Rivalries: Sadibou Sy

Success has done nothing to calm Sadibou Sy’s competitive drive.

The 36-year-old Swede will look to clear the latest hurdle in his quest to become a two-time Professional Fighters League champion when he collides with Carlos Leal Miranda in one of two PFL 9 welterweight semifinals on Wednesday inside the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The winner advances to vie for $1,000,000 in November. Sy—who defeated Miranda by unanimous decision a year ago—steps into the spotlight on the strength of a six-fight winning streak. He last appeared at PFL 6, where he cut down Shane Mitchell with a spinning wheel kick in the third round of their June 23 encounter.

As Sy makes final preparations for his high-stakes rematch with Miranda at 170 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Bruno Santos

The MMA Masters rep outmaneuvered Sy to a three-round unanimous decision as part of the PFL 3 undercard on July 5, 2018 at the GWU Smith Center in Washington, D.C. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Santos. Sy was his own worst enemy, as inactivity plagued him throughout the 15-minute encounter despite an enormous eight-inch reach advantage. After two uneventful rounds, Santos made his move in the third. There, the Brazilian marched forward into the clinch and secured a trip takedown out of a body lock. Santos passed from half guard to side control, then climbed to full mount in the waning seconds. Though his ground-and-pound was not potent enough to procure a stoppage, the way to victory had been paved. The two men met for a second time a little more than three months later at PFL 10, where they battled to a two-round majority draw in the 2018 middleweight quarterfinals. Sy advanced on a tiebreaker.

Magomed Magomedkerimov

Well-timed takedowns, prolonged positional control and superior aggression propelled the American Top Team standout to a unanimous decision against Sy, as their welterweight semifinal served as the PFL 7 headliner on Aug. 13, 2021 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Magomedov’s work drew 30-27 scores from all three judges. The American Top Team-trained Russian set the tone with a one-sided first round, where he executed a takedown inside the first 15 seconds and remained in top position for more than four minutes. He applied his ground-and-pound with methodical consistency, made a pass at an Ezekiel choke on two occasions and generally made life miserable for Sy. Magomedkerimov held his own in standup exchanges for much of Round 2, then turned a caught kick into another takedown late in the period. Sy managed to stay upright for the final five minutes but failed to keep his counterpart’s forward movement in check and spent the majority of his time in a state of retreat as a result. Magomedkerimov closed the distance between them with roughly 90 seconds left on the clock and chewed up the remaining time by clinching along the fence.

Rory MacDonald

Sy booked his trip to the Professional Fight League playoffs with a three-round unanimous decision over the former King of the Cage and Bellator MMA champion in the PFL 6 co-main event on July 1, 2022 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. A reliance on kicks and his trusted jab, along with significantly improved takedown defense, provided Sy with a way forward. MacDonald tried and failed repeatedly to drag the action to the mat, grew increasingly frustrated with the situation and called upon an ineffective clinch game that drew boos from those in attendance. Sy stayed calm under less-than-ideal circumstances, racked up points when opportunities presented themselves and ultimately put considerable distance between himself and the heavily favored Canadian on the scorecards to nail down the most significant victory of his career.

Dilano Taylor

A committed, technical approach spearheaded by body and leg kicks carried Sy to a unanimous decision over the Kill Cliff Fight Club export, as their five-round welterweight final helped anchor the PFL Championships on Nov. 25, 2022 inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. All three members of the judiciary submitted 49-47 scorecards for “The Swedish Denzel Washington,” who pocketed the $1 million prize at 170 pounds. Taylor struggled to manage distance effectively and allowed the Swede to snipe him from the outside for much of the match. Sy paired stance switches with a steady jab from both hands, circled away from danger and excelled at keeping the exchanges at his desired range. Taylor did his best work in the second and fourth rounds, where he crowded the Xtreme Couture product in the clinch and consolidated those efforts with short-range punches and knees. However, he failed to maximize those gains and lost his tenuous grip on momentum, at which point Sy resumed his assault on the legs and body to cruise to the checkered flag.