HULU THEATER, NEW YORK — Another PFL regular season and playoffs have come and gone, and now the Professional Fighters League prepares for the Championship Finals in November. To get there, the Hulu Theater hosted a Fight of the Year contender on August 23.
New York was the place to be, as Clay Collard and Shane Burgos put it all on the line for the chance to win $1 million. In the end, the boxer (Collard) outlasted the MMA fighter (Burgos).
With that, the PFL Finals are set. Here's how the card played out.
The main event featured Collard against the Bronx's Burgos.
Burgos stalked his opponent to start and tried to take Collard down, but to no avail. Collard used his boxing to bloody Burgos. They traded shots through round one, but Collard landed better combinations.
Round two was more of the same, with Collard pulverizing Burgos. Burgos attacked the leg, which eventually dropped Collard. The latter finally put Burgos to the floor and stayed on top until Burgos powered through.
MORE: Sign up to watch the PFL World Championship Finals, exclusively on ESPN+
Round three saw a wild exchange as they traded shots until the final bell. It was another Fight of the Year contender for Collard, who has gone from fighting inside the Bubble with Top Rank to potentially winning $1 million with the PFL. In his way will be last season's champion, Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Aubin-Mercier ended Bruno Miranda's run to again advance to the PFL Finals. "The Canadian Gangster" went back and forth with Miranda as both landed kicks and jabs. Round two saw "O.A.M." take Miranda to the floor, and drag him across the cage. After a few moments, Aubin-Mercier connected with various ground-and-pound shots that ended the fight.
Speaking of returning to the finals, Sadibou Sy defeated Carlos Leal via decision to advance to the PFL welterweight finals, winning via split decision. Leal held him by the cage early on, suffocating Sy. Round two saw Sy land a kick, but Leal caught him mid-action, taking him to the floor. Leal had Sy by the cage in the third, neutralizing him of his offense until the ref called the fighters to the middle. Sy almost landed his now-signature Head Kick from Hell that helped him advance.
Sy looks to become a repeat winner, as he beat Dilano Taylor in the finals last year. He faces a dangerous Russian next.
Magomed Magomedkerimov, who defeated Solomon Renfrovia via unanimous decision, advances to the welterweight finals. Renfro started hot by by landing hard jabs. However, Magomedkerimov put him to the mat and smothered him through the first round. He continued his assault on the floor in round two, though Renfro did his best to get back up. Renfro managed to take Magomedkerimov down in the third, which the crowd cheered. That effort wasn’t enough, as Magomedkerimov won his fifth in a row.
MORE: Full list of PFL winners by year
Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, opened the main card in another amateur showcase, facing Ed Davis. Walsh used quick hands and great counter shots to halt Davis from landing key shots. He utilized strong jabs to disorient his opponent and landed multi-punch combinations that dropped Davis to the floor in the second. Seeing how it was an amateur bout, the referee ended the fight.
As he grows, Walsh should see plenty of action with the PFL.
The Sporting News provided full card results for PFL 9. Check it out!
2023 PFL 9 full card results
Main card
- Clay Collard def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28); PFL Lightweight Semi-Final bout
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Bruno Miranda via TKO (4:41 into round two); PFL Lightweight Semi-Final bout
- Sadibou Sy def. Carlos Leal via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28); PFL Welterweight Semi-Final bout
- Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Solomon Renfro unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27); PFL Welterweight Semi-Final bout
- Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Ed Davis via TKO (2:23 in round two); Amateur bout
Prelims
- Alexei Pergande def. Shawn Stefanelli via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
- Mostafa Rashed Nada def. Korey Kuppe via TKO (1:55 into round one)
- Michelle Montague def. Abigail Montes via rear-naked choke (3:38 into round two)
- Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. David Zelner via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
- John Caldone def. Nathaniel Grimard via TKO (2:32 into round one)