2024’s PFL 6 features featherweight and welterweight action, with 2022 145lb champ Brendan Loughnane headlining the show against Bellator alum Justin Gonzales. With six points following the opening fight of the season, Loughnane likely had a playoff spot locked, and was fist overall in the standings entering the night.

On the welterweight side of things, divisional leader Don Madge was buried on the prelims, facing off with former Bellator MMA title challenger and dangerous BJJ threat Neiman Gracie.

Co-main event action found South Dakota’s own welterweight star Logan Storley matched up with Luca Poclit. Bubba Jenkins, meanwhile, was forced to fight an opponent he considered one of the fighters he truly respected and was rooting for in Gabriel Braga, while Brennan Ward got dangerous Russian Magomed Umalatov.

Where to Watch 2024 PFL 6

Friday’s PFL 6 card takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, airing live on DAZN in Canada/Europe, and ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S. Full results from the event can be found below.

2024 PFL 6: Loughnane vs. Gonzales Results

Main card

Brendan Loughnane def. Justin Gonzales by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 2, 3:34
Logan Storley def. Luca Poclit by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Magomed Umalatov def. Brennan Ward by submission (anaconda choke), Round 1, 3:43
Gabriel Braga def. Bubba Jenkins by TKO (injury), Round 2, 1:48

Preliminary card

Lorenz Larkin def. Alan Dominguez by TKO, Round 1, 4:46
Shamil Musaev def. Murad Ramazanov by TKO, Round 2, 1:51
Kai Kamaka III def. Pedro Carvalho by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Goiti Yamauchi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Timur Khizriev def. Enrique Barzola by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Neiman Gracie def. Don Madge by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tyler Diamond def. Brett Johns by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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This trio team up to list the best fights in a stacked week of fighting which includes UFC 303, PFL 6, ACA 177, ONE Friday Fights 68, Crown Duel: Estrada vs Bam, and as always, a dozen smaller regional shows which may not be mentioned but which nevertheless showcase the next generation of fighters around the world, playing an important part in the ecosystem of combat sports.

Now, on with the show.

10. Ricky Simon vs Vinicius Oliveira (UFC 303)

In the curtain jerker of UFC 303, and of this article, we have a very high-level matchup between Ricky Simon and Vinicius “Lok Dog” Oliveira. Simon was recently ranked but lost his number after losses to Mario Bautista and Song Yadong. Oliveira, on the other hand, is coming off a UFC debut win over Bernardo Sopaj, in which he earned both Fight AND Performance of the Night honors with a clean flying knee knockout in round three. While Oliveira has talent, Simon has proven himself again and again against the top bantamweights in the world, such as Merab Dvalishvili, Raphael Assuncao, and now-featherweight Jack Shore.

This booking is strange for this reason, as Simon will be making the walk for the thirteenth time in his UFC career, while this is just the second fight in Oliveira’s promotional tenure. 

Ricky Simon is one of the best wrestlers in MMA today. A high-level high school wrestler in Oregon, Simon had over 1000 amateur wrestling matches before transitioning directly to MMA after high school. His style is relentless, forward moving, and diverse. He utilizes weaving head movement and half-step feints to set up boxing and wrestling entries, consistently chaining techniques together. His chain wrestling is elite, stringing takedown attempts together until his opponent cannot defend. Once on the ground, he possesses suffocating top pressure and a capable submission game. Despite falling from the rankings, Simon remains one of the most skilled fighters in the UFC. In this fight, pressure will be paramount for Ricky. Keeping Vinicius on the backfoot, keeping him from getting his striking going, will be key to stifling the Brazilian’s chaotic offense. 

If one lets a wild and explosive striker like Oliveira get started, then he will not stop. He demolished Victor Madrigal on the Contender Series and followed it up with that finish of Sopaj in his debut. Despite the highlight reel finish, there is a solid argument that Oliveira was down two rounds to none entering the final round in that fight. While he damaged Sopaj on several occasions in the first two rounds, he overextended on strikes which left him open to counters and takedowns. Active off his back with elbows and possessing solid scrambling capabilities, he would be better served attempting get ups as soon as the fight hits the mat. The main things which could help him succeed in this fight will be his calf kick, his counter-striking, and not allowing Simon to push him back onto the cage. While Oliveira is dangerous and has potential, Simon is one of the toughest tests in the divisions particularly at this point in the career of ‘Lok Dog.’

–Dylan Knostman

ONE AND DONE FOR VINICIUS OLIVEIRA 💥 #DWCS pic.twitter.com/DJvNw4Vhq5

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 27, 2023

The post Ten Best Fights of the Week: UFC 303, PFL 6, ONE Friday Fights and More appeared first on Cageside Press.

Leading the way, 2022 featherweight champ Brendan Loughnane was looking to extend his lead over the division, with Gabriel Braga a close second. On the welterweight side, Don Madge, first overall in the 170lb standings, was paired up with Neiman Gracie – a fight that had been relegated to the early portion of the PFL 6 preliminary card.

Logan Storley, a South Dakota native, was featured in the welterweight co-main event for the Sioux Falls, SD card on June 28, opposite Luca Poclit.

Full results from Friday’s 2024 PFL 6 official weigh-in can be found below.

