Fight Facts: 2023 PFL 9 Playoffs

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: 972
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 106

The Professional Fighters League locked down the rest of its finals with a mid-week showcase that concluded with one of the best fights in company history. With all six weight categories in the books, the million-dollar matchups all take place in exactly three months. PFL 9: 2023 Playoffs featured a Canadian juggernaut destined for the prize, the winningest active fighter in league history on track for another giant check and a welterweight that cannot avoid catchweight contests.

Could You Imagine? As the top-seeded lightweight, Clay Collard punched his ticket to the finals by outstriking Shane Burgos over three thrilling rounds. This is Collard’s third PFL season, and his first to get through the playoffs.

With Great Power Comes Great Sponsorships: Opposite Collard, Aubin-Mercier completes the lightweight title picture for November. “The Canadian Gangster” earned his fourth knockout as a pro – with three coming within the last year – by pounding out Bruno Miranda.

Conquering the Greener Pastures: Since departing the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Aubin-Mercier has strung together nine straight wins. Women’s featherweight finalist Larissa Pacheco has emerged victorious nine times in a row, with “OAM” becoming the 14th fighter in organizational history to reach this win total.

18 to Life Soon: With Sadibou Sy and Magomed Magomedkerimov picking up wins to meet one another in the welterweight championship bout, both men entered into their 17th bouts on the roster. Just three men sit above them: Natan Schulte (18), Chris Wade (19) and Lance Palmer (22).

Sentimental Sy: Sy serves as the only fighter to ever compete in all five seasons of the PFL, with November’s matchup his second Championships appearance. His split decision win over the heavy Carlos Leal Miranda cemented his place on the card, having competed beyond the first round in 12 straight fights.

Check Your Math: Leal checked in a pound heavy and lost a point on the scorecards – although the PFL did not recognize this, as Leal should have lost via majority decision and not split if that were assessed properly. In four of his outings with the league, Leal or his opponent has missed weight, with this being the first catchweight affair where he came up short.

Putting the Magomed in Magomedkerimov: Outworking late replacement Solomon Renfro, Magomedkerimov lifted his win streak to five, as he plans on being the only victor from the 2018 season to replicate success five years later.

MMK All the Way: The win was Magomedkerimov’s 16th with the organization, and now eight of those have come by decision. “MMK” is now tied with Palmer for the winningest fighter in promotional history, and is in third place for the most wins on the scorecards – Schulte holds nine while Palmer has 10.

Pretty Grande: The 22-year-old Alexei Pergande remained undefeated at 4-0 by claiming a decision over Shawn Stefanelli. Since joining the PFL, he has picked up a submission win in the first half of the year and then procured a decision that August.

Spilled the Kuppe: Putting Korey Kuppe away in just under two minutes, Mostafa Rashed Nada boosted his finish rate as a pro to 75%. All of his stoppages have come in Round 1.

Her Super Move: Two-time Challenger Series winner Michelle Montague earned her first win on a standard PFL card by tapping out Abigail Montes. The unbeaten Kiwi celebrates all four of her victories by rear-naked choke.

Arabian Nights (and Days): It took Abdullah Al-Qahtani all three rounds to defeat David Zelner on the prelims. The Saudi Arabia native has heard the final bell in 75% of his pro fights, win or lose.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into 2023 PFL 9 Playoffs, Stefanelli had never lost on the scorecards (six fights), Montes had never been finished (six fights) and Nathaniel Grimard had never been knocked out (six fights).