The
Professional Fighters League welterweight playoffs have a new
entrant.
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The promotion announced on Sunday that Don Madge has
pulled out of his semifinal bout against Magomed
Umalatov due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Neiman
Gracie will step in and face Umalatov on Aug. 23. Additionally,
Luca
Poclit, who was originally slated to fight Gracie, will remain
on the card against Eric
Alequin.
PFL 9 takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., and
features semifinal bouts at featherweight and welterweight. The
evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT,
while prelims stream on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m.
PT.
Gracie went 1-1 during his 2024 PFL campaign. After dropping a
unanimous verdict to Goiti
Yamauchi at PFL 3, the Bellator
MMA veteran rebounded to outpoint Madge in his second outing at
PFL 6 on June 28.
Undefeated in 16 professional bouts, Umalatov is still seeking his
first PFL championship appearance. During the most recent regular
season, the 32-year-old Russian defeated Andrey
Koreshkov via unanimous decision before scoring a first-round
submission of Brennan
Ward.