The Professional Fighters League kicked off a weekend absolutely packed with MMA action on Friday night. PFL 8 was the first of three events featuring the league’s post-season, and the featherweights and heavyweights were up first. To move on to the finale on New Year’s Eve, and potentially win one million dollars, fighters would have to win twice in a single night. Josh Copeland, Lance Palmer, Philipe Lins, and Steven Siler did just that on Friday. As a result, the PFL finale will see Copeland vs. Lins at heavyweight, and Palmer vs. Siler at featherweight, the latter of which a rematch from the WSOF.

The night was not without controversy. In their semi-final match-up, Alexandre Almeida landed an illegal upkick on Steven Siler, rendering Siler unable to continue. That means Siler picked up a win via DQ, and moves on to the finale. It’s a bitter pill for Almeida to swallow, as in their first meeting earlier in the season, Almeida suffered a submission loss when the ref mistakenly thought he tapped to a guillotine attempt.

Below, you can check out highlights of the action from PFL 8 courtesy of the Professional Fighters League!

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Needless to say, it was not the way either man wanted to win. While PFL 8’s heavyweight bouts were a mostly exciting affairs, its featherweight offerings were an eclectic bunch at best. A number of decisions. A draw. And in the semifinals, more boos and jeers than one would hope to hear at any fight card. Though, truth be told, not all of it was under the fighters’ control. Just ask Steven Siler.

Siler fought to a draw in his opening fight with Nazareno Malegarie at PFL 8. It’s a fight that saw Siler knock his opponent down early in the first, and dominate until the final two minutes, when Malegarie apparently remembered a million dollars was on the line. At that point, the Argentinian began swinging for the fences.

Siler, a veteran at this point with fifty fights to his name, and having come a long way since his exit from the UFC in 2014, did what veterans do: he fought smart. He conserved energy. He let the fight go the distance, knowing he’d won the first round of the two-round quarterfinal. A bit of game planning, as in the event of a draw, as the fight was later ruled, the winner of the first round advances.

So Siler moved forward thanks to the tiebreaker rule. And in the semifinals, he faced Alexandre Almeida in a rematch of their controversial PFL 4 fight.

Again, in his second fight of the evening, this one scheduled for a full three rounds, Siler started strong. He arguably won the first round. He was staying out of range of Almeida’s punches. Showing high fight IQ. Then, while entering the guard of Almeida in the second round, clearly a grounded opponent, he ate a nasty upkick. Square on the jaw.

Siler was rocked. The doctor came in. The featherweight was holding his head, stunned. He was helped to his feet, and clearly distressed, unable to continue. An emotional Siler had his head in his hands. The crowd heckled and jeered. Hey, why not send a fighter with a possible concussion out for more damage, right? Whether he was truly rocked or playing it up will surely be debated on message boards by those who have never even come close to a cage. The fact of the matter is, there was no reason for Siler to continue. He was hurt from an illegal blow. It was a DQ. And so it was ruled.

Lance Palmer heard plenty of boos on Friday in New Orleans as well. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center seemed to echo with them during his semifinal fight with Andre Harrison. It was the pair’s second meeting, as just a year and a half ago, Harrison had defeated Palmer for his WSOF featherweight championship. Palmer had not lost since. Harrison was undefeated throughout his career.

Both men won their quarterfinal bouts by decision. When they met again in semifinal action, it was Palmer who was able to use his wrestling to control ‘Dre the Bull.’ Like a matador, Palmer let Harrison come in on the attack, only to snatch a single leg and take him down. On the ground, Palmer blanketed his opponent. Climbed his back, and forced Harrison to wear him like a backpack. The problem was, Palmer was unable to come close to finishing the fight, even while a standing Harrison carried his weight for a full three minutes. Towards the end of the second round, Harrison literally stopped defending and just stood there, Palmer still on his back. Harrison looked perplexed, no doubt at the lack of any escape, and the unwillingness of the ref to restart the action. Palmer seemed unsure of how to proceed.

Thus the fan unrest. The third round played out in similar fashion, Palmer taking the back for a while. Only this time, he’d manage to get the fight down, mount his opponent towards the end of the bout, and add in a bit of ground and pound. Not that it was needed; dull as it was, Palmer had earned a clear-cut decision. Harrison suffered his first loss.

The end result: Steven Siler will now face Lance Palmer at the PFL finale in New York City on December 31. It will be a rematch of their first meeting, a year ago, prior to the PFL’s inaugural season. Palmer won a decision that night. Who ever wins their next meeting will go home one million dollars richer.

