“Magic” Marlon Moraes was a former WSOF champ and UFC title challenger, making him the biggest name Loughnane had faced to date.

There was plenty of feeling out in the opening half of Loughnane vs. Moraes, though Loughnane had one clear edge: he was chopping away at the lead leg of Moraes, each blow landing with authority. Before long — right around the midway point of the round, in fact — Moraes had changed stances. An accidental head clash then paused the action momentarily, but they almost immediately resumed fighting.

Moraes, however, was struggling to get his offense going until an uppercut landed for the Brazilian with just over a minute left in the round. Moraes would add a high kick, but Loughnane, the much taller, longer fighter, wobbled him with a punch — and dropped him with a leg kick a moment later. Loughnane got on top for a moment, then chose for force Moraes to stand instead. That led to a desperation takedown attempt by Moraes, as both of his legs had been chewed up.

While the doctor gave him a once-over between rounds, Moraes was back for more in the second. He came out swinging, chasing Loughnane around the cage. Loughnane was under fire for less than a minute before landing another leg kick, but Moraes took that one well. Next next leg kick to connect would not end so well for Marlon Moraes, however — it took him off his feet, forcing the ref to wave things off. Loughnane had the win, care of a leg kick TKO!

That. Does. IT. Brendan Loughnane chops down Marlon Moraes for the Finish!#2023PFL1 LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN & ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/ZzHMQomvKw

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 2, 2023

With the second-round stoppage, Loughnane collects five points towards the 2023 post-season.

Official Result: Brendan Loughnane def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (leg kick), Round 2, 1:11

The post PFL 1 2023: Brendan Loughnane Unleashes Devastating Leg Kicks Against Marlon Moraes appeared first on Cageside Press.

Santos had struggled towards the end of his UFC run, picking up just a single win since his fight with Jon Jones in 2019 — a fight that left Santos requiring reconstructive surgery on both knees.

Early on, Santos was backed up by a Wilkinson jab; the champion also found success with a couple of left hooks in the early going. Inside of two minutes, the Australian was also able to take Santos down, trapping him against the fence. While Brazil’s Santos eventually made his way back up, Wilkinson soon had him down once again; as “Marreta” worked up against the fence, Wilkinson fired knees to the thigh.

Again, when Santos escaped up, he was dragged back down, with Wilkinson utilizing a body lock. Santos was warned by the ref for a fence grab, but it really didn’t matter — Wilkinson trapped him at center, taking the back, then transitioned to the top in mount, though Santos would get half-guard back.

Rob Wilkinson showing off his grappling skills in the 1st round!#2023PFL1 LIVE NOW
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🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/47Q8pK0KWD

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 2, 2023

Wilkinson would pursue the takedown inside of a minute in round two, though Santos would stay standing. He could not keep upright the entire round, however, and Wilkinson’s wrestling and takedown abilities were quickly becoming the story of the fight. When Santos wasn’t on the ground, he was far too often up against the fence, eating knees.

Once again in the third, it was Rob Wilkinson in control. Santos did a better job in terms of takedown defense in round three, but it was Wilkinson landing a stiff jab and changing levels with just over ninety seconds left in the fight. Santos answered with a knee, but that failed to phase the Australian, who was cruising to a decision win unless Santos was able to create space and unleash his power. Santos would fire a kick that missed, then looked for a flying knee that wasn’t there. Wilkinson found time to land one more takedown, and when Santos got back up, he landed a single haymaker — but it was too little, too late.

Official Result: Rob Wilkinson def. Thiago Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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With returning featherweight champ Brendan Loughnane topping the marquee against Marlon Moraes, and another debuting UFC vet in Thiago Santos, who was taking on defending light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson, the 2023 PFL season had a big feel to it.

Plenty of familiar names were also back in the hunt for a world title and one million dollars in prize money— including featherweight rivals Bubba Jenkins and Chris Wade, set to face off for a second time with Long Island’s Wade up 1-0.

PFL 1 goes down Saturday, April 1, 2023 airing in ESPN (main card) and ESPN+ (prelims). The action gets underway at 6PM ET, full results can be found below.

PFL 1 2023: Loughnane vs. Moraes Results

Main Card

Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (leg kick), Round 2, 1:11
Light Heavyweight: Rob Wilkinson def. Thiago Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight: Will Fleury def. Krzysztof Jotko by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev def. Ryoji Kudo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Bubba Jenkins  def. Chris Wade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight: Marthin Hamlet def. Mohammad Fakhreddine by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:05
Light Heavyweight: Josh Silveira def. Sam Kei by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:46
Featherweight: Alejandro Flores def. Daniel Torres by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Gabriel Braga def. Jesus Pinedo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight: Ty Flores def. Delan Monte by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Impa Kasaganay def. Cory Hendricks by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

The post PFL 1 2023: Loughnane vs. Moraes Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

What feels like the most stacked season yet offered by the Professional Fighters League opens with names like Brendan Loughnane, last year’s featherweight champ, in action against Marlon Moraes, while Thiago Santos makes his debut against 2023 champ Rob Wilkinson.

