Fight Facts: PFL 2023 Regular Season Opener

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: 878
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 97

The Professional Fighters League opened up its 2023 regular season with featherweights and light heavyweights on display. The grind was firmly embraced for much of the event, as only three of the 11 matches ended inside the distance. PFL 1: 2023 Regular Season featured a rare leg kick stoppage, the re-emergence of a past undefeated champ and sweet revenge for a fighter that calls himself a “Bad Man.”

Lumberjacked Up: In the main attraction, Brendan Loughnane chopped Marlon Moraes down with leg kicks. The stoppage is the ninth of its kind in PFL history, while Moraes becomes the sole fighter to both win and lose matches in the organization with these strikes.

Methodical Division: Of the five featherweight victors at night’s end, Loughnane was the only man to procure a stoppage. He sits with five points atop the 145-pound leaderboard.

Corner Shouldn’t Have Sent Him Out Again: The defeat for former World Series of Fighting champ Moraes is his sixth in a row due to strikes. “Magic Marlon” is now one knockout loss shy of tying his career knockout win total of 10.

Dulling Razor: After three rounds of action, “Razor” Rob Wilkinson overcame recent PFL signee Thiago Santos by decision. The win on the scorecards is just the second for the Tasmanian, and his first since topping Ben Kelleher in 2013.

Iffy Call: By narrow split decision, Will Fleury defeated Krzysztof Jotko to pick up three playoff points. The win streak for the Irishman is now five, which is a career best, although all five have come by decision.

Million-Dollar Dreams Up in Smoke: Jotko’s first appearance under the PFL banner was an unsuccessful one, putting him on a rare losing streak. The Polish fighter has heard the final bell in seven of his last eight bouts, with three split decisions along the way.

He Likes to Move It, Move It: Easily handling Ryoji Kudo, 2021 champ Movlid Khaybulaev claimed a decision victory and the three points to come with it. “Killer” recorded his 20th pro win, and he has still not officially suffered a loss. This places him behind Yaroslav Amosov (27-0) for the best unbeaten record of any major organization competitor.

A Dish Best Served Wrestle-y: Bubba Jenkins exacted revenge by outworking Chris Wade to pick up the decision win – as Jenkins had lost on the scorecards to Wade in 2021. Five of Jenkins’ last six victories have come at the hands of the judges.

Wading Around Too Long: Wade’s loss was his seventh under the WSOF-PFL banner, and he is now on his first losing streak on the roster. Wade has suffered more defeats than any other competitor under either WSOF or PFL’s banners.

Called Correctly, Not an RNC: The quickest finish of the night came courtesy of Marthin Hamlet, who officially landed the first face crank submission in company history by tapping Mohammad Fakhreddine. The stoppage at 1:05 clocks in as the second-fastest in PFL light heavyweight history, with the quickest Antonio Carlos Jr.’s 29-second brabo choke of Delan Monte in 2022.

Doing “Conan” Proud: Joshua Silveira pocketed six points when he submitted Sam Kei with a rear-naked choke. With his finish rate elevated to 90%, Silveira earned the No. 2 spot in the 205-pound bracket in victory.

The Alternate Was Prepared: On 24 hours’ notice, Gabriel Braga stepped in to face Jesus Pinedo, and he emerged with a split decision triumph. The Brazilian fighter is a perfect 10-0 as a pro, while his last four wins have come on the scorecards.

So, It Begins: Ty Flores officially claimed the first victory of the 2023 season when he notched a decision victory over Monte. He is the first fighter to ever push Monte beyond 1:40 of the third round.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into the PFL 2023 Regular Season Opener, Fakhreddine had never competed in North America (21 fights), Monte had never gone the distance (12 fights) and Cory Hendricks had never dropped consecutive bouts (14 fights).