2024 PFL 6: Loughnane vs. Gonzales Weigh-In Results

Main card

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Still, given his choice, he would have fought anyone other than Brazil’s Gabriel Braga.

The pair will fight Friday, which is just an unfortunate side effect of MMA, and the PFL’s tournament format. The matchmaking has dictated that Jenkins and Braga face off, but in recent times, Jenkins has actually been rooting for his fellow featherweight.

“It is tough to have to face him in the cage knowing what he’s going through,” admitted Jenkins in an interview with Cageside Press ahead of Friday’s PFL 6.

Rooting for Braga started before the murder of the Brazilian’s father earlier this year, which makes it even harder for Jenkins to face the man in the cage.

“Very much harder. Very much harder because I knew his father. Me and his father had a good relationship. Me, him and his father bonded in the growing of the PFL, and being in the PFL,” revealed Jenkins, a longtime veteran of the PFL, and before that, Bellator MMA. “Being in the locker rooms and fighting at the same time. Just having that comradery that you have with warriors being in the same camp.”

“He’s one of the guys that I like in the sport, that I like in mixed martial arts and in the company,” Jenkins continued. “You don’t always get to fight guys that you want to fight, sometimes you have to fight guys that you don’t want to fight or are that on the friend side of things.”

That, however, “just makes you a better competitor, and a less emotional, braggadocios person when it comes to me,” Bubba added. “Because a lot of times my braggadociosness and my openness comes from trying to pull something out of my opponent, or just having some fun entertaining. But this is strictly business, it has nothing to with entertaining or the opposite opponent. This is strictly, we have to go do what we have to do. If I had my way, I would sign somebody else up for this application.”

Watch our full interview with 2024 PFL 6 featherweight Bubba Jenkins above.

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This is Gracie’s first season in the PFL tournament format, and adaptation to PFL style has been key.

“This is as fast as I’ve fought after another fight,” he told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “The most important thing is to keep my weight down. I cannot get too happy, because I got to weigh in again. That was the biggest difference. I didn’t have a break after the last fight, I just came back and kept training, kept dieting, and stayed on the hustle.”

Still, added Gracie, when it comes to the busy schedule, “I think it’s good because it keeps you sharp, keeps you training, but at the same time it’s tough, because you can’t eat pizza on the weekend.”

There’s another added benefit as well. Gracie, who dropped a decision to fellow Bellator alum Goiti Yamauchi in his first fight of the PFL 2024 season, gets an instant distraction to take his mind off the loss.

“It’s a great thing actually. It puts me right back into work, thinking about the next guy already. It’s really good. And being in a tournament, we can always fight again, so I can have my revenge in the future.”

The switch from Bellator to the PFL (the league purchased its rival late last year, and is running the promotion alongside its own PFL brand) has been a positive one for Neiman Gracie, he told us.

“I’d been with Bellator for such a long time, so it was a good thing, changing, a little bit. Changing people, changing the staff, for me it was great. I felt renewed, like doing something new,” stated Gracie. “It was really good, I like it. They are very professional, it was a great fight week.”

At the 2024 PFL 6 card on Friday, Gracie faces off with Don Madge, who leads the welterweight standings. “He’s a striker, he’s a southpaw, so regular stuff you see as a fighter. I was able to study him a little bit, so it’s going to be a good fight,” suggested Gracie.

Madge is a black belt. Neiman Gracie is, well, a Gracie. A black belt, and a very highly regarded one at that. Will Don Madge dare entertain him on the mat?

“It’s hard to say. I don’t know, if he’s like me, if he’s going to want to go to the floor. I don’t think he’ll want to go to the floor with me, but I want to take him to the floor,” Gracie said. “We’re going to have to see that on June 28.”

Watch our full interview with 2024 PFL 6 welterweight Neiman Gracie above.

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League officials announced the news in a press release distributed on Friday. Along with the main event, the full card for the final PFL regular season event of 2024 was announced. The card will feature both featherweight and welterweight action, and not surprisingly, South Dakota star Logan Storley, a former Bellator MMA interim champ, will also feature. He faces ex-UFC talent Laureano Staropoli in the co-headliner.

Loughnane (28-5) sits atop the featherweight leaderboard care of a first-round TKO of Pedro Carvalho earlier this year. Gonzales (14-4) did not find the same level of success in his first fight, losing to Gabriel Braga last month.

The full PFL 6 card at the Sanford Pentagon on June 28, 2024 currently breaks down as follow:

• Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane vs Justin Gonzales
• Welterweight: Logan Storley vs Laureano Staropoli
• Welterweight: Magomed Umalatov vs Brennan Ward
• Featherweight: Gabriel Braga vs Bubba Jenkins
• Welterweight: Murad Ramazanov vs Shamil Musaev
• Featherweight: Timur Khizriev vs Enrique Barzola
• Welterweight: Goiti Yamauchi vs Andrey Koreshkov
• Featherweight: Kai Kamaka vs Pedro Carvalho
• Welterweight: Don Madge vs Neiman Gracie
• Featherweight: Adam Borics vs Brett Johns
• Featherweight: Enrique Barzola vs Timur Khizriev
• Welterweight Alternate Bout: Zach Juusola vs Luca Poclit
• Featherweight Showcase: Jordan Oliver vs Isaiah Hokit

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