Returning former champ Movlid Khaybulaev is also in action, against Japan’s Ryoji Kudo, while Chris Wade and Bubba Jenkins face off in a grudge match between two PFL veterans.

Former UFC middleweight Impa Kasanganay, who won his way into the league on the Challenger Series this year, makes his regular season debut against Cory Hendricks. Fellow UFC alum Krzysztof Jotko will be making his debut against Will Fleury.

Full results from Thursday’s PFL 1 2023 weigh-in can be found below. The event takes place Saturday, April 1, 2023 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, NV.

PFL 1 2023: Loughnane vs. Moraes Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Brendan Loughnane (146) vs. Marlon Moraes (145.4)
Rob Wilkinson (205.4) vs. Thiago Santos (206)
Krzysztof Jotko (205.4) vs. Will Fleury (205.6)
Movlid Khaybulaev (145.8) vs. Ryoji Kudo (146)
Chris Wade (145.6) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146)

Preliminary Card

Marthin Hamlet (205.6) vs. Mohammad Fakhreddine (205.6)
Joshua Silveira (202.8) vs. Sam Kei (206)
Alejandro Flores Garcia (145.4) vs. Daniel Torres(146)
Sung Bin Jo (146) vs. Jesus Pinedo (144.6)
Delan Monte (205.4) vs. Ty Flores (206)
Cory Hendricks (205) vs. Impa Kasanganay (205.4)

The post PFL 1 2023: Loughnane vs. Moraes Weigh-In Results — Full Card Makes Weight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Loughnane (26-4), who was infamously passed over by Dana White despite a win over the Contender Series, has turned into one of the PFL’s biggest stars, with an 11-1 record since 2017.

Becoming just the fifth two-time PFL champion is the goal, and Loughnane discussed what that will take during Thursday’s PFL 1 media day.

“Just have to put on another great season, just like the last one. If anything, to go off my last two fights, then we’re in for another great season, aren’t we?”

While many now see Loughnane as the man to beat, the man with the target on his back, there’s no change for the Brit, mentally or otherwise, ahead of this season. That’s because he’s always seen himself as the man to beat.

“No, definitely not. At the end of the day, you can say there’s a target, but when has there not been a target? We’re having a fistfight in a cage. You’re obviously the target,” Loughnane told Cageside Press. “A lot of people say ‘you’re the man to beat’ now, but I was always the man to beat in this organization. So there’s nothing changed around here.”

While the PFL’s 2023 regular season will once again play out between Las Vegas and Atlanta, Loughnane is hoping the promotion will return to the U.K., as they did in the playoffs last year.

“Yeah. I mean I keep putting it out there. Me and Movlid [Khaybulaev] final, Manchester Arena.”

Khaybulaev is the lone loss on Loughnane’s record since entering the PFL — so it’s clear he’s looking for revenge. First up is Moraes, however, a fight that goes down Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, NV.

Watch the full PFL 1 media day appearance by Brendan Loughnane above.

The post PFL 1’s Brendan Loughnane: “I Was Always the Man to Beat in This Organization” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Wilkinson had a stunning career turnaround during the PFL’s 2022 season, going to the final and winning the light heavyweight championship during his first year with the promotion. Now, he’s looking to repeat that success, while PFL 1 opponent Thiago Santos attempts to kick off the season with a big win of his own.

Wilkinson (17-2), a former UFC talent himself, doesn’t believe Santos will be able to find the same sort of success in the PFL.

“Unfortunately not. I think I’m going to happily send him into retirement,” Wilkinson told media outlets including Cageside Press during Thursday’s PFL 1 media day.

As for the impressive power “Marreta” possesses, Wilkinson isn’t overly concerned.

“He’s got power, but when did we see that power last? I don’t think he’s got a knockout for however many years. So yeah, I’m comfortable where ever the fight goes.”

Overall, Wilkinson believes like many opportunistic UFC athletes before him, Santos will struggle in his new home.

“We’ve seen time and time again, UFC fighters come over here thinking they’re going to be able to easily win a million dollars and win a world title, and it not go their way,” the light heavyweight champ stated. “I’m looking forward to being the PFL champ to do that to him.”

