The surprising move comes after the Brazilian pair, who expressed their dissatisfaction with facing one another during the regular season ahead of the bout, competed in what amounted to a low-action sparring match on the PFL 6 preliminary card. Schulte would go on to pick up the win, and (temporarily, as it turns out) a playoff spot, but was seen in tears following the fight.

Schulte is the godfather of Raush Manfio’s daughter.

In a statement issued Saturday, league officials explained their decision, with grants Shane Burgos a playoff spot.

Last Night Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio did not meet the standards which all PFL fighters agree to uphold in competition.

All fighters in their PFL Fight Agreements agree to use their “best efforts … skills and abilities as a professional athlete to compete … and defeat any opponent.”

It was very clear that Natan and Raush did not meet that contractual standard in yesterday’s bout.

PFL immediately suspended both fighters from the season and deemed the fight to have 0 points for purposes of League standings.

PFL takes this action in recognition of its responsibility to all PFL fighters and all PFL fans.

In an interview with Cageside Press ahead of the fight, Manfio called the booking a “terrible situation” and a “bad surprise.” The matchmaking was quickly criticized by fight fans who questioned the need to pair the two up during the regular season, which unlike the post-season isn’t booked via seeding.

Burgos, meanwhile, jumps into the playoffs after earning three points in his first win under the PFL banner. The former UFC featherweight, now competing in the lightweight division, won a unanimous decision against Yamato Nishikawa.

The post PFL Suspends Raush Manfio and Natan Schulte After Low-Action Fight, Burgos Granted Playoff Spot appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ray, a finalist last year, put up a tough fight, and while his style didn’t take Brazil’s Schulte by surprise, the Scottish fighter’s toughness might have.

“He’s a great fighter, he’s a very good fighter. I’m not surprised about his style, but he’s really tough, you know?” Schulte (24-5-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “I was trying to finish this fight every time. But yeah, the decision is— I won this fight. I’m happy.”

Earlier in the night, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, last year’s lightweight champ, selected Schulte as the next biggest danger in the weight class besides himself. “For sure. I fought against him last season, and the decision was split,” Natan Schulte noted. “I’m happy to be here.”

Schulte won it all in 2018 and 2019, the first two years the Professional Fighters League hosted the season format. But after 2020 was cancelled due to COVID, Schulte stumbled in 2021 and 2022.

Moving forward, “my focus now is, go to the playoffs. The last two seasons, I cannot go into the playoffs, but this season, I made a wish,” Schulte revealed. “To win this next fight, it doesn’t matter. The first or second round. I want to finish, and go to the playoffs, go to the championship.”

Asked whether he had changed anything between seasons, “yes, I [spoke] to my coach [about] putting a lot of pressure on,” Schulte replied. “And I put a lot of pressure on in the first round. Between the first and second rounds, I was a little tired, but I did my best. I can fight more, two, three, four rounds.”

That wasn’t the only modification made between seasons. “I changed something about cutting my weight. I was cutting weight very well; one day before, checked the weight on the scale, and today I was really, really good.”

Watch the full 2023 PFL 3 post-fight media scrum with Natan Schulte above.

The post 2023 PFL 3: Natan Schulte Focused on Returning to Playoffs appeared first on Cageside Press.

Things didn’t go as planned for Schulte (23-5-1) last season, but he’s taking that all in stride.

“The last season was good, no? I lost the first fight against Olivier [Aubin-Mercier], split decision. I think I won that fight, but this is in the past,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s media day in Las Vegas. “Now I just, my focus is just for this season. But the last season was good.”

The PFL’s season format offers a structure like no other; champions start back in the mix the following season, earning their way to another title shot.

“If you were the champ, you’re not champion, but you need to defend your title. Because you’re the last champion,” observed Schulte. Yet despite needing to defend the title in a sense — simply to win your way back to a shot at the finals — “It doesn’t matter, this is a normal fight. This is a little bit tough, you know?”

Despite the difficulty in starting over each yeah season in the PFL, Schulte is  a fan of the format. “I like it, I like it. Because this is not about the trash talk, you talk a lot, you go to the title. This is great, because you can just fight, not say nothing, and go to the championship.”

