Atlanta, GA — Heavyweight Ante Delija won the battle, but lost the war at Friday’s 2023 PFL 5 card in Atlanta, and came away from the bout a little worse for the wear.
Delija (24-5), a Croatian heavyweight coveted by the UFC (they attempted to sign him a few years back), defeated TUF 28 alum Maurice Greene at the event. However with the fight going the distance, and Delija starting his season late after a knee injury forced him out of a bout in April, a lack of points means the defending PFL heavyweight champ is out of the playoffs, without having lost a fight.
Such are the perils of the points-based system the league employs, where not just wins, but finishes, matter. Worse, Delija told Cageside Press following the bout that he had re-injured his knee in the fight.
“We knew that Maurice was a good opponent, and we expected something like this. But unfortunately I got the same injury, the same injury why I didn’t compete in the first fight,” Delija stated, speaking via translator.
Delija later explained that “I felt it in the first round when it popped,” and it seems he believes the knee will take some time to heal. “I think I’m not going to be able to come into the playoffs if somebody gets injured.”
On a slightly more positive note, Ante Delija was honored to see Croatian fans in attendance at the Overtime Elite Arena on Friday. “I couldn’t give more than what I gave today, and if I was in the playoffs, I’m one hundred percent sure that more people would come. But it is what it is.”
The Croatian heavyweight later added that once he heals up, he’d be willing to throw down with Francis Ngannou. “Of course I would take that chance, because right now, Francis is the number one heavyweight in the world.”
Watch the full 2023 PFL 5 post-fight media scrum with Ante Delija above.
