MMASucka staff picks are ready to go as the Professional Fighters League has reached its 2023 season finale.
PFL 10 2023 will kick off later tonight, November 24th from The Anthem in Washington, D.C., coming as the promotion’s first visit to the waterfront venue and fourth stop in the United States capital since November of 2017. Preliminary fights begin at 5:00pm ET (2:00pm PT) on ESPN+ followed by the seven-fight main card at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on pay-per-view available to purchase through ESPN+.
Stay tuned here at MMASucka for live results from the entire PFL 10 2023 World Championship event.
The Fights
After a busy Regular Season and summer Playoffs, the 2023 PFL season will conclude as twelve mixed martial artists in six fight pairings contest for their divisional tournament championships as well as a cash prize of one million dollars.
In the night’s featured main event, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Clay Collard will meet for the PFL Lightweight Championship. Last year’s tournament victor, Aubin-Mercier, looks to make it two after making it through the Regular Season with a decision over Shane Burgos and a third-round knockout of Anthony Romero. The Montreal native looks to continue his dominant ways after making his August semifinal win over Bruno Miranda; his ninth consecutive dating back to June of 2021. Aubin-Mercier’s opponent, Collard, made it to the semifinals in 2021 and fell short of playoff contention last year. Now, with his two Regular Season wins of Yamato Nishikawa and Stevie Ray followed by his playoff decision over Shane Burgos, the striking talent aims for his 25th career victory one for a million dollars.
Heavyweight finalists Renan Ferreira and Denis Goltsov are set to clash in the co-main event. Hoping to turn the tables following a tested 2022 sees Ferreira, who has ended his last two fights inside the first round with his 50-second finish of last year’s runner-up Matheus Scheffel and his bracket advancement knockout over Maurice Greene. Sambo specialist and 2019 semifinalist Goltsov faced removal last season due to visa issues but has since come back with a vengeance stopping all three of his opponents inside one round adding to his string of five wins in-a-row.
2019 semifinalist and 2022 women’s featherweight tournament champion Larissa Pacheco shocked the world last year with her unanimous decision over then-undefeated Kayla Harrison. She aims to capture back-to-back Featherweight titles after her impressive 2023 against multi-time Sambo World Champion Marina Mokhnatkina whose return to 145 pounds from lightweight has proved successful with four straight wins at the lower class and five in-a-row since July of last year.
Squaring off for one million dollars and the PFL Welterweight Championship sees 2018 Champion Magomed Magomedkerimov set to rematch 2022 Champion Sadibou Sy in their fifth years with the company (excluding 2020’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Magomedkerimov took the 2021 semifinal meeting over Sy by unanimous decision.
Former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Josh Silveira and 2023 PFL Challenger Series contract winner Impa Kasanganay will exchange blows at 205 pounds in their season final matchup. Both Silveira and Kasanganay made dominant work in their Playoff pairings with first round knockouts of season debutant Ty Flores and 2021 tournament finalist Marthin Hamlet, respectively.
One lone championship fight not on the pay-per-view headlines the preliminary card as 2023 newcomers and original divisional underdogs Jesus Pinedo and Gabriel Alves Braga battle for the Featherweight title. The pairing comes as a rematch following their back-and-forth affair in this year’s fight card opener with Alves Braga taking the three-round split decision over Pinedo.
Two non-title fights on the main card will be included in our staff picks. Two-time Women’s Lightweight Champion and Judoka Kayla Harrison takes on former Invicta FC and UFC competitor Aspen Ladd at 150 pounds; Ladd stepping in on just over two weeks’ notice resulting from Julia Budd’s removal. Additionally, two-time Welterweight Tournament victor Ray Cooper III makes his return to the PFL cage for the first time in over a year as he moves up to the middleweight division opposite 21-fight UFC notable Derek Brunson who make his first appearance with the promotion.
See who the MMASucka staff has picked to win for the highly-anticipated PFL 10 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/or 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.
See below for our PFL 10 2023 World Championship picks and predictions.
Staff Records after UFC Vegas 82:
1. Ben Jamieson: 284-141
2. Michael DeSantis: 275-146
3. Nate Freeman: 271-154
4. Jeremy Brand: 267-158
5. Wesley Riddle: 265-160
6. Frazer Krohn: 254-164
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 233-130
8. Andrew Benjamin: 198-167
9. Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
10. Brian Knight: 140-84
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15T. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
15T. Chris De Santiago: 10-7
17. Joshua Yule: 7-6
18. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Jesus Pinedo (22-6-1), -115
vs.
Gabriel Alves Braga (12-0), -105
Featherweight Tournament Championship
– Preliminary Card Headliner –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Pinedo via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Pinedo via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Alves Braga via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pinedo via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Pinedo via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Pinedo via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Alves Braga via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Pinedo: 5
Staff picking Alves Braga: 2
Ray Cooper III (25-8-1), -115
vs.
Derek Brunson (23-9), -105
Middleweight Division
– Main Card –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Cooper III via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Cooper III via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Cooper III via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Brunson via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Brunson via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Cooper III via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Cooper III: 4
Staff picking Brunson: 3
Kayla Harrison (15-1), -800
vs.
Aspen Ladd (11-4), +550
Women’s Featherweight Division
– Main Card –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Harrison via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Harrison via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Harrison via Round 2 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Ladd via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Harrison via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Harrison via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Harrison via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Harrison: 6
Staff picking Ladd: 1
Josh Silveira (12-1), +185
vs.
Impa Kasanganay (14-3), -225
Light Heavyweight Tournament Championship
– Main Card –
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Silveira via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Silveira via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Kasanganay via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Kasanganay via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Kasanganay via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Silveira via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Kasanganay via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Silveira: 3
Staff picking Kasanganay: 4
Magomed Magomedkerimov (33-6), -205
vs.
Sadibou Sy (16-6-2, 1 NC), +170
Welterweight Tournament Championship
– Main Card –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Magomedkerimov via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Magomedkerimov via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Sy via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Sy via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Magomedkerimov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Magomedkerimov via Round 3 SUB
Staff picking Magomedkerimov:
Staff picking Sy :
Larissa Pacheco (22-4), -1000
vs.
Marina Mokhnatkina (11-3), +650
Women’s Featherweight Tournament Championship
– Main Card –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Pacheco via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Pacheco via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Pacheco via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Pacheco via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Pacheco via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Pacheco via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Pacheco via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Pacheco: 7
Staff picking Mokhnatkina: 0
Renan Ferreira (11-3, 3 NC), +210
vs.
Denis Goltsov (32-7), -258
Heavyweight Tournament Championship
– Co-Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ferreira via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Ferreira via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Goltsov via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Ferreira via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Ferreira via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Goltsov via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Goltsov via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Ferreira: 4
Staff picking Goltsov: 3
Clay Collard (24-10, 1 NC), +210
vs.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (20-5), -258
Lightweight Tournament Championship
– Main Event –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Aubin-Mercier via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Aubin-Mercier via Round 4 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Collard via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Aubin-Mercier via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Collard: 1
Staff picking Aubin-Mercier: 6
PFL 10 2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURED IMAGE:
Olivier Aubin-Mercier ahead of his PFL 10 2023 World Championship main event against Clay Collard for the Lightweight Tournament title taking place Friday, November 24th from The Anthem in Washington, D.C. (photo credits to Cooper Neill, Professional Fighters League).