All that being said, Schulte told Cageside Press on Wednesday that he does indeed miss being champ, and the championship fights.

“Yes. I acclimated to fighting five rounds. I’m better in five rounds. It’s a little bit sad for me, I was sad last season because I was fighting in the final, but not for the title. But this year I can change it.”

Watch the full 2023 PFL 3 media day appearance by Natan Schulte above. The event takes place on Friday, April 14, 2023 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The post PFL 3 2023: Natan Schulte Still Fan of PFL Format, Because It’s “Not About the Trash Talk” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Stephens, having fought a who’s who of UFC veterans and contenders during his lengthy stint with the company, was no stranger to stiff competition mind you. Schulte, meanwhile, looked to claim another impressive scalp, after winning both the 2018 and 2019 PFL seasons at lightweight.

While Stephens had predicted a banger ahead of Friday’s card in New York City, it was Schulte, after an early high kick attempt, taking the fight to the ground. Stephens, on his back, was dry and in a bad spot; Schulte worked to secure an arm-triangle choke, stepping across Stephens but remaining in half-guard.

While possible to finish from that spot, the choke was at risk of burning Schulte’s arms out, and “Lil Heathen” Stephens managed to free himself just ever so slightly — breathing room, just barely, but soon, Schulte had the back. Stephens covered up as Schulte landed punches to the side of the head; Schulte rolled Stephens back over, then transitioned to the back once again.

This time, Schulte got both hooks in, and got under the chin, wrenching the rear-naked choke tight. Stephens managed to survive, and this time escaped back to his feet, landing right hand after right hand as Schulte backed up. They clinched up, Stephens landed a knee, and the bell rang sounding an end to a one-sided opening five minutes — though the momentum appeared to be shifting.

That shift was stopped in its tracks in the early seconds of round two. Again, Schulte landed an early takedown, a clear signal that he did not want to risk standing and banging with the hard-hitting Stephens. Instead, he continued to control his opponent on the ground, again locked up an arm-triangle choke.

This time around, there was no mistake, with Stephens quickly tapping — giving Natan Schulte his second straight win over a UFC veteran, following a June win against Marcin Held.

Natan Schulte gets the job done in the 2nd round!

[#PFLWorldChampionship | BUY NOW https://t.co/9tors6rrKk | TONIGHT | 8pm ET | ESPN+ PPV] pic.twitter.com/HdpMgCZEju

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 26, 2022

Official Result: Natan Schulte def. Jeremy Stephens by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 1:32

The post Natan Schulte Dominant on Ground, Subs Jeremy Stephens on PFL 2022 World Championship Prelims appeared first on Cageside Press.

Held had defeated Schulte last season, with the fight going the distance. It went the distance again on Friday at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, only this time, it was Schulte getting the nod from the judges.

“After this fight, I was a little nervous, because it’s a rematch. But I listened to my coach, and I won this fight by the grace of God,” Schulte (22-5-1), a former PFL lightweight champion, told Cageside Press following the bout. All three judges score the fight for the Brazilian, who hunted the finish throughout.

“This is very good for me, because the first fight against Marcin, I started a little lazy, you know? And I lost the first round. But this fight, I started very crazy. The first round, I wanted to TKO this guy all the time, my kicks, my cross hook— I tried to TKO him, but it is what it is.”

The Marcin Held he fought this time around, said Schulte, “was the same, but I was different. In this fight, I was very hungry, very excited to try my striking. I put a lot of combinations, my kicks [were] better, and I started [early], I started very fast. I was with my coach before the fight, saying ‘hey, start this fight quick. In the first second, go and try to KO him.'”

While Schulte got the win, it’s a moral victory more than anything. He’s left out of the post-season, with just three points overall after two fights in 2022.

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Natan Schulte above. More coverage can be found below.

The post Natan Schulte Says He Was Different, Opponent Marcin Held the Same in PFL 4 Rematch appeared first on Cageside Press.

Atop the card, lightweights were again in the spotlight with Clay Collard getting his second straight main event, this time against Alex Martinez. Collard entered the night off a Fight of the Year candidate against Jeremy Stephens — but despite that valiant effort, the decision win still only pocketed Collard three points towards the post-season.