To many, Santos has not been the same since his fight with Jon Jones in 2019, that left the Brazilian needing surgery on both knees. Wilkinson sees that as well.

“I mean if you look at his fights since that Jones fight, he hasn’t finished anyone, he’s lost five of his last six I think. And obviously he’s getting on in his career age-wise. So it looks like it did change him, but it’s always difficult to come back from double-knee surgery,” Wilkinson noted.

At the same time, he knows that slump is bound to motivate Thiago Santos. “Yeah definitely. He’s fighting me who won the tournament last year, he’s looking to make a statement— come in and I’m sure he’s looking to get a finish over me and show he’s a top guy in the division,” Wilkinson added. “But I don’t believe that’s the case. I’m the champ, and I’m going to be the double champ this year.”

Whether it’s Santos or anyone else, Wilkinson knows he has a target on his back this year. That doesn’t change anything for the Australian, however.

“Not really. I know I’ve got a bit of a target on my back, but I think most of my fights last year, I was still the favorite going into them. I’m excited, I want people to know who I am and try to take me out. It doesn’t change anything, I’m still preparing, I’m still just as hungry and motivated as I was last year.”

Watch the full PFL 1 media day appearance by Rob Wilkinson above.

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As Jotko put it, he’s able to eat a bit of candy now, since his weight is basically on point with an easy cut ahead. How easy? He might just pass a little gas to hit 205lbs on Friday.

“My weight was, for our camp, 218, close to 220. But when I come here, I was like 215 pounds, so now for today, I have 208,” Jotko (24-6) told Cageside Press during Thursday’s PFL 1 media day. “So tomorrow, I fart and I have 205.”

We’re not sure that’s a proper weight cutting technique, but it’s good to hear Jotko has an easy cut ahead. Chances are, he’ll need to make another one about six weeks later. Such is the pace of the PFL season.

While that might be a bit of a quick turnaround for some, Jotko appears thrilled with the PFL schedule. “I really like the season. So you’re planning fights for a year. This for me, it’s very nice, because I can plan all my year for training, for the fight,” he explained. “So this is awesome.”

Jotko also knows that points are important, as are the finishes required to get them in the PFL format. He won’t be forcing anything against opponent Will Fleury, however.

“I will be looking for the finish, of course. Everybody wants six points, or five points,” Jotko acknowledged. “But I don’t put pressure for myself to win this fight fast, because you can’t control this. And I will do everything that my opponent lets me do.”

Watch the full PFL 1 2023 media day appearance by Krzysztof Jotko above.

The post PFL 1: Krzysztof Jotko Can Pretty Much Just Fart to Make Weight on Friday appeared first on Cageside Press.

That might have something to do with an out-of-the-cage altercation between the pair last year, that was mentioned off-hand by Wade during his own media day appearance. Asked to provide some insight into what transpired, Jenkins opened up to reveal that Wade had caught him in his birthday suit while the pair were prepping to face other opponents last year.

“I was weighing in butt-ass naked, I went to grab my drawers. While I was bent over, he came to ask me questions,” Jenkins revealed. “And as a man, with ass in the air, you just don’t ask another man a question.”

It seems Wade broke that rule, which was enough to draw a harsh reaction from Bubba Jenkins. “So I turned around, I slapped him and I realized that I was about to bully him, but he had a look on his face that said he didn’t want smoke. But my drawers were already down, so I felt vulnerable. That’s why I slapped him while he was getting prepared for Lance Palmer and I was getting ready for Kyle Bochniak. He came out the bathroom while I was on the scale butt-ass naked trying to talk to me. You just don’t do that.”

“I don’t care who you are, I’m not about to answer a question with my ass in the air,” Jenkins added. “So I slapped him. I just thought it was a b*tch move that he did, so I gave him a b*tch slap.”

Jenkins has lost only to Wade and last year’s champion, Brendan Loughnane, since arriving in the PFL. He knows he’s close, but it won’t be those losses that push him to the next level.

“I’ve been to the finals, I’ve smelled the victory. I just need to keep being me and improving in the places that I feel I need [to], that me and Dewey [coach] are working on,” Jenkins stated.

“It has nothing to do with Loughnane, it had nothing to do with Wade, it has everything to do with my mentality and who I am in the cage.”

Watch the full PFL 1 2023 media day appearance by Bubba Jenkins above.

The post PFL 1: Bubba Jenkins Recalls Altercation with Chris Wade While “Butt-Ass Naked” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Despite some recent setbacks, the former WSOF champion and UFC title challenger is upbeat about his first PFL regular season— and plans to put everything he has into his 2023 campaign.

