussie. Knowing he has something to prove, Wilkinson announces his return with a first-round knockout.

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Kasanganay vs. Polizzi
Wilkinson vs. Breese
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The Prelims