Fight Facts: PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs

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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: 655
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 66

The Professional Fighters League headed down to Florida for summer break and its playoffs, with welterweight and lightweight final spots on the table. The league also set the stage for its next season with a few noteworthy “showcase” matchups, and those tilts delivered more action than the playoffs themselves. PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs became the third event in company history to display multiple technical submissions, while featuring two finalists vying for welterweight records as well as an increasingly common leg kick stoppage.

Summer Siesta: With two early fights ending with fighters unconscious due to chokes, PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs became the third event in company history to see multiple technical submissions through the course of the night. WSOF 6 and PFL 8: 2019 were the first two, and the latter featured three.

MMK vs. Cooper 2 Sounds Good: After the dust settled, the finals for welterweight and lightweight came together at this event. On Oct. 27, Ray Cooper III will rematch Magomed Magomedkerimov in the 170-pound finals – the two met for the million-dollar prize in 2018 -- while Raush Manfio faces Loik Radzhabov in the 155-pound category.

60 Minutes: All four playoff matchups went the distance, with the four aforementioned victors punching their tickets by unanimous decision. The event became the first in PFL tournament history where every playoff bout ended on the scorecards.

Neck and Neck Up the Record Books: With decision victories at this event for both Cooper and Magomedkerimov, the two welterweight finalists both moved into a second-place tie for the most victories in company history with 11 each.

Two More Seasons, Minimum: Cooper competed in his 13th fight with the organization when he competed in the main event. He ties former two-time champ Natan Schulte for the second-most in company history, trailing only Lance Palmer (20).

A Magomed Thing: Taking a decision against replacement foe Sadibou Sy, Magomedkerimov earned his 11th win in as many trips to the World Series of Fighting-PFL cage. The Dagestan native now celebrates the longest win streak in company history alongside Marlon Moraes and Palmer.

Who Bets on That Line? Ahead of his semifinal battle against replacement foe Sadibou Sy, Magomedkerimov closed as a -900 betting favorite. He is now the fourth fighter in promotional history to come in as a favorite of that magnitude or higher on three separate occasions, with Islam Mamedov, Kayla Harrison and Palmer the first three.

Shame on You, John Rupert: Winning a contentious decision over Clay Collard, Manfio clinched his spot in the finals. He has left his fight in the hands of the judges in seven of his last eight outings, including all three during the 2021 season.

One for Tajikistan: Since joining the roster in 2019, Radzhabov has reached the finals on both occasions following his win over Alex Martinez. In doing so, he has secured just one stoppage across eight bouts.

38 is the New 28: Gleison Tibau put Micah Terrill to sleep with an arm-triangle choke in the first round to likely earn a spot in next year’s tournament. Although welterweights account for more technical submissions than any other division, the 38-year-old’s arm-triangle choke is the first to come in his weight category in PFL history.

Gangster Getting Mixed Up with Judges: By winning a decision over Darrell Horcher, Olivier Aubin-Mercier reduced his finish rate below 75 percent. Each of the last five bouts for “The Canadian Gangster” has gone the distance since he knocked out Evan Dunham at UFC 223 in 2018.

Welterweight Suits Him: Brett Cooper laid waste to Tyler Hill in the opening frame with a barrage of punches. “Fudoshin” notched his 18th career knockout by finishing Hill, and thereby lifted his career finish rate to over 71 percent.

A Region of Destroyers: After three hard-fought rounds, Magomed Umalatov emerged victorious with a unanimous decision over Leandro Silva. The Russian is now a perfect 11-0 as a pro, and the bout marked the second time he had ever fought beyond the second round.

Buscape Survivor: Longtime vet Silva has still yet to be finished as a professional following his decision loss to Umalatov. “Buscape” posts 10 career defeats, with nine of those unanimous along with one split along the way.

It’s Super Effective!!! In the first round, Michael Lombardo chopped Kyron Bowen down with leg kicks to record a stoppage. “The Don” is now the fifth fighter in company history to finish a foe with leg kicks, joining Justin Gaethje (three times), Moraes, Valdrin Istrefi and Alex Nicholson.

Elvin and the Sleepmunks: Elvin Espinoza put Hopeton Stewart to sleep on the card opener of the 2021 playoffs, in a non-tournament match. Espinoza remains perfect as a pro with the win, with half of his victories due to strikes and the other half from rear-naked choke.

A Heavy Burden to Bear: Throughout the 2021 season thus far, seven fighters have missed weight ahead of their scheduled bouts. Six of those seven, including both Horcher and Silva at this event, have lost, with Cooper the lone victor.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into PFL 7: 2021 Playoffs, Martinez had never dropped consecutive bouts (10 fights), Umalatov had never won on the scorecards (10 fights) and Stewart had never been finished (six fights).