That’s a far cry from the fighter who had announced his retirement early last year. As to what changed his mind, Moraes (23-11-1) gave Cageside Press some insight into that in a recent exclusive interview.

“Man, I was living a little rough time with the UFC. I wanted a fresh start, I wanted to get something new and the PFL just came in at the right time,” Moraes recalled. “Everything worked out perfect, and made me want to compete again, and made me [come] back to MMA. That’s most important, you have to be happy where you are, and I’m happy. And I can’t wait to keep competing. This is going to be my first season, and I’m very excited.”

Moraes was a dominant bantamweight champion in the World Series of Fighting, essentially the precurssor to the PFL. That appears to have factored in. “I had great times with them,” Moraes noted. Then came his UFC run, which had its highs, and lows. “I had a couple losses in a row, and I was living a rough time with the UFC and the opportunity came at the right time. I can’t wait to be back in the smart cage and show to all these people my work.”

The losses weren’t necessarily the only factor in what Moraes calls his “rough time” with the UFC, but they certainly exacerbated the situation.

“I just needed a little push. I just needed them to recognize me as a good fighter, and [give me] different treatment. But it is what it is, that’s what they want, that’s how they do business,” Moraes explained. “I was grateful for the opportunities, but at the end of the day, they want what’s good for them. At some point, I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to, I lost the fights, and that’s their decision, to keep giving me the toughest fights in the division. That’s what we do, when you’re in the UFC in the top 10.”

Other fighters, Moraes noted, “don’t get the same treatment. And I asked for so many fights, and so many fighters declined to fight me. But it is what it is, life goes, that’s all in the past, and I’m looking forward to my next challenge.”

The next challenge will come at featherweight, where Moraes made his PFL debut late last year. The fight didn’t go his way, but he remains confident in fighting at 145 — noting that even if the PFL offered a bantamweight division, he’d wasn’t sure if he’d join it.

“I dunno man. I feel great at 145— I said I dunno if I would go to 35. Because now I’m happy at 45. The training, I have so much more energy. But we never know. Maybe if they had the 35 [lb weight class], I could give it a try. But I’m happy, and I’m training hard with the guys in the 45lb division, and I feel great.”

Right out of the gate this season, “Magic” Marlon Moraes has been paired up with last year’s champion, Brendan Loughnane. It’s a fight the Brazilian most certainly sounds game for.

“Brendan’s a good fighter, complete fighter. Hard challenge. But this is why I’m here, why I’m competing, because I think I can beat anyone, and I have the tools,” Moraes stated. “He’s a guy that I look up to, the way he fights. I watch a lot of his fights, and I’m excited for this match-up, this challenge. This is going to be the best fight of the night, 100%.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that one of Moares’ former opponents, Jose Aldo, is set to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. While their fight came at bantamweight (with Moraes winning on the scorecards), “Magic” still feels Aldo is the greatest featherweight of all time — though he was sure to give Alexander Volkanovski his due.

“Right now, yes. I think he’s still the best featherweight of all time. I’m a guy that, I started fighting and I looked up to him,” explained Moraes. “Probably I was 15 or 16 and I went to one of his fights near my town, and I saw him fight in Mecca, Meca Vale Tudo. And I was amazed by his performance, by his striking.” Moraes saw Aldo grow, from the regional scene to the WEC and UFC, winning titles in both promotions. “In my opinion right now he’s still the best featherweight of all time. I look up to Volkanovski as well. When you mention the best of all time, we have to remember how good Volaknovski is and what he’s doing right now.”

Aldo is now pursuing a boxing career, something Moraes believes might be about the MMA legend challenging himself. And, he noted, sometimes it’s hard for a fighter to know when to walk away. Which brings up questions of his own career. Is this the last run of Marlon Moraes, or if all goes well this season, could we see him back in the PFL in 2024? Even Marlon Moraes himself isn’t sure of that answer.

“I don’t know man. I’m looking up to this season as the season I’m going to give everything I have. At the end of the year, we might see with my family. I don’t know if I have so many years left,” he admitted. “I’ve been giving everything I have to the sport, and I’m going to give everything I have in 2023, and at the end of the year, we’ll see what we’re going to do.”

Watch our full interview with PFL 1 featherweight Marlon Moraes above. Moraes faces Brendan Loughnane on April 1, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV.

The post PFL 1: Marlon Moraes Plans to Give All He’s Got in 2023 Season Following “Rough Time” in UFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I don’t have many years to do new things, different things,” Santos (22-11) told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview recently, asked about the change of scenery that has him moving from the UFC to PFL. “I saw the time to try new challenges, new goals. I’m very excited for that.”

Of course, a million dollars doesn’t hurt either. “Absolutely, it’s not bad for anyone,” admitted Santos.

