PFL Nashville fight week is here! After a month-long island between phases in the ongoing PFL World Tournament following PFL 4 in Orlando on May 1, the road to the August finals resumes this Thursday.
Following the residency from Universal Orlando, the fabled PFL SmartCage touches down in Nashville, TN and Nashville Municipal Auditorium for the fifth card in the tournament. Thursday’s PFL Nashville features semifinal fights in the welterweight and the featherweight brackets.
As usual, live coverage of the show can be seen inside the United States via ESPN+ and internationally through DAZN. Live coverage begins with the PFL Nashville early card at 8:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm PT on ESPN+ before moving onto the late card at 11 pm ET/ 8 pm PT on ESPN+ and ESPN proper via linear television. All told, barring any 11th-hour adjustments between now and Thursday night, the final version of the card features 11 fights.
PFL Nashville Main Event: PFL Welterweight Semifinal #2: Jason Jackson vs. Thad Jean
At the top of the bill on Thursday night in Nashville will be the second semifinal in the PFL welterweight bracket between Bellator MMA alumnus, “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jason Jackson (19-5 MMA) and undefeated Thad Jean (9-0 MMA.) All fights in PFL Nashville will be a maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round. The winner will advance to the title fight this August against the victor of the other welterweight semifinal on the late card between Logan Storley (17-3 MMA) and Maysauki Kikuiri (11-3-1 MMA).
Jason Jackson enters the semifinals of the PFL World Tournament having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. He returned to the win column on the night of April 2 in Orlando, having submitted Andrey Koreshkov (rear-naked choke) in the second round of a scheduled three during the PFL 1 main event.
This is a milestone fight for Jason Jackson. Thursday’s main event of the evening in PFL Nashville is his 25th career appearance as a professional MMA fighter. Fighting in 25 bouts is a significant career benchmark for any contestant, combative discipline notwithstanding. With Jackson one victory away from a shot at a world championship, can the former Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion make it two wins in a row in under two and a half months time?
Across the way, Thad Jean is fighting in his 10th career bout during PFL Nashville on Thursday night and he has yet to lose as a professional fighter. During the April 2 quarterfinals in Orlando, he stopped Mukhamed Berkhamov with a first-round TKO (left hook followed by ground and pound shots) on the early card.
Thursday night’s PFL Nashville main event is by far the biggest fight in Thad Jean’s MMA career to-date. He’ll be squaring off against a former champion in the form of Jason Jackson, so how will he perform in this test?
PFL Nashville Co-Main Event: PFL Featherweight Semifinal #2: Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga III
Immediately prior to the headliner, the co-main event of the evening sees the second semifinal at 145 take place between Jesus Pinedo (24-6-1 MMA) and Gabriel Braga (16-2 MMA.) Your winner of this fight moves onto the final versus the survivor of the other tournament contest versing Movlid Khaybulaev (22-0-1, 1 NC MMA) and Tae Kyun Kim (11-1 MMA.)
This fight is a trilogy contest in a rivalry renewed in the 2023 PFL Featherweight Championship, won by Pinedo with a third-round knockout due to punches in Washington, DC. Pinedo comes into the weekend with a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s won four fights in succession.
Last time out, he quite literally punched his ticket to the semifinal phase of the tournament with a first-round knockout of Adam Borics in Orlando. Jesus Pinedo has already bested Gabriel Braga once before, but the monetary stakes were a higher, to the tune of $1 million (USD.)
While there won’t be a $1 million payday this time around, the facts for this semifinal are coldly simple: One will move on for the August finals, while the other will be watching on television.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Braga enters PFL Nashville sporting a record of 4-1 in his own right. Currently, he’s won two fights in a row, a streak that was extended last time out by way of first-round submission (rear-naked choke) versus Fred Dupras in the early card that evening.
Revenge is on Braga’s mind in PFL Nashville this coming Thursday evening, for certain. Can he take that next step toward the title?
PFL Nashville: PFL Welterweight Semifinal #1: Logan Storley vs. Maysauki Kikuiri
Also on the PFL Nashville late card, the first semifinal at 170 happens when former Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Logan Storley meets up with Maysauki Kikuiri. The victor will have to wait around to see what happens in the aforementioned main event of the evening between Jason Jackson and Thad Jean.
Storley will be making the walk in Nashville on the strength of a 3-2 record over the course of his last five fights, dating back to his tenure in the late Bellator MMA. During the quarterfinals, he bested Joseph Luciano (unanimous decision) after 15 minutes of action from Universal Orlando for his second win a row.
He’s been in high-profile situations before in his career, winning Bellator’s title at 170 in May of 2022. How will the semifinal phase of the tournament play out?
In the other corner, Maysauki Kikuiri, the onetime Pancrase Interim Welterweight Champion, has posted a record of 5-0 in his last five fights. Most recently, he scored a TKO (retirement) at the end of the second round of his April 2 bout against Giannis Bachar after the latter fighter could not continue in the match due to an injury to his knee.
This is a cracking fight in PFL Nashville with two former champions going at it. Which one of these men will emerge victorious this Thursday?
PFL Nashville: PFL Featherweight Semifinal #1: Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Tae Kyun Kim
To begin the late card of Thursday’s show, the first semifinal fight at 145 will occur when Movlid Khaybulaev (22-0-1 MMA) faces Tae Kyun Kim (11-1 MMA.) The survivor of this tilt will know his opponent for the final once the Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga rematch concludes in the co-main event.
Khaybulaev has yet to lose in his professional MMA career. He advanced to the semis with a split decision victory over Jeremy Kennedy (19-6 MMA) on opening night of the tourney. To find the one and only time where he exited with a draw, you’d have to travel back to the 2019 PFL season, when his fight against Andre Harrison (22-3-1 MMA) ended level on the scorecards after three rounds by majority decision.
It goes without saying that Movlid Khaybulaev has had much success once the cage door closes, winning the 2021 PFL Featherweight Championship via unanimous decision over Chris Wade (23-10 MMA) after five rounds. Since then, he’s been waiting for the chance to add another strap to his collection. Will he remain unbeaten after PFL Nashville?
As far as Tae Kyun Kim is concerned, he’ll be touching down in Tennessee after having gone 4-1 in his last five fights. Up to now, he’s won two fights in a row. In his quarterfinal fight, he stopped Nathan Kelly (11-4 MMA) with a rear-naked choke with only seven seconds remaining on the first-round clock. Kim’s got a tough adversary in the form of Movlid Khaybulaev on Thursday in Nashville. Can he give Khaybulaev his first career defeat?
Final Thoughts
Which semifinal or semifinals are you looking forward to on PFL Nashville? Let us know in the comments.
