“The Canadian Gangster,” or simply OAM, missed the playoffs last year, after being forced out of his first fight due to injury. He won his second bout of the season, but it wasn’t enough to break into the playoffs.

Fast forward to 2022, and Aubin-Mercier (15-5) has now won four straight fights, and has plenty of confidence after beating two PFL champs this season.

“I really think that I’m the favorite right now,” OAM said following the win on Friday, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “I think I was the favorite in the beginning.”

That said, Aubin-Mercier knows his performance in Atlanta wasn’t his best. “It’s a weird feeling, because I think it was not my most exciting performance, but it was my easiest fight I think. It was good, and I do think Manfio knew he was doing the tournament anyway, so he didn’t take any risk to get hurt for next month,” he told Cageside Press. “So I really have a feeling that he didn’t really commit, and I mean, I won’t take any chances — there’s a million bucks at the end of the freaking tournament, so I won’t take a chance, I’m just going to beat him the easiest way. And it was the easiest way just to make a lot of feints, just touch him a little bit.”

Aubin-Mercier did admit that Manfio hurt him with a kick towards the end of the fight, but other than that, “I think he didn’t touch my face once. I think I hurt him in the body maybe once or twice, and I was landing some pretty good kicks to the legs too. Not the most exciting performance, but probably one of the good ones that I’ve had.”

But as for the performance not being his most exciting? Later, OAM said simply, “I’m 33 years old. I don’t care.”

Aubin-Mercier now moves on to the semi-finals, where he’ll meet Alex Martinez.

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Olivier Aubin-Mercier above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post PFL 4: Having Beat Two Champs, Olivier Aubin-Mercier Believes He’s the Lightweight Favorite 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.

Collard was up against Alex Martinez, and the split decision loss knocked him out of the post season.

“I thought Clay did enough in the first two rounds to win that fight. The second round could have gone either way I think,” Sefo told Cageside Press following the event at the Overtime Elite Arena. “In my opinion, Clay was winning that round, dropped him with a minute and a half, but then Alex was able to reverse him when they were on the ground. And then honestly, I thought they were done. I don’t know how Clay survived that, because that choke looked deep, and so I thought it was done. But Clay ended up weathering the storm and fought through it.”

“The fight was that close, it could have gone either way. But I thought Clay did enough to win the fight; that being said, it was a close fight anyway.”

One noticeable absence at PFL 4 was Cory Hendricks, who stepped up earlier in the season and secured five points with a win over former light heavyweight champ Emiliano Sordi. Despite being in contention for the post-season, he didn’t even get a fight on Friday.

That, Sefo said, was because things with Viktor Pesta came down to the wire. The promotion initially thought Pesta was out, until a phone call from the commission advised that if the former UFC heavyweight got his paperwork in, he’d be cleared to fight.

As a tournament alternate, that left Hendricks as the odd man out.

“That’s the tough part about being an alternate for the season, is that he was able to come in here, win a fight, and then he was off again because Pesta was cleared. And it could have been anybody in the light heavyweight division, but it’s unfortunate that he’s in that spot,” explained Sefo. “But that’s the spot, he knew from day one that he was the alternate for the season, and whatever happens, happens.”

“That’s the luck of the draw I guess,” Sefo later added.

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

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On Friday, “Razor” knocked out Viktor Pesta to advance into the playoffs. Since Wilkinson made a move to Factory X in Englewood, Colorado, he has finished first in the 2022 PFL light heavyweight regular season with 11 points, and is the top seed going into the playoffs starting in August.

He explained the decision to go to the top MMA gym following his latest victory.

“For one, with traveling back and forth from Australia every, you know, five to seven weeks, it’s a lot of travel in that short time especially getting over jet lag,” Wilkinson told Cageside Press in his PFL 4 post-fight interview. “[Second reason] is everything with COVID and stuff going on. It’s cleared up a little bit now, but I didn’t want to get stuck somewhere and not be able to fight because of that. And then I got recommended the gym by friend Richard Welsh, and I talked to Marc [Montoya] and thought it would be a good fit as well. I love my gym back home, but I don’t have anyone that’s my size, really anyone on my level. You know, it’s a much smaller gym. So, I kind of wanted to go to a gym where I also get some good work with some high-level guys.”