Getting Wilkinson right out of the gate appears to be the perfect scenario for “Marreta,” which as most fight fans now know is Portuguese for “Sledgehammer.”

“I think it’s a great match-up. He’s a tough opponent. He’s a striker, aggressive, kind of my style. So it’s going to be very, very nice,” Santos said of the match-up. “He’s been doing a great job. He improved, he really improved so much. He became light heavyweight champion in the PFL, after he left UFC. So I think it’s going to be fireworks, it’s going to be a great fight. I’m excited for that. I respect him, but I’m going to get the win.”

The rigors of the PFL season will change things just a little for Thiago Santos as he enters his first year with the league. “Yeah absolutely. Absolutely, I started taking care more about my body since I get old. I’m not young, like 20s. I’m 39 now, I’m not that same man I was at 26, 25. So I need to take care more about my body, about my health,” he told us. “I started that before, but now I’m doing even better, because the PFL season, it’s a couple of fights in a row, so I need to be ready, I need to be healthy, I need to control my weight.”

Putting more focus on recovery and taking care of his body helps Santos to ensure he has a few more years in the sport, he added. Plus, he has a partner in Yana Kunitskaya, a UFC women’s bantamweight, who fights as well. “It’s good, because we both eat the same things, we’re both on diet, preparing for fights, we help each other. We work hard now, and then after our fight, we can enjoy [it] together.”

Santos has a new baby girl with Kunitskaya, just under a year old, which is added motivation. “I’m enjoying every moment, every second with my little daughter. She is so special, making my life better than it was before.”

“I’m so blessed that I have opportunities to do my job, come back home, stay with her a little, rest, come back to training. I’m so grateful that I can spend every single moment with her, because time passes so fast. It looks like she arrived just yesterday, but she’s already 10 months, almost one year, so time’s going very fast. But I’m so blessed that I can enjoy every single moment with her.”

Santos’ history in the UFC will no doubt make him one to watch in the PFL. In 2019, he pushed Jon Jones to the brink in their light heavyweight title fight, coming up just short in a split decision loss. The Brazilian was among those watching when “Bones” made his return at heavyweight earlier this month after three years away.

“I watched his fight. I knew he would win, but I didn’t expect how fast he did. He did very well, he made it easy,” said Santos. “He just proved he is one of the greatest fighters of all time.”

Not the greatest to Santos, however. For him, there’s still one man ahead of Jon Jones. “It’s about opinion. In my opinion, he is in second place. The first one in my opinion still is Fedor Emelianenko.”

As for Santos’ top five, outside of Fedor and Jones, there’s Anderson Silva, who Santos has tied with Jones. Then Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson. Since Jones and Silva are tied, Jose Aldo comes next.

Thiago Santos will forever be remembered for his fight with Jones — as will the damage he absorbed to his knees in that fight. But while some, like Rampage Jackson, have suggested banning oblique kicks, a favorite Jones technique, Santos isn’t among them.

“No I don’t think so. It’s part of the sport’s evolution. When he started doing that, people were like ‘oh my God, what to do? How can I [defend] that?'” But, reiterated Santos, as more and more people use the technique, it becomes part of the evolution of MMA. “Someone creates some position, some attack, and then people are going to create how to defend, how to escape.”

“People just need to learn how to defend that. You can see now, not many people use that. Some people still use it, but it doesn’t work like it worked before.”

While some might see this upcoming PFL season as a chance for Thiago Santos to go on a final run, and perhaps walk away with a major championship, “Marreta” is looking beyond that. “I see myself fighting three more years, and I want to enjoy that, every moment. I don’t think about, ‘now I’m the champion, it’s time to stop.’ If I’m still healthy, if I still have power to go to the gym every single day, twice a day, and train hard, doing good, I’m still going to keep doing [this].”

Of course if things change, and if his body won’t let him continue at a high level, “that’s time to stop. It’s most important.” Otherwise, whether he wins or loses, “it’s part of the journey. It’s part of sports. I don’t care so much. I’m enjoying every single moment. I go there and train every single day. I’m proud of myself every time, because I train hard, and I’m still doing what I love to do. Some people would be stopped after the injuries that I had. I’m still doing that; I’m proud of myself. If God gives me more opportunities to do it for a few years, I’m going to do it the best way possible and enjoy every moment.”

Watch our full interview with PFL 1 light heavyweight Thiago Santos above. “Marreta” faces Rob Wilkinson on April 1, 2023.

The post Incoming PFL Star Thiago Santos Puts Jones #2 All-Time, Wants to Fight A Few More Years appeared first on Cageside Press.