Stephens, for his part, was also on the card on Friday, though he’d had to shave his head and beard just to make weight (and even then was accused of some scale shenanigans).

Aside from lightweight action (minus Anthony Pettis, who is set to face Stevie Ray later this month), it was light heavyweights also in action on Friday. Antonio Calos Junior, the 2021 PFL champ at 205 pounds, was up against Bruce Souto in the co-main event.

PFL 4 gets underway at 7PM ET on Friday, June 17, 2022 live at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, GA. Full results can be found below.

PFL 4: Collard vs. Martinez Results

Main card

Alexander Martinez def. Clay Collard by split decision (29-28, 28-98, 29-28)
Antônio Carlos Júnior def. Bruce Souto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Raush Manfio by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Jeremy Stephens def. Myles Price by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Preliminary card

Omari Akhmedov def. Teodoras Aukštuolis by submission (arm triangle) Round 2, 2:50
Natan Schulte def. Marcin Held by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Delan Monte def. Emiliano Sordi by TKO (punches) Round 1, 1:32
Rob Wilkinson def. Viktor Pešta by knockout (punches) Round 1, 3:03
Josh Silveira def. Marthin Hamlet by knockout (knee) Round 1, 3:27
Nate Jennerman def. Jake Childers by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:00

The post PFL 4 2022: Collard vs. Martinez Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Schulte (21-5-1) dropped a split decision in his first fight of the year, against Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier. That’s left the Brazilian on the outside looking in under the Professional Fighters League’s points-based system.

He was no fan of the decision back in Texas, not surprisingly.

“In my opinion, I won this fight against Olivier, because I won, in my opinion, the second and third round. But the judges, that commission is a little bit crazy,” Schulte told Cageside Press during Wednesday’s PFL 4 media day. “I don’t know what happened, but in my opinion— I talked to all the coaches, not just my team but another coach. And I [asked] ‘what’s your opinion about this fight,’ and maybe all the coaches, the fighters told me ‘no, you won the fight.’ But it is what it is.”

The lesson learned, he added, is that “I need to finish. Try to finish a little bit more fast. Since the start, the first minute in the first round.” It’s not easy, Schulte admitted. Sometimes, fights just go to the judges.

For his second fight of the season, with a spot in the playoffs on the line, Schulte is facing Marcin Held. The pair also fought last year, with Held winning a unanimous decision.

“I’ve trained with him in American Top Team, and fought with him. In this second fight, I want to start a little bit more fast. Not [be] lazy, because sometimes I start to [get] lazy in the first, second, third minute in the first round,” Schulte explained. “But in this fight, I’m going to try to finish this fight before the end, and go to the playoffs.”

Noting the fight week is “very hard for all the fighters,” with everyone cutting weight, Schulte told us that he’s become accustomed to the process. The set schedule of the PFL helps with that. “Fighting in PFL, [you get] the first fight, after [comes] the second fight one month and a half, two months [out]. I control my weight,” he stated. “This is the hard part for the fighters, cutting the weight. After cutting the weight, check the scale, that’s it. Just fight.”

Last weekend, one of Schulte’s teammates at American Top Team, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, announced her retirement. Schulte offered his support to the retiring “Joanna Champion.”

“I’m happy about her career, because she’s very strong. I have the same coach,” he said. “I [told] her ‘congratulations, you’re amazing, an amazing fighter.’ I’m very happy for her career.”

Watch the full PFL 4 2022 media day appearance from Natan Schulte above.

The post For Natan Schulte, There’s No More Being “Lazy” — He Plans to Pursue Finish Early at PFL 4 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The lightweight bout in Arlington, Texas found Schulte looking to start on a path back to gold, after coming up short last year for the first time in his three years with the promotion.

It was the “Canadian Gangster” finding success early, however, first with a body kick, followed up by a knee. That would be a sign of things to come. Schulte appeared hurt, but would weather a brief storm up against the fence. Aubin-Mercier would go back to that body kick again moments later, but the action was halted when a finger grazed the eye of Schulte.

A “hard warning” later, and they were back underway. Schulte continued to press forward, but he ate another hard body kick later in the round. Aubin-Mercier would add a leg kick; Schulte would fire a wild right hand, but a short left would connect. Schulte pressed in the final ten seconds, but the round arguably belonged to “OAM.”