If it is big guys that Wilkinson is looking for, Factory X has them. Anthony Smith, Josh Fremd, and Dustin Jacoby are just a few of the bigger fighters at the acclaimed gym.

“So I’ve been there for seven or eight weeks now training with some really high-level guys like Dustin Jacoby and Cody [Brundage] and everyone there, so some really good USA guys. “It’s good to be able to work with those guys,” Wilkinson said.

With two first-round knockouts in the PFL and riding a four-fight win streak with two more first-round knockouts, the Australian believes all of the fans who remember his UFC run should be impressed by the improvements he has made.

“It does [feel good]. The two fights in the UFC weren’t my best fights, and I definitely have improved a lot since then. So it’s good to be able to show the world how good I really am and what I’m capable of,” Wilkinson said.

Watch the rest of Rob Wilkinson’s PFL 4 post-fight interview above.

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“Shoeface” has cemented his place in the post-season for the second year in a row by defeating fellow Brazilian Bruce Souto in the co-main event of PFL 4. The 2021 PFL champion clinched the third seed with nine points.

Carlos Junior (15-5, 2NC) will return to action on August 5 in New York, but he faces his teammate and very close friend Omari Akmedov, who clinched the No. 2 seed. Naturally, the Brazilian is not happy to be facing his teammate.

“Man, I can’t tell you that I’m feeling good about [fighting Akmedov]. You know, to be honest, Omari is a really great friend. We are great training partners, you know, we always train together. He helped me out a lot for the championship. So I’m not going to feel good,” Carlos Junior told Cageside Press during his PFL 4 post-fight interview. “Like, in the past, I fought some friends in jujitsu and stuff, but MMA is a little bit different. You have to hit your friend, it is kind of weird, but, you know, we are professionals. We’re gonna do what we’re gonna do.”

With Carlos Junior and Akmedov both training at American Top Team in Florida, one would think they might have to split the camp up so they both have time to train, but the Brazilian says it won’t have to be that way.

“Omari is a really respectful guy. We’re not gonna do anything like, ‘oh, we got to split, or I got to train at one time, you’re gonna train another time.’ You just got to respect between spaces,” Carlos Junior said. “I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable with me. You know? And I’m pretty sure it’s not going to feel that way. Me too; I’m not going to feel uncomfortable with him. He knows all of my game. You know, we all trained together for a very long time. I got nothing to hide from him. So, for sure, it is gonna be hard to fight a friend. But, you know, we got to do this.”

Watch the rest of Antonio Carlos Junior’s PFL 4 post-fight interview above.

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After being finished in his first fight by reigning champ Antonio Carlos Junior, Monte scored a blistering knockout of another champ, Emiliano Sordi, at PFL 4 on Friday to lock up a playoff spot. As always, a million dollars awaits the champion at the end of the season.

Monte (9-2) believes he’s just getting started.

“I still have a lot to show, I still have a lot to learn. I’m 28-years old, I’m only getting better. And PFL is giving me the opportunity to show all of that,” Monte said, speaking via translator following the fight at the Overtime Elite Arena. “Tonight was awesome, I was happy to fight. Spinning my arms around, heavy hands all over the place, it was great.”

Following the fight, Monte told Cageside Press that he was “super happy. Happy to be able to come out here and show my knockout power. Props to Antonio in the last fight, he was quick to it, but I’m happy I was able to come out here and show what I’m able to do.”

What you saw Friday is typical of the way Monte likes to fight, he added. “Whatever way it is, I love to stand and bang, I love to brawl. If I have to take him down, I take him down, but I’m always gunning for the finish. My next fight will be the same way.”

Now, “God willing,” Monte added, he’s going to be “taking this million dollars back home to my family, to Paraíba, to Brazil, to change the lives of many people.”

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Delan Monte above.

