Playoffs and MMASucka staff picks are underway for the Professional Fighters League.
Tonight, August 4th sees PFL 7 2023 set for action from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, the promotion’s fourth visit to the state and first-ever visit to the Alamo City. The preliminary card will begin at 6:30pm ET (3:30pm PT) on ESPN+ followed by the main card on both ESPN+ and cable ESPN at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT).
MMASucka will have live results from the PFL 7 2023 fight card.
Be sure to recap our picks from tonight’s ONE Fight Night 13 event in Bangkok, Thailand. Stay tuned Saturday morning for our UFC on ESPN 50: Sandhagen vs. Font picks from Nashville, Tennessee and Tuesday the 8th for our Dana White’s Contender Series 2023: Week 1 picks from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Fights
Starting the first of three Playoff events this August sees featherweights (145 pounds) and light heavyweights (205 pounds) looking for their respective spots in the finals at a to-be-determined date later this year. Four fighters in each division fight tonight in hopes of advancing through for a shot at winning one million dollars.
Featherweights will meet in the main event between Bubba Jenkins and Jesus Pinedo. Former Brave FC Featherweight Champion and 2022 runner-up Jenkins went back-to-back this year with a unanimous decision over Chris Wade and a first-round submission over Sung Bin Jo. Despite losing his first match of the Regular Season to Gabriel Alves Braga, Peru’s Pinedo claimed his semifinal spot with an incredible first-round upset knockout over last year’s tournament champion Brendan Loughnane.
Two aforementioned talents, three-seed Gabriel Alves Braga and five-seed Chris Wade, will clash in the additional featherweight semifinals. 25-year-old Alves Braga comes in as the youngest of the bunch but with the most momentum being undefeated with eleven-straight victories including five by way of knockout. Former UFC competitor and four-time playoff notable Wade makes his fifth appearance tonight in hopes of making a path for finals attempt two and million-dollar win one with PFL. Wade stepped into the tournament on late-notice for Movlid Khaybulaev.
In the co-main event, Josh Silveira and Ty Flores will battle for a spot in the light heavyweight finals. Former LFA Middleweight Champion and American Top Team athlete Silveira saw a strong start to 2023 with his first-round rear-naked choke of Sam Kei in April and a first-round hand raise after Delan Monte’s knee injury in June. Elevation Fight Team’s Flores came in new to PFL this year and saw success with his back-to-back unanimous decisions over the aforementioned Monte and Dan Spohn.
Also looking for a spot in the 205-pound semifinals sees Marthin Hamlet and Impa Kasanganay set for three rounds. Norway’s Hamlet rides a three-fight win streak and targets his second finals appearance after coming up short to Antonio Carlos Junior in the 2021 playoff finale. Former UFC competitor Kasanganay also made his PFL debut this year and added two victories to his now four-fight run with wins over Cory Hendricks and Tim Caron.
Who wins and who is picked to win at PFL 7 2023?
In a heated main event, Bubba Jenkins will lock horns against Jesus Pinedo with a #PFLWorldChampionship spot on the line
[ Friday, August 4th | 6:30ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLPlayoffs] pic.twitter.com/J0uJBUaYql
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 4, 2023
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 our staff picks for the PFL 7 2023 Playoffs below.
Staff Records after Bellator MMA x Rizin 2:
1. Ben Jamieson: 171-87
2. Michael DeSantis: 169-89
3. Jeremy Brand: 164-94
4. Nate Freeman: 163-95
5T. Frazer Krohn: 161-97
5T. Wesley Riddle: 161-97
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 148-88
8. Jack Goodwillie: 131-75
9. Andrew Benjamin: 129-104
10. Brian Knight: 119-73
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Benjamin: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
18. Chris De Santiago: 3-3
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – ONE Fight Night 13 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Marthin Hamlet (12-4), +180
vs.
Impa Kasanganay (13-3), -218
Light Heavyweight Playoff Semifinals
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Kasanganay via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Kasanganay via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Kasanganay via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Hamlet: 0
Staff picking Kasanganay: 8
Gabriel Alves Braga (11-0), -130
vs.
Chris Wade (23-9), +110
Featherweight Playoff Semifinals
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Alves Braga via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Wade via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Wade via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Wade via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Wade via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Wade via Split Decision
Brian Knight: Wade via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Alves Braga via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Alves Braga: 2
Staff picking Wade: 6
Josh Silveira (11-1), -650
vs.
Ty Flores (13-4), +470
Light Heavyweight Playoff Semifinals
– Co-Main Event –
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Silveira via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Silveira via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Silveira via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Silveira via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Silveira via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Silveira via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Silveira via Round 2 SUB
Ben Jamieson: Silveira via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Silveira: 8
Staff picking Flores: 0
Bubba Jenkins (21-6), -325
vs.
Jesus Pinedo (21-6-1), +260
Featherweight Playoff Semifinals
– Main Event –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Jenkins via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Jenkins via Round 1 SUB
Nate Freeman: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Jenkins via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Jenkins: 8
Staff picking Pinedo: 0
PFL 7 2023 FEATURED IMAGE:
Josh Silveira (left) and Ty Flores (right) ahead of their PFL 7 2023 Light Heavyweight Playoffs fight taking place Friday, August 4th from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas (photo credits to Cooper Neill, PFL MMA).