Aubin-Mercier targeted the body again in the second, this time with a jab rather than a kick. He’d rip the body with a hook moments later, keeping his opponent guessing when a low kick followed. Schulte, as in the first, was not deterred, continually moving forward. It was the Canadian, however, who was firing first, throwing short combos. He’d add a jumping knee just past the midway mark, go back to a low kick, then find a home for his left.

While the second was a closer round, it was one that still seemed to favor the Canadian.

A third round would be required to sort out Schulte vs. Aubin-Mercier on Wednesday. It was, arguably, Schulte’s best round. He was just a little more aggressive, a little more persistent in pressing the attack. Where Aubin-Mercier had shown plenty of lateral movement in rounds one and two, in the third, he was outright retreating at times — and slowing. With just under two minutes remaining, Aubin-Mercier changed levels for a takedown, but couldn’t land it. Schulte would then initiate a clinch up against the fence, pinning his opponent.

Just as a third round was necessitated to determine a winner, the judges were as well. After a close three rounds, two of those judges sided with Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who picked up the win over a two-time champ — and earned three points towards the playoffs.

Official Result: Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Natan Schulte by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

The post PFL 1 2022: Olivier Aubin-Mercier Gets by Ex-Champ Schulte in Close Split Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

Topping the show, the debut of longtime UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens. “Lil Heathen” was matched up with another 155lb’er with a fan-friendly style in Clay Collard. Aside from that explosive main event, last year’s champ, Raush Manfio, was facing off with another UFC alum, Don Madge, who had made his promotional debut last year outside of the season format. Light heavyweight champ Antonio Carlos Junior was paired up with Delan Monte, and 2018/2019 lightweight champ Natan Schulte was due to throw down with Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

The PFL 1 card goes down live on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at the ESports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event airs live on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S., and via TSN in Canada. Full results are available below.

PFL 1 2022: Collard vs. Stephens Results

Main Card

Clay Collard def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)
Raush Manfio def. Don Madge via knockout (punches) Round 3, 2:42
Antonio Carlos Jr. def. Delan Monte via submission (D’Arce choke) Round 1, 0:29
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Natan Schulte via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)

Preliminary Card 

Cory Hendricks def. Emiliano Sordi via TKO (punches) Round 2, 2:13
Alexander Martinez def. Stevie Ray via unanimous decision  (30-27, 29×28, 30-27)
Marthin Hamlet def. Teodoras Aukstuolis via unanimous decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)
Omari Akhmedov def. Viktor Pesta via KO (punch) Round 1, 1:25
Robert Wilkinson def. Bruce Souto via TKO (punches) Round 2, 0:46
Simeon Powell def. Clinton Williams via knockout (knee) Round 3, 4:38

The post PFL 1 2022: Collard vs. Stephens Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

A two-time Professional Fighters League champion in the lightweight division, in 2018 and 2019, Schulte was left out of the playoffs last year. The Brazilian lightweight went 1-1, with the win coming via split decision — meaning he didn’t have enough points to make the post-season.

“Last year was a little bad for me, but the same moment, I was happy, because I was champ. A lot of stuff in my life, my daughter was born in the last year,” Schulte (21-4-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press during the PFL 1 media day on Monday. “But this year I’m ready for fighting in the PFL again, to be a champion.”

It’s a fresh start in 2022, with the lightweights kicking off their season at PFL 1 this Wednesday. But asked about what went wrong last year, Schulte said simply that “I didn’t fight very well. Not 100%. Not like 2018, 2019. But this year, I’m very angry, for fighting. Like a shark on the ground. [I’m going to] finish my opponents.”

First up, Canada’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier. “Olivier is a great opponent, he’s very tough, but in my opinion, I can finish this fight,” Schulte stated.

In comparison to last year, he later added that “I improved my skills, and I’m a better fighter. My last fight was one year ago.” Since then, that anger the former champ spoke of repeatedly has Schulte ready to step back in the cage, “and finish somebody.”

Natan Schulte takes on Olivier Aubin-Mercier as part of this year’s PFL 1 card, going down Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The post PFL 1 2022: Natan Schulte Ready “To Be A Champion” Again appeared first on Cageside Press.