The post PFL 4: Delan Monte Wants to Take Million Dollars Back to Brazil, “Change the Live of Many People” appeared first on Cageside Press.

It was no easy task, with Martinez (10-2, 1NC) picking up a split decision win to lock up a playoff spot.

After the victory, Martinez said he was confident he’d done enough to get the victory.

“I’m very picky with myself. I’m happy that I got the victory, thank God for that. I know I won; it was a close fight, don’t get me wrong, and yes he did drop me once there, but I thought I won,” Martinez told Cageside Press following the fight at the Overtime Elite Arena. “I was close to finishing him too, just like he was close to finishing me— well not really, because I knew I wasn’t going to give up, but I almost had him.”

“I guess it’s just part of fighting,” Martinez continued. “I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t finish it, but at the same time, at this level, it’s not easy. He’s a dog, he hasn’t been finished in a while, he beat big names, and man, we pulled it though, so we’re here now.”

If the post-season were to start tomorrow, Martinez would be facing the #2 seed in the lightweight division. That’s not set in stone just yet, however, as Anthony Pettis, ranked first overall, will fight Stevie Ray later this month.

“Right now it looks like I’m fighting my friend, Olivier-Aubin Mercier, which is always something that I wouldn’t enjoy,” Martinez said when asked about his next fight. “I’d probably like to fight him in the finals. Hopefully we see Stevie Ray, Stevie Ray gets to pull through and bumps me out so I don’t fight my friend Olivier.”

For that to happen, Ray would need a finish of Pettis and six points. Raush Manfio would then be dropped from the post-season.

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Alex Martinez above.

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Maybe it wasn’t the performance he wanted, or enough to land him in the league’s post-season. But the win against Myles Price snapped a lengthy losing streak for “Lil Heathen,” who was both critical of his performance, but clearly elated to be back to winning.

“It feels f*cking good, bro,” Stephens (29-20, 1NC) told Cageside Press following the fight. “It’s been four long, long years my man.”

While the bout ended in a split decision, Stephens was confident he’d done enough to secure the win Friday in Atlanta. “I felt I won the first two rounds,” Stephens said. “Last one, didn’t stick to the game plan, gave up a takedown. His top pressure’s pretty good, he was trying to do everything he could to lay on me and crotch-sniff so, it is what it is.”

Stephens, sporting a freshly shaved head he insisted was due to a new sponsor and not his weight cut, recognizes there are areas he can improve in. The PFL’s schedule should play into that — despite not making the playoffs, there’s little doubt the league will have him back at some point later in the year, likely in a featured, non-tournament fight.

“I got a few things to work on. I’m back in the win column, that’s all I need. I love the consistency here with PFL, the back-to-back,” exclaimed Stephens. “I didn’t get that type of fight with Clay Collard, so just back to the drawing board. I get to come back here in two months. My legs are good, I’m healthy, I could fight against tonight like I said. Going forward I’ve got a lot to work on, and you’re going to see me keep climbing this f*cking mountain, for sure.”

In terms of rating his performance, Stephens put it middle of the road. “I’m critical about myself, I feel like that was like a five,” he told us. “It was kind of half-there, half off, I did some good things, and there’s some things I need to work on to open up the game. I was feeling really aerodynamic with the hair and everything, I was just letting things fly. It is what it is, weird night.”

As to any particular names on the PFL roster he’d like to fight down the line, Stephens is open to anyone. “Just call me the can man, bro. Anybody can get it. An American, a Brazilian, a Dominican, call me the can man.”

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight press scrum with Jeremy Stephens above.

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Silveira, who improved to 9-0 with a TKO stoppage of Marthin Hamlet, set up the finish care of a head kick — then threw everything and the kitchen sink at the Norwegian to seal the deal.

A dazzed Hamlet hung in for a while, eating a second head kick, knees, and punches before finally going down. Amazingly, Silveira had actually predicted the finish.

“I guess we kind of do speak things into existence once in a while,” Silveira said following the victory, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press.

