Professional Fighters League‘s fourth event of the 2022 regular
season featured its lightweight and light heavyweight divisions
prior to the upcoming playoffs. Atop the
PFL 4 card was a lightweight showdown between Clay
Collard and Alex
Martinez, which wound up being an entertaining three-round
affair worthy of top billing.
Showing off his boxing skills early, Collard (21-10, 1 NC)
confidently advanced forward while throwing punches. Unable to
initially deal with the pressure, Martinez (10-2, 1 NC) became
susceptible to takedowns. “Cassius” Clay would drop Martinez with a
well-timed hook early in Round 2 and would follow his opponent to
the floor. This would wind up being a mistake as the Paraguayan
fighter would take the back of Collard and threaten with a
rear-naked choke. The third frame would see Collard finding success
on the feet before being taken down by Martinez, who wasn’t able to
do much but ended the fight in top position.
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After 15 minutes of action, the judges awarded Martinez a split
decision victory with two out of three 29-28 scorecards being in
his favor. With the victory, Martinez advances to the PFL
playoffs.
MARTINEZ LOCKS IN A CHOKE