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The heavyweight finale for the 2018 Professional Fighters League season is set. And one of the biggest stories on the night was the clearly improved Josh Copeland. Copeland, a former UFC heavyweight who went 0-2 in that promotion, later moved to the WSOF, from which the PFL arose. And while Copeland would have a classic battle with then-WSOF champ Blagoy Ivanov, few expected his performance at PFL 8. Make that performances.

Copeland (18-5) has now won three straight, and six of his last seven. Coming into the PFL playoffs, he was far from a lock to make the post-season. Yet his number came up, thanks to a few heavyweight scraps going the distance, and he took the eighth and final seed in the heavyweight playoffs.

On Friday night in New Orleans, Louisiana, that pitted him against the top seed of the tournament, Francimar Barroso. Barroso, a former UFC star himself, joined the PFL upon his exit from that promotion earlier this year. Two first round stoppages punched his ticket to the playoffs, and he was sitting pretty at the top of the rankings.

Enter a new and improved ‘Cuddly Bear’ in Copeland, one of the more laid back fighters you’ll find. Copeland looked impressive right out of the gate at PFL 8. Stating prior to the fight that he’d hired a nutritionist, Copeland looked leaner than in the past, and came out with his stance lower, providing less of a target for Barroso. Copeland’s striking was on point as well, and his attacks were simply too much for the man expected to coast into the finale. After two rounds, the judges ruled the bout a draw (Copeland dominated the first, Barosso narrowly claimed the second). Under the PFL rules, however, the two-round quarterfinal bout was then decided by a tiebreaker: the winner of the first round. That being Copeland, he moved forward to the semifinals.

There, he met Alex Nicholson, another ex-UFC talent whose career had been rejuvenated after his exit from that promotion. Nicholson had found new life as a heavyweight who could launch flying knees and hit hard. And he did that at PFL 8 in his semifinal bout with Josh Copeland. Landing a spinning back fist, he then fired off a flying knee, and charged forward. Copeland was a wounded animal, with a nasty gash over one eye. Yet he planted his feet, pivoted, and fired a crushing right hand that turned the lights out on Nicholson.

The win was a little bit of revenge for Copeland. Earlier in the evening, Nicholson had finished Copeland’s good buddy Jack May.

Copeland, who had to sneak his way into the playoffs, had defeated two of the best heavyweights in the promotion, in one night. And just like that, the newly evolved ‘Cuddly Bear’ earned his chance to fight for a million dollars at the season finale in New York this December. “Let’s go. I’m so excited,” Copeland said post-fight. “I love for people to come forward. Move my head and throw. Caught him perfect,” he said of his semifinal finish.

If he can do that at the finale on New Year’s Eve, against fellow finalist Philipe Lins, Copeland will be able to become MMA’s next millionaire. In the meantime, the ‘Cuddly Bear’ has become more of a Grizzly.

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The Professional Fighters League kicked off its post season with PFL 8 on Friday night, live from New Orleans, Louisiana. With both quarterfinal and semifinal fights going down on the same night, it was a huge, do-or-die opportunity for all involved. The event aired on NBC SN following prelims on Facebook Watch (outside the U.S., the full PFL 8 live stream could be viewed free on Facebook). At stake: a million dollars to the winner in each weight class, to be handed out at the live finale in New York on New Year’s Eve.

It was featherweights and heavyweights starting things off at PFL 8, with the top eight fighters in each weight class seeded. At heavyweight, number one seeded Francimar Barroso faced eighth seed Josh Copeland, while featherweight’s number one, Steven Siler, faced Nazareno Malegarie.

Preliminary Card

In the heavyweight alternate fight to start the evening, Mo De’Reese wasted little time in securing a single leg takedown on longtime veteran Mike Kyle. From there, De’Reese threatened to take the back. While he couldn’t secure it, he transitioned to mount, which was the beginning of the end for Kyle. With De’Reese raining down blows and Kyle unable to escape, he eventually gave the verbal submission, resulting in De’Reese picking up the first win of the evening. Key was that the heavyweight took little to no damage, meaning there’d likely be no issue with him appearing in the semi-finals later in the evening, if required.

Lance Palmer vs. Max Coga kicked off the featherweight quarterfinals, with Palmer landing a single leg takedown early after an exchange of leg kicks. Coga would defend with a leg lock, but for the better part of the first round, Palmer maintained control. That allowed him to work in some ground and pound, though the fight would head to the second frame. There, Palmer once again got the fight to the ground. Coga again attempted a leg lock, but it was Palmer’s control that was the story, and he claimed the win via unanimous decision (20-18 on all scorecards).