The win was a big one for several reasons: the ATT fighter had been forced out of his season debut, and needed an early stoppage to have any hope of making the PFL’s post-season.

“I hurt myself in the last camp, so it was two camps in one. I was itching to get in there, man. I was itching,” he stated back stage at the Overtime Elite Arena. “They could have put anybody in front of me, to be honest. I love this, before I went out there I told my dad, I said ‘I really love this, because there’s nothing else I’d rather do and nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

6 POINT FINISH!!!! @jmdasilv GOES STRAIGHT INTO THE TOP 4 OF THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT STANDINGS!#2022PFL4 LIVE on ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/WfOt9XjEaK pic.twitter.com/Pm34lyZf0m

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2022

As for who he wants next, Silveira didn’t have a preference — mainly because he could be fighting some familiar faces in the tournament format.

“To be honest, I have teammates in here, so obviously I don’t want to run into them. But like I tell everybody, if we fight each other, that’s the easy part for us. We’re teammates, let’s make some money together, let’s go have some fun. Obviously — I don’t have an opinion, man. I’m here, I needed to get that quick six [points], hopefully that will push me into the playoffs, and let’s go make that million.”

Silveira was, when the dust settled, unfortunately left outside the playoffs looking in, one spot out of the post-season. But after the victory, he was definitely on a high.

“Bunch of emotions running through me right now. Obviously never get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. Try to stay in the middle. Right now I’m in the highs, it’s so hard to get back in the lows right now. But after I digest this, we’ll move on from there. I’m embracing this moment right now, it’s nice.”

“I love how that played out. Seeing my dad’s face, it’s nice,” he added.

Playoffs or not, Silveira certainly made an impression in his debut season. And with his finish of the hulking Hamlet.

“He is a big boy, but you know, a fight’s a fight. When you get kicked in the head, you get kicked in the head, no matter how big you are,” observed Silveira. “I tip my hat off to him too, he came all the way from Norway and stuff. So thank you Marthin.”

Watch the full PFL 4 post-fight media appearance by Josh Silveira above.

The post PFL 4’s Josh Silveira on Love of Fighting: “Nowhere Else I’d Rather Be Right Now” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Shoeface” was paired up with Bruce Souto, a fight in which Carlos Junior was the heavy favorite.

Souto put up a good fight, but ultimately, the match-up turned out as expected.

Right off the opening bell, Souto let his intentions be known, firing multiple leg kicks at the champ. Carlos Junior would eventually take the fight to the ground, though he could not keep Souto there. Instead, they’d get back to the feet, with Carlos Junior in the driver’s seat, pressing his opponent into the fence while looking for a takedown.

A very interested onlooker for the fight, Delan Monte, was thrilled to see it go past two minutes, as that allowed him to secure a spot in the PFL 2022 post-season. It also eliminated Souto from contention, win or lose.

In the meantime, Souto was still carrying the weight of Carlos Junior, who eventually isolated a leg and essentially swung his opponent to the mat. Souto was right back up once again, and finally found some separation, with the pair moving back to center.

In the second, Souto again started things off by chewing up the leg out Antonio Carlos Junior. With the playoffs out of reach, Souto was fighting for pride more than anything else. He flashed some stance switches, and continued to work over the champ’s lead leg. But he was never close to finishing ACJ, nor was he able to do enough to get ahead on the scorecards. Carlos Junior would drag his opponent to the ground in the final two minutes, taking the back — though he couldn’t find the finish.

.@caradesapatojr chasing the finish!#2022PFL4 LIVE on ESPN & ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/WfOt9XjEaK pic.twitter.com/aVWJjvNhHq

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 18, 2022

The third round saw more of the same, in a fight that was relatively close. They’d go to the final bell, with Carlos Junior claiming a unanimous decision win.

Antonio Carlos Junior will go on to face fellow UFC ex-pat and ATT teammate Omari Akhmedov in the semifinal round. From there, he’ll have the chance to move on to the million dollar final, with the possibility of repeating as champion.

Official Result: Antonio Carlos Junior def. Bruce Souto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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