Preview: PFL 4 ‘Loughnane vs. Pinedo’

Light Heavyweights

Marthin Hamlet (11-4, 5-3 PFL) vs. Sam Kei (8-7, 0-2 PFL)

Hamlet looked as impressive as he ever has during his PFL tenure in the season-opening event, where he steamrolled former Brave Combat Federation two-division champion Mohammad Fakhreddine ahead of a 65-second submission victory. The six-point performance sets up the 2021 light heavyweight finalist with a good shot at making the postseason.

Kei was on the opposite end of the spectrum, as he made a grave mistake by giving up his back while attempting to return to his feet against Joshua Silveira, which allowed the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt to secure a submission victory inside of a round. A former rugby player based in Sydney, Kei has not shown much in being finished by Silveira and Juan Adams in his first two PFL appearances.

Hamlet is a powerful grappler who usually prefers to grind out opponents through takedowns, clinch work and top control, though his latest effort showed he can be more dominant with the right matchup. Kei flashed some decent power in a heavyweight loss to Adams in 2022, and it would likely be in his best interest to try and control the distance against Hamlet. If Kei can extend the fight with intelligent striking and decent takedown defense, the Norwegian’s gas tank has been known to falter in the later rounds. With that said, Hamlet looks like a man on a mission, and he should be able to impose his will for a decision win or late finish.

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