In the first heavyweight quarterfinal, Kelvin Tiller looked to continue his surprising, inspiring run as a dark horse pick to make the finals. Facing Jared Rosholt for the second straight fight (the pair met in the regular season), it simply wasn’t to be. Rosholt used smothering wrestling, and Tiller was unable to get off his back for nearly two full rounds. The former UFC vet Rosholt cruised to a unanimous decision.

Next up at featherweight, the undefeated Andre Harrison came out swinging against Brazil’s Alexandre Bezerra. Harrison would later do some damage to his opponent’s leg, but never really went after it again. Instead, he seemed to have the upper hand in the exchanges in the first round, until the end of the frame, when Harrison ate a knee, and was forced to hang onto the leg while his head cleared. In the second, things were much closer, enough so that one judge ruled the fight a draw. Still, two gave it to Harrison, who keeps his perfect record — and was set to rematch Lance Palmer later in the evening.

In the evening’s next heavyweight bout, Philipe Lins took virtually no time to secure a guillotine on good friend Caio Alencar. Lins elicited the tap in just under a minute. The following scrap, back at featherweight, would see Alexandre Almeida move forward in the tournament, as he defeated Jumabieke Tuerxun by majority decision.

Alex Nicholson and Jack May faced off next, in the second-to-last heavyweight quarterfinal. Nicholson attacked the taller May’s legs with kicks. A key decision, as an injured leg made May a sitting duck. Nicholson would wind up swarming his downed opponent later in the round, earning the finish by TKO in just over two minutes.

Main Card

Steven Siler vs. Nazareno Malegarie

Steven Silver against against Nazareno Malegarie opened up the main card, and it wasn’t long before the number seed Siler made an impact. Siler dropped Malegarie, but perhaps a tad over-eager, Siler rushed in, and nearly overshot his opponent. Malegarie was able to scramble back to the feet as a result, but Siler stayed on him, landing knees and controlling by employing a one-handed guillotine choke. Siler would look to secure a choke, but again Malegarie escaped. Malegarie then began taking some big swings as Siler backed him up, changing the complexion of the fight. The pair settled into a stand and exchange rhythm, and would finish the round on the feet.

Round two (of two, as a quarterfinal fight) opened with Malegarie going to the body, and Siler firing off a leg kick. Malegarie closed the distance, looking for a takedown but unable to convert. A takedown attempt later in the round saw Siler give up position, but after tying his opponent up from the bottom, Malegarie opted to let Siler up. Malegarie did what he could to take the fight back in the final moments, but it went to the scorecards. There, two judges saw the fight as a draw. Which meant that a tiebreaker was needed, in this case, the first round. Siler had won the round on all three judge’s scorecards, and thus would move forward into the semifinals.

Steven Siler vs. Nazareno Malegarie ends in a majority draw (20-18, 19-19, 19-19) — tiebreaker (first round) dictates Siler advances to semifinals.

Francimar Barroso vs. Josh Copeland

Early action in the final heavyweight quarter finaly saw Josh Copeland pushing forward, throwing hands at top-seeded Francimar Barroso. Copeland then clinched, driving him into the fence, but Barroso ducked out and escaped. A similar sequence would follow, and again, Barroso escaped. Barroso then caught Copeland with a counter, but Copeland would land a straight right in answer to a kick moments later. Barroso would fire a high kick at the end of the round that was blocked, and heading to the second, there was a good chance Copeland was up.

Without question, Josh Copeland looked like a new animal early in the fight. Round two saw him continue to be the aggressor early. Barroso opted to rely on his kicks more, attacking the body and head. An offensive barrage by Copeland saw him land a right that hurt his opponent, and he moved in for the clinch, only for Barosso to break free. On the next clinch along the cage Barosso reversed, but by that point, precious seconds were ticking off the clock. While the judges would rule the two-round fight a draw, based on a dominant first round, it was Copeland who advanced to the semifinals.

Josh Copeland vs. Francimar Barroso ends in a draw (19-19, 19-19, 19-19) — tiebreaker (first round) dictates Copeland advances to the semifinals

Andre Harrison vs. Lance Palmer (Featherweight Semifinal)

A pair of former WSOF champions met in the first semifinal of the evening, as featherweights Andre Harrison and Lance Palmer met for the second time. The undefeated Harrison won the then-WSOF 145lb title against Palmer in March of last year. Palmer had not lost since; Harrison was a perfect 20-0 heading into the night. As action got underway in the pair’s second meeting, it was Harrison holding center, and Palmer circling. Harrison would fire off after about a minute, with Palmer looking to counter. Both men were taking the cautious approach, with a lot on the line.

