PFL 4 is upon us. After a hiatus last weekend due to United States rightsholder ESPN airing the 2025 NFL Draft on its family of networks, the quarterfinal phase wraps up on the first evening of the fifth month of 2025.
Thursday, as it has throughout the quarterfinals, Stage 19 of Universal Orlando, the former site of the fabled Nickelodeon Studios wing, serves as the host venue of the show. By night’s end, we’ll be down to the final four fighters in all eight of the weight classes competing in this PFL World Tournament.
Live coverage of PFL 4 begins with the countdown show on YouTube at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT before the early card at 7:30 pm ET/ 4:30 pm PT. Action from the late card closes out the evening at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT.
If you’re planning on watching the event from the United States, it’ll be seen gavel-to-gavel on ESPN+, with ESPN2 airing the late card on linear TV. If you’re watching in Canada, access DAZN for the fights. All told, if there are no 11th-hour adjustments to the bout order, the final version of Thursday’s card features nine MMA bouts in the light heavyweight and heavyweight ranks.
PFL 4 Main Event: Phil Davis vs. Rob Wilkinson
At the top of the bill on Thursday night, you’ll see a light heavyweight tilt between two seasoned veterans of the sport. “Mr. Wonderful,” Phil Davis (24-7, 1 NC MMA) will square off against Rob Wilkinson (19-3, 1 NC MMA).
As with all of the fights on this card, the PFL 4 main event is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close out the night’s activities. Phil Davis enters this year’s 205-lb tournament field having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five fights dating back to September of 2020 in the late Bellator MMA.
Last time out, he dropped a split decision at the hands of Corey Anderson (18-6, 1 NC MMA, 5-5, 1 NC Bellator) in June of 2023 during Bellator 297 from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. This quarterfinal bout in the PFL 4 main event of the evening is a pairing nearly 13 months in the making.
Back in April of 2024, Davis and Wilkinson were scheduled to have fought one another in PFL 2, but the pairing was scrubbed from the contest for reasons unknown. In Davis’ stead, Wilkinson fought Tom Breese (20-6 MMA.)
With Davis not having competed in close to 23 months’ time, can he recapture the magic that made him a light heavyweight champion? Tune in Thursday and find out.
Meanwhile, Rob Wilkinson, the 2022 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion, comes into this week’s show with a mark of 3-1 with one no-contest in his last five bouts. He’s looking to reenter the win column on Thursday after having sustained a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Dovlet Yagshimuradov (25-7-1 MMA,) the eventual 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion.
Almost a year after fans were supposed to be treated to a clash of the titans between two former champions at 205, the showdown finally happens in Central Florida this week. Who emerges as the victor?
PFL 4 Co-Main Event: Valentin Moldavsky vs. Sergey Bilostenniy
Immediately beforehand, the co-main attraction of PFL 4 on Thursday night sees the focus shift to the heavyweight division as Valentin Moldavsky (13-4, 1 NC MMA) squares off against Sergey Bilostenniy (13-3 MMA.) The former will be making the walk in Orlando sporting a record of 2-2 with one no-contest in his last five matches.
Last June, he dropped a split decision to Linton Vassell (25-10, 1 NC MMA) after three rounds. Despite that defeat, he qualified for the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight Semifinals in Nashville that August, where he was slotted to face Oleg Popov (19-2 MMA) before the fight was scrubbed due to Moldavsky’s injury. Much like both fighters in the main event which follows the Moldavsky vs. Bilostenniy tilt, Moldavsky was himself a former champion and was headed in that direction before his injury.
Can he take the first step toward this year’s championship in PFL 4? Only time will tell.
Across the way, Sergey Bilostenniy has gone 4-1 in his last five fights. He enters the tournament having won three fights in a row dating back to last season in the PFL. Back on Aug. 2, 2024, he finished Tyrell Fortune (14-2 MMA) with a first-round submission by way of heel hook in a showcase bout on the early card.
He’s on a hot streak of late, something that’s good to be in when entering a tournament, but the stakes are high in this format. One wrong move will spell the end of his run. Will Bilostenniy make it four wins in a row on Thursday?
PFL 4: Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Karl Moore
Also on the PFL 4 late card, you’ll be seeing an intriguing light heavyweight quarterfinal encounter versing Antonio Carlos Jr. (16-6, 2 NC MMA) against 15-fight veteran Karl Moore (12-3 MMA), an alumnus of both Bellator and Cage Warriors. Carlos Jr., the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion, comes into the tourney with a record of 4-1 in his past five bouts.
At the moment, he’s hoping to right the ship in the quarterfinal phase of the tournament. Last June, Carlos Jr. sustained a unanimous decision defeat to Alex Polizzi (11-4 MMA) after three rounds in June.
He was scheduled to return for the early card of PFL 8 in Hollywood, FL that August versus Karl Albrektsson (14-6 MMA), but the contest wound up being scrapped ahead of fight night due to the latter withdrawing from the show.
Can he get back on track this Thursday?
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights are you looking forward to on PFL 4 this Thursday? Let us know in the comments.
