The Professional Fighters League was in action Thursday, with the second (and final) regular season event featuring welterweights and light heavyweights. PFL 5 was topped by a pair of UFC ex-pats in Rory MacDonald and Gleison Tibau, but there were a number in interesting fights lined up — and a fair amount of drama.
Following the first round of welterweight fights, defending champ Ray Cooper III had been tied with Rory MacDonald with six points. But at Wednesday’s PFL 5 weigh-in, Cooper missed weight. That saw a point deducted from him — and he will be ineligible to win any points Thursday night, regardless of a potential win. That means he’ll be looking at the scoreboard to see who does, or doesn’t, collect points at PFL 5.
Fighters like Tom Lawlor, Sadibou Sy, Magomed Magomedkerimov, and Jordan Young, meanwhile, were all on the outside looking in, and in need to big finishes to make the playoffs. Young, in particular, was within striking distance of the final playoff spot, held to start the night by 2019 champ Emiliano Sordi.
Heading into the event, the light heavyweight standings broke down as follows:
1. Cezar Ferreira – 6 points
2. Antonio Carlos Jr. – 6 points
3. Marthin Hamlet – 5 points
4. Emiliano Sordi – 3 points
5. Jordan Young – 3 points
6. Chris Camozzi – 0 points
7. Dan Spohn – 0 points
8. Tom Lawlor – 0 points
9. Cory Hendricks – 0 points
10. Vinny Magalhaes – -1 point
Welterweight, meanwhile, looked like this:
1. Rory MacDonald – 6 points
2. Ray Cooper III – 5 points
3. Joao Zeferino – 3 points
4. Nikolai Aleksakhin – 1 point
5. Sadibou Sy – 1 point
6. Gleison Tibau – 0 points
7. Curtis Millender – 0 points
8. Jason Ponet – 0 points
9. Aleksei Kunchenko – -1 point
10. Magomed Magomedkerimov – -1 point
Full results from PFL 5 can be found below. The event takes place Thursday, June 17 in Atlantic City, NJ, airing on ESPN 2 and ESPN+ (TSN in Canada).
PFL 5: MacDonald vs. Tibau Results
ESPN2 Card
Gleison Tibau def. Rory MacDonald by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ray Cooper III def. Nikolai Aleksakhin by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Emiliano Sordi vs. Dan Spohn is ruled a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Chris Camozzi def. Cezar Ferreira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
ESPN+ Card
Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Vinny Magalhaes ends in a No Contest (accidental low blow), Round 1, 2:45
Cory Hendricks def. Marthin Hamlet by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:09
Joao Zeferino def. Jason Ponet by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 2:16
Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Curtis Millender by submission (Ezekiel choke), Round 1, 1:57
Tom Lawlor def. Jordan Young by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sadibou Sy def. Aleksei Kunchenko by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
