Bubba Jenkins attempted to continue his “Correction Tour” in the PFL Playoffs and was one step closer to returning to the finals. Unfortunately, he ran into a brick wall in Jesus Pinedo, who dominated Jenkins to advance to the PFL Finals.
Pinedo beat Jenkins via TKO inside the Boeing Center at Tech Port in Texas, adding to his hit list that includes the man who beat Jenkins last year in Brendan Loughnane. He now faces Gabriel Braga in a rematch in the PFL Finals after losing to him to open the 2023 season.
Pinedo punished a tired Jenkins from the opening bell with a 4-inch reach advantage. While Jenkins attempted to tire him out using the cage, Pinedo crushed Jenkins with shots each time he moved forward. The bout almost ended before the second round as Pinedo landed a flurry of lefts, before Jenkins was saved by the bell.
The second round saw a tentative Jenkins attempt to find momentum, but it was all for naught. Pinedo landed lefts and knees by the cage, which forced Jenkins to bleed close to the eye. While Jenkins landed on top of Pinedo at some point, the referee didn’t see any action, and forced the fighters to their feet. That was all Pinedo needed to land flurries to an injured Jenkins. Seeing enough, the ref pulled Pinedo away, awarding him the dominant win.
MORE: Full list of PFL winners by year
Pinedo landed 130 of 169 shots compared to 42 of 81 for Jenkins. Eighty-eight of those 130 shots were arm strikes, while 39 were ground strikes.
Speaking of Braga, he faced Chris Wade, who replaced Movlid Khaybulaev. Braga dominated the first two rounds, landing kicks and hooks to the face of Wade. Wade landed a few knee strikes but could not stop Braga's onslaught. The fight ended as a split=decision win for Braga, with one judge giving a questionable 30-27 score in favor of Wade.
Braga was one of three competitors to advance that appeared in the PFL Challenger Series, which developed fighters straight into the PFL’s roster.
In light heavyweight action, Impa Kasanganay landed several combination shots against Marthin Hamlet, knocking "The Dark Horse" out in the first round. Josh Silveira, son of MMA coach Conan Silveira, landed a big knee to the face of Ty Flores in Round 1 to take out the big man.
MORE: PFL Playoffs 2023 Bracket: Who advanced to the PFL Finals?
Kasanganay and Silveira face off in the PFL Finals.
The Sporting News provided full results from the PFL 7 fight card. Check it out!
2023 PFL 7 full card results
Main card
- Jesus Pinedo def. Bubba Jenkins via TKO (4:40 into Round 2) in a featherweight semifinal bout
- Josh Silveira def. Ty Flores via TKO (4:46 into Round 1) in a light heavyweight semifinal bout
- Gabriel Braga def. Chris Wade via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28) in a featherweight semifinal bout
- Impa Kasanganay def. Marthin Hamlet via KO (2:24 into Round 2) in a light heavyweight semifinal bout
- Elvin Espinoza def. Keoni Diggs via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims
- Thad Jean def. Ali Omar via TKO (1:54 into Round 1)
- Lisa Mauldin def. Desiree Yanez via rear-naked choke (3:05 into Round 1)
- Anthony Ivy def. Carson Hardman via rear-naked choke (2:34 into Round 1)
- Chelsea Hackett def. Ky Bennett via rear-naked choke (4:42 into Round 2)
- Billy Elekana def. Chuck Campbell via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)