Just as Palmer was firing an overhand that connected, however, Harrison landed a low blow. After Palmer took a few seconds to recover, it was Harrison pressing the action, backing his opponent up, and firing some uppercuts. The lack of action in the round, however, was palpable.

Round two saw Palmer attacking early, closing the distance than fading back. He’d throw in a kick moments later. When Harrison moved in for his own offensive flurry, Palmer took him to the ground. Palmer then took the back as Harrison worked his way up. Hooks in, Palmer was holding on to the back with a body triangle as Harrison stood up. Palmer worked to get a rear-naked choke in, but struggled to get it under the chin. By the end of the round, Harrison literally just stood in place, holding the weight of Palmer, but not doing anything to shake him off, while Palmer was unable to do anything to secure the choke.

Harrison pressed the action early in round three, and Palmer immediately dropped for a single leg, taking Harrison down. Once again, Palmer took his opponent’s back, getting both hooks in. As Harrison tried to turn to escape out, Palmer managed to move to mount. Palmer would look for an arm-triangle choke, but wasn’t in position. He’d wind up in side control, however, and was likely well ahead on the scorecards. In the final seconds, Palmer moved back to mount and landed some ground n’ pound, but there was never any question that he had the win.

Lance Palmer def. Andre Harrison by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Philipe Lins vs. Jared Rosholt (Heavyweight Semifinal)

Not surprisingly, Jared Rosholt shot for a takedown early in his semifinal fight with Philipe Lins. However, it wound up a bit sloppy, and Lins escaped back to his feet. Rosholt stayed on him, however, dragging him down again. Rosholt controlled from the back, firing knees to his opponent’s thighs. Lins would make it to his feet again, but again, Rosholt took him straight back down. In the next sequence, however, Lins tried to latch on to the neck as Rosholt dropped for a takedown. Rosholt would survive that, while Lins worked for a triangle.

Just when it looked like Rosholt would blanket his way to the finale, Lins changed things up. Round two saw Lins connect with a combination early, stunning Rosholt with a left. He followed that up with some heavy punches punctuated by a right hand that dropped Rosholt! Rosholt was stunned, and Lins got on top, dropping hammer fists to finish the job!

Philipe Lins def. Jared Rosholt by TKO, Round 2, 0:45

Steven Siler vs. Alexandre Almeida

PFL 8 saw yet another rematch, as Steven Siler took on Alexandre Alemeida in the second semifinal at featherweight. The fight was a rematch of their controversial PFL 4, which Siler won by submission after the ref thought he saw Almeida tap. Far more was on the line this time, but could Almeida get his revenge?

Siler landed a counter early, and unloaded a flurry of strikes that forced Almeida to shoot for a takedown. Almeida tried pulling guard, but Siler backed off. Almeida was already bloodied, but came charging in on the attack, looking for a takedown. He took the back of Siler, getting his hooks in. Siler, however, shook him off, slipping out the back door. He’d later wind up in Almeida’s guard, but soon enough they’d be back up. A clinch by the cage stalled, and the ref restarted them out in the open. They’d battle it out to the buzzer to end the round, with Almeida scoring a late takedown.

Round two saw Almedia firing off an inside leg kick, while working to back Siler up. Siler would muscle Almeida down, but as Siler went to the ground, Almeida landed a clearly illegal upkick. The blow connected flush with Siler’s jaw, and left him dazed. After being looked at by a doctor, he was unable to continue.

Steven Siler def. Alexandre Almeida by DQ (illegal upkick), Round 2, 0:52

Alex Nicholson vs. Josh Copeland

The second heavyweight semifinal, and final bout of PFL 8, pitted a couple of UFC veterans in Josh Copeland and Alex Nicholson against each other, with a shot at a million dollars on the line.

Copeland went on the offensive early in this heavyweight semifinal, with Nicholson answering back. It didn’t feel like that affair would last long at that rate. Copeland fired a counter again, then drove in for a clinch against the fence. Nicholson shot off some knees to the body, then landed a spinning back fist and launched a flying knee. Just when it looked like ‘The Spartan’ was about to finish the job, Copeland floored him! Nicholson charged forward, and a thunderous right hand from Copeland connected! No follow-ups required, as Nicholson was out!

Josh Copeland def. Alex Nicholson by knockout, Round 1, 1:27

Check back come fight time for results and a recap of the night’s action! The PFL 8 live stream starts at 7:00 PM ET, and you can watch it via the official embed below. For viewers in the U.S., the main card will air on NBC SN.

