Quarterfinal action in the featherweight division kicked off the PFL 8 2019 card on Thursday. The promotion’s second of three shows at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, it was lightweights and featherweights in the spotlight this time out. Opening the card, Lance Palmer was supposed to take on Gadzhi Rabadanov, a match-up between the first and eighth seeds, respectively.

However, with Rabadanov unable to make weight, Alexandre Almeida stepped in to take his place. Incredibly, he and Palmer had fought twice before, swapping the WSOF featherweight title between them back in 2015-2016. The two-round quarterfinal would serve as a trilogy fight, with the winner fighting in the semifinals later in the night.

Palmer took center in the night’s opening fight, with Almeida on the outside. Flipping the script, Almeida opted to take down Palmer, landing an attempt early. However, in moments Palmer had moved to the top and was working from guard. He had plenty of time to work inside the closed guard of Almeida, and would spend the remainder of the round there, adding shots to the body and head while defending submissions.

In the second, Palmer dropped Almeida early, targeting the body then putting him down with a punch upstairs. Palmer then moved into guard, again firing punches to the body. This time out, Almeida was simply tying up Palmer, not very active from the bottom at all. He’d make it back to the fence, close his guard, and never make it to the feet. Palmer, frankly, was able to cruise to victory in this one. Especially given Almeida’s strikes were in the single digits.

Palmer will move on to face the winner of Harrison vs. Gilpin later in the evening.

Official Result: Lance Palmer def. Alexandre Alemeida by unanimous decision (20-17, 20-18, 20-18)

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Uniondale, NY — It seems like you simply can’t have an MMA card in New York without some sort of controversy. On Thursday night at PFL 4, it was minimal, but it was certainly there. In the main card featherweight battle between Steven Siler and Alexandere Almeida, Siler dropped Almeida early. The former UFC fighter pounced, and went for a guillotine. Almeida appeared, on replay, to go limp, at least partially. The ref stepped in, Siler had the win, but Almeida was immediately up and protesting.

Speaking to Siler post-fight, he recalled how the finish came. “I felt like I rocked him, saw him go on all fours. Saw that neck open. Probably should have punched him a little bit more, but I went for the choke,” he explained. “He started going limp, falling forward, ref stopped it. I wasn’t sure if he was out or not,” the featherweight admitted.

That’s certainly an honest take. Siler continued, adding that “right when I let go, I felt him kind of stiffen up, so I kind of knew he wasn’t out, but you can’t put me back in position. It just doesn’t work that way.” Fair enough. Once the call is made, the call is made. Siler has the win, whatever you think of the stoppage.

Speaking at the end of the night, PFL chief Ray Sefo said he felt Almeida was out. Though he did note that Alexandre had asked him about appealing the ruling, something that would have to be filed with the NYSAC.

In the meantime, Siler told us that he’d love to keep fighting at such a brisk pace (there was about six weeks between PFL 1, where he made his season debut, and PFL 4). “I love fighting quick turnarounds to tell you the truth.”

That said, Siler is going to enjoy some time with his family before he gets back to training. With two finishes in the regular season, it’s a break he’s certainly earned.

And did he ever, through his years in the UFC and after, think he’d be competing for a million bucks? “No actually I never thought a million dollars would even be possible,” he told us. “Now that it is, I’m going to take advantage of it.”

As for who might pose a challenge in the post-season, “they’re all threats,” Siler said. “All these guys are tough guys, that’s why they’re in the tournament. Because they’re all tough guys. If they even make the top eight, that just shows how good they are.”

“Whoever is in my way, I’ll hopefully knock them down,” he added, “and get back for the next round.”

Siler will be back for the post-season this fall. In the meantime, check out the full post-fight press interview with Steven Siler from PFL 4 above.

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