There’s little question that Friday night’s PFL 8 card, which sees the league’s 2023 playoffs continue with heavyweights and women’s featherweights in action, took some hits leading up the event.
Injuries, withdrawals, and a massacre at the scale on Friday saw multiple fights cancelled and one co-headliner hit the scales heavy.
Of note, heavyweight Daiqwon Buckley came in at 272.4 pounds, badly blowing the heavyweight limit— nearly unheard of in the major leagues of MMA. While originally shifted to a super heavyweight fight, his bout with Louis Sutherland has instead been scratched from the card, which takes place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
The modified card also means a modified start time, with action getting underway at 7:30PM ET.
Of the fights that have held together, heavyweights Renan Ferreira and Maurice Greene clash in the main event, in one of two semifinals in the weight class on the night. Denis Goltsov meets Jordan Heiderman in the second.
In the co-main event, meanwhile, Olena Kolesnyk came in heavy for her featherweight fight with Larissa Pacheco. It’s the third time the pair have met, with Pacheco winning the first two encounters.
2023 PFL 8: Ferreira vs. Greene Results
Main card
Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira def. Maurice Greene by knockout (strikes), Round 1, 4:46 — Semifinal round
Women’s Featherweight: Larissa Pacheco def. Olena Kolesnyk by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 0:14 — Semifinal round
Heavyweight: Denis Goltsov def. Jordan Heiderman by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:16 — Semifinal round
Women’s Featherweight: Marina Mokhnatkina def. Amber Leibrock by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 1:45 — Semifinal round
Featherweight: Nathan Kelly def. Damion Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary card
Heavyweight: Danilo Marques def. Satoshi Ishii by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s Flyweight: Maíra Mazar def. Kaytlin Neil by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
