PFL Standings: Heavyweight, Women’s Flyweight Semifinals in Place

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The second half of the 2024
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— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 14, 2024

Forget the third. Denis
Goltsov hopes the fifth time’s the charm.

The well-traveled Russian sambo practitioner nailed down the No. 1
seed in the
Professional Fighters League playoffs, as he swiped aside
Thiago
Santos—a short-notice replacement for Sergey
Bilostenniy—with punches in the first round of their
PFL 4 heavyweight showcase on Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena
in Uncasville, Connecticut. Goltsov drew the curtain 2:22 into
Round 1.

“Like they say in our country, you prepare for the worst and you go
from there,” he said. “He didn’t really feel that strong. Once I
was like a backpack on him and I was really controlling him, I was
able to maul him. I was always in a good position.”

It marks the fifth time Goltsov has qualified for the PFL’s
postseason, though he has yet to complete a run to the $1 million
prize. He was the heavyweight runner-up in 2023, losing to Renan
Ferreira in the final. Goltsov now trains his sights on the
2024 semifinals, where a confrontation with the fourth-seeded
Tim
Johnson awaits at
PFL 7 on Aug. 2 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in
Nashville, Tennessee. Teammates Oleg Popov
and Valentin
Moldavsky are set to collide in the other heavyweight
semifinal.

Meanwhile,
American Top Team’s Dakota
Ditcheva improved to 12-0 and secured the No. 1 seed at women’s
flyweight, as she dismantled Chelsea
Hackett with punches in the first round of their co-main event
at 125 pounds. A left hook to the body unwound Hackett just 3:22
into Round 1.

“I’m happy with it,” Ditcheva said. “Fair play to Chelsea. Not many
people call out high-level people, and I’d like to say I’m a
high-level fighter, so fair play to her for getting in and being a
game fighter. I’m not really surprised by the performance, to be
honest.”

Ditcheva now has $1 million payday within reach. She faces the
fourth-seeded Jena Bishop
in the women’s flyweight semifinals at PFL 7 and figures to be a
hefty favorite there. Ditcheva, the 25-year-old daughter of former
world kickboxing champion Lisa Howarth, has finished 11 of her
first 12 opponents, 10 of them by knockout or technical knockout.
Taila
Santos and reigning Bellator
MMA champion Liz
Carmouche are slated to meet in the other semifinal.

“I’m excited to get straight back into the gym. I literally live
for this sport,” said Ditcheva, who already has eyes on a semifinal
pairing with Bishop. “It’s going to be a tough matchup. It’s
opposite styles, so I’m probably going to want to it stood up,
[and] she’s probably going to want to go to the ground. I think
we’ll both be ready for both ends.”

Attention for the Professional Fighters League next moves to

PFL 5, where lightweights and heavyweights progress in their
bids to qualify for the postseason on June 21 at the Jon M.
Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. A week later, featherweights and
welterweights take center stage with
PFL 6 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A closer look at the up-to-the-minute PFL standings:

Your HW Semifinals are set for Nashville!

#PFLPlayoffs #PFLRegularSeason
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— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 14, 2024

HEAVYWEIGHT

x-10: Denis
Goltsov
x-8: Oleg
Popov
x-6: Valentin
Moldavsky
x-6: Tim
Johnson
5: Daniel
James
3: Tyrell
Fortune
3: Sergey
Bilostenniy
3: Linton
Vassell
0: Thiago
Santos
0: Danilo
Marques
0: Marcelo
Golm
-1: Davion
Franklin

*******

The Women’s Flyweight Semifinal Matchups are
OFFICIAL for Nashville!
#PFLPlayoffs #PFLRegularSeason
LIVE NOW
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— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 14, 2024

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

x-12: Dakota
Ditcheva
x-9: Taila
Santos
x-7: Liz
Carmouche
x-6: Jena
Bishop
5: Juliana
Velasquez
3: Kana
Watanabe
3: Ilara
Joanne
0: Chelsea
Hackett
0: Lisa
Mauldin
-1: Shanna
Young