Fight Facts: 2023 PFL 5

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 922
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 101

The Professional Fighters League wrapped up the heavyweight and women’s featherweight brackets, leaving just four competitors per division vying for $1 million. Largely a knockout or bust night, several dramatic sub-minute finishes were authored in playoff-clinching performances. PFL 5: 2023 Regular Season featured the fastest stoppage in PFL heavyweight history, a stunning beatdown from a former champ and a big man who maxed out his point total.

He Folds: After trips to the PFL Championships events in 2021 and 2022, heavyweight Ante Delija will not even be making the playoffs this season following a decision win over Maurice Greene. Delija only appeared once this year, due to injury back in March.

Like Fighting in Gladiator Challenge: Performing her fast finish as a PFL fighter, Larissa Pacheco ran through Amber Leibrock in 45 seconds to claim the top seed at 145 pounds. The knockout was her sixth, tying Denis Goltsov – who notched his own No. 6 earlier on the card – for the third-most in company history.

Pacheco Passing Pacheco: Pacheco set a new record for the quickest stoppage of any female fighter to grace the PFL cage when she decimated Leibrock at the 45-second mark. She surpasses her own 51-second drubbing of Julija Pajic in 2021 with this finish.

Two-Division Champ on the Rise: The win for Pacheco was her 10th on the roster, putting her just six victories behind all-time leader Lance Palmer. The only woman with more is Kayla Harrison, who holds 14.

Seemingly Paid by the Second: All seven of Pacheco’s finishes under the PFL banner have come in the opening frame. This puts her alone in second place for the most first-round stoppages in league history, behind just Harrison (nine).

One Massive Problema: Five seconds slower than Pacheco, Renan Ferreira lamped Matheus Scheffel with a series of punches. “Problema” secured the no. 2 seed with his quick blitz, boosting his overall finish rate to 90%.

In, Then Out: By a matter of seconds, Aspen Ladd kept her playoff aspirations alive for a few hours as she landed a second-round armbar on Karolina Sobek. Due to an April loss to eventual four seed Olena Kolesnyk, the second submission of Ladd’s career did not grant her a spot in the bracket at night’s end.

Sesame Street Pinball Song: Just the second fighter to do so this season – Joshua Silveira the first – Denis Goltsov decked Yorgan De Castro in Round 1 to improve his point total to a maximum of 12. The win elevated his finish rate to 81%.

A Russian Grim Reaper: Needing just 18 seconds to wipe out De Castro, Goltsov procured the fastest finish in PFL heavyweight divisional history. It passed Ferreira’s 25-second front kick of Jamelle Jones from 2022 to claim the top spot.

Marina Over Martins: Adding three points to her total of eight with a decision over Evelyn Martins – who missed weight – Marina Mokhnatkina climbed to the no. 2 seed with her second win. Of the 35 PFL fighters to compete twice this season, 10 have earned two victories.

Black Belt on Black Belt Violence: With a barrage of punches, Marcelo Nunes clobbered Danilo Marques to retain his 100% win rate inside the distance. It marked the first knockout for the IBJJF champ since 2020.

Sorry Buddy: Although she ended a three-fight skid, the decision win for Julia Budd over Martina Jindrova was not enough for her to reach the playoffs. “The Jewel” has gone to the scorecards in each of her last seven fights, accounting for her whole PFL career and then some.

Good Luck with Pacheco Again: Beating up on Yoko Higashi to claim the unanimous nod, Kolesnyk secured five points and held the tiebreaker to snag the fourth seed at 145 pounds. She has not recorded a finish in over six years.

From Coincidence to Pattern: Staying unbeaten when Patrick Brady injured his knee, Jordan Heiderman’s injury stoppage triumph did enough for the 7-0 fighter to get to the semifinals. Both of his knockout wins are registered as knee injuries.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into 2023 PFL 5, Sobek had never been finished (five fights), Higashi had never dropped consecutive bouts (11 fights) and Martins (five fights) and Brady (five fights) had never been defeated.