PFL 8 Results:

Main Card

Heavyweight: Josh Copeland def. Alex Nicholson by knockout, Round 1, 1:27
Featherweight: Steven Siler def. Alexandre Almeida by DQ (illegal upkick), Round 2, 0:52
Heavyweight: Philipe Lins def. Jared Rosholt by TKO, Round 2, 0:45
Featherweight: Lance Palmer def. Andre Harrison by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Heavyweight: Josh Copeland vs. Francimar Barroso ends in a draw (19-19, 19-19, 19-19) – tiebreaker (first round) dictates Copeland advances to the semifinals
Featherweight: Steven Siler vs. Nazareno Malegarie ends in a majority draw (20-18, 19-19, 19-19) — tiebreaker (first round) dictates Siler advances to semifinals

Preliminary card (Facebook Watch)

Heavyweight: Alex Nicholson def. Jack May by TKO, Round 1, 2:03
Featherweight: Alexandre Almeida def. Jumabieke Tuerxun by majority decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19)
Heavyweight: Philipe Lins def. Caio Alencar by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 0:58
Featherweight: Andre Harrison def. Alexandre Bezerra by majority decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19)
Heavyweight: Jared Rosholt def. Kelvin Tiller by unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18)
Featherweight: Lance Palmer def. Max Coga by unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18)
Heavyweight: Mo De’Reese def. Mike Kyle by TKO, Round 1, 2:38
Featherweight: Marcos Galvão vs. Jeremy Kennedy

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It’s playoff season, and we’re not talking baseball! The Professional Fighters League playoffs get underway on Friday, September 5 with PFL 8 live in New Orleans, Louisiana. The card features the first post-season bouts for the MMA league, and will be comprised of featherweight and heavyweight fighters.

All athletes were scheduled to hit the scales Thursday in advance of the event, and you can stream the weigh-ins live right here on Cageside Press! Most importantly, the playoffs meant sudden death: two fights in one night, with both must-wins to make the million dollar finale on New Year’s Eve.

Among the standouts on the card, featherweight favorites Lance Palmer and Andre Harrison were both in action at featherweight. Harrison (19-0) had defeated Palmer in their first meeting in the WSOF. On Friday he was scheduled to meet former Bellator featherweight Alexandre Bezerra (22-5), who impressed at PFL 7 with a flying knee finish of Magomed Idrisov. Harrison and Bezerra had met once before, with Harrison earning the unanimous decision back in Titan FC.

Palmer (14-3), meanwhile, was set to take on Max Coga (20-5). The number one seed at featherweight, however, was former UFC athlete Steven Siler (31-17), who was paired up against eighth-ranked Nazareno Malegarie (34-5).

On the heavyweight side, Francimar Barroso (21-7, 1NC) had the top seed, and was facing fellow ex-UFC star Josh Copeland (16-5). Number two seed Kelvin Tiller (10–1), the toughest Momma’s Boy in MMA, was set to take on decorated wrester Jared Rosholt (16-5).

In an interesting quirk, Tiller and Rosholt were meeting for their second straight fight. Tiller defeated Rosholt by submission at PFL 4 in July.

Catch the PFL 8 weigh-in live stream below!

PFL 8 Weigh-In Results:

Main Card

Heavyweight TBD vs. TBD (semi-final bout, will be determined by quarter final winners)
Featherweight TBD vs. TBD (semi-final bout, will be determined by quarter final winners)
Heavyweight TBD vs. TBD (semi-final bout, will be determined by quarter final winners)
Featherweight TBD vs. TBD (semi-final bout, will be determined by quarter final winners)

Heavyweight: Francimar Barroso (242.4) vs. Josh Copeland (263.8)
Featherweight: Steven Siler (145.6) vs. Nazareno Malegarie (146)

Preliminary card (Facebook Watch)

Heavyweight: Jack May (260) vs. Alex Nicholson (220.6)
Featherweight: Jumabieke Tuerxun (145.6) vs. Alexandre Almeida (146)
Heavyweight: Philipe Lins (229.6) vs. Caio Alencar (249.2)
Featherweight: Andre Harrison (145.4) vs. Alexandre Bezerra (145.6)
Heavyweight: Kelvin Tiller (265.5) vs. Jared Rosholt (248.2)
Featherweight: Lance Palmer (146.0) vs. Max Coga (145.6)
Heavyweight: Mo De’Reese (247.8) vs. Mike Kyle (223.6)
Featherweight: Marcos Galvão (145.4) vs. Jeremy Kennedy (145.2)

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