MMASucka staff picks are in as the Professional Fighters League’s wraps up the Regular Season.
PFL 6 2023 will take place later tonight, June 23rd from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia as fighters look to secure last-chance points for a shot in the promotional playoffs. Early preliminaries will be available to watch for ESPN+ subscribers at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT) followed by the main card at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) on both ESPN+ and televised ESPN.
Live results from tonight’s PFL 6 2023 event will be available here at MMASucka. Combat action for PFL will return in August with dates of the 4th, 18th, and 23rd awaiting those who advance through each of the six weight classes.
Stay tuned Saturday, June 24th for our UFC on ABC 5: Emmett vs. Topuria picks from Jacksonville, Florida.
The Fights
Lightweights (155 pounds) and welterweights (170 pounds) are in store for points throughout tonight’s scheduled event. Looking at those in the promotion’s lightweight division, a Canadian battle between Montreal, Quebec’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Welland, Ontario’s Anthony Romero will serve as the night’s headliner.
Upon his release from the UFC after three consecutive defeats, Aubin-Mercier has made the most of his new run with seven straight victories including his capturing of the 2022 tournament title over Stevie Ray by second-round knockout. His 2023 started well with a unanimous decision over Shane Burgos in April as he targets a second run towards the championship. Aubin-Mercier’s opponent, Romero, gets his first appearance with PFL after appearing earlier this year in the promotion’s Challenger Series. The rising talent gets his biggest test to date, by far, having only one loss in September of 2021 through 13 professional fights.
The aforementioned Burgos and Yamato Nishikawa clash on the main card. Eleven-fight UFC veteran Burgos looks for a third win in his last four fights after losing to Aubin-Mercier earlier this year as Shooto notable Nishikawa aims for a rebound after his ten-fight win streak was snapped in April to Clay Collard.
Opening the main card sees a thrilling pairing between Collard, a 2021 and 2022 lightweight competitor, ready for war against 2022 runner-up Stevie Ray.
Two additional fights at 155 pounds are scheduled to take place on the preliminary card. 2018 and 2019 lightweight champion Natan Schulte meets former Titan FC champion and 2021 tournament victor Raush Manfio, and last year’s playoff contender Alex Martinez takes on former 2022 PFL Challenger Series contract winner Bruno Miranda.
For the welterweight division, Sadibou Sy and Shane Mitchell will clash in the night’s co-main event. Four-year contender Sy secured the one million dollar prize last year with his five wins and tournament final decision last December over Dilano Taylor. Australia’s Mitchell hopes to rebound after his PFL debut fell short to in the first Regular Season event.
PFL’s 2018 champion and 2019 finalist Magomed Magomedkerimov looks to back up his first-round finish over Ben Egli in April against David Zawada who faced defeat by first-round knockout to Carlos Leal in his first appearance with PFL.
With a combined 29 victories, undefeated standouts Magomed Umalatov and Nayib Lopez look to represent Russia and Mexico, respectively, in their second fights of the year.
Headlining the preliminary portion sees two formerly mentioned talents of Leal and Taylor. Additionally, Jarrah Al-Silawi aims to avoid three consecutive defeats against short-notice replacement and PFL debutant Solomon Renfro.
Check out our staff picks for PFL 6 2023 further below.
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Find out below who is picked and predicted to win by the MMASucka crew at PFL 6 2023.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 47:
1T. Michael DeSantis: 137-66
1T. Ben Jamieson: 137-66
3. Jeremy Brand: 134-69
4. Nate Freeman: 132-71
5. Wesley Riddle: 129-74
6. Frazer Krohn: 129-74
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 116-71
8. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
9. Jack Goodwillie: 104-58
10. Andrew Benjamin: 100-82
11. Brian Knight: 97-57
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 29-21
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Jarrah Al-Silawi (18-5)
vs.
Solomon Renfro (10-3)
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Al-Silawi via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Renfro via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Al-Silawi via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Al-Silawi via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Al-Silawi via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Renfro via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Renfro via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Renfro via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Al-Silawi: 4
Staff picking Renfro: 4
Alex Martinez (10-4, 1 NC)
vs.
Bruno Miranda (15-3)
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Miranda via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Martinez via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Martinez via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Martinez: 7
Staff picking Miranda: 1
Natan Schulte (24-5-1)
vs.
Raush Manfio (17-4)
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Schulte via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Schulte via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Schulte via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Manfio via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Schulte via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Schulte via Split Decision
Brian Knight: Schulte via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Manfio via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Schulte via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Schulte: 7
Staff picking Manfio: 2
Carlos Leal (18-4)
vs.
Dilano Taylor (10-4)
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Leal via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Leal via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Leal via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Leal via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Leal via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Leal via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Leal via Round 3 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Leal via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Leal via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Leal: 9
Staff picking Taylor: 0
Clay Collard (22-10)
vs.
Stevie Ray (25-12)
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ray via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Collard via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Collard via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Collard: 8
Staff picking Ray: 1
Magomed Umalatov (13-0)
vs.
Nayib Lopez (16-0)
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Umalatov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Umalatov via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Umalatov via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Umalatov via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Umalatov via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Umalatov via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Umalatov via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Umalatov via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Umalatov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Umalatov: 9
Staff picking Lopez: 0
Magomed Magomedkerimov (31-6)
vs.
David Zawada (18-8)
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Magomedkerimov via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Magomedkerimov via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Magomedkerimov via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Magomedkerimov via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Zawada via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Magomedkerimov via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Magomedkerimov via Round 1 SUB
Jack Goodwillie: Magomedkerimov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Magomedkerimov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Magomedkerimov: 8
Staff picking Zawada: 1
Shane Burgos (15-4)
vs.
Yamato Nishikawa (21-4-6)
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Burgos via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Burgos via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Burgos via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Nishikawa via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Burgos via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Burgos via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Burgos via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Burgos via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Burgos via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Burgos: 8
Staff picking Nishikawa: 1
Sadibou Sy (14-6-2)
vs.
Shane Mitchell (13-5)
Welterweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Sy via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Sy via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Sy: 9
Staff picking Mitchell: 0
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (18-5)
vs.
Anthony Romero (12-1)
Lightweight Division
– Main Event –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Aubin-Mercier via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Aubin-Mercier via Round 3 TKO
Brian Knight: Aubin-Mercier via Round 3 SUB
Jack Goodwillie: Aubin-Mercier via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Aubin-Mercier: 9
Staff picking Romero: 0
PFL 6 2023 FEATURED IMAGE:
Sadibou Sy (left) and Shane Mitchell (right) ahead of their PFL 6 2023 Regular Season fight taking place Friday, June 23rd from the Elite Overtime Arena in Atlanta, Georgia (photo credits to Cooper Neill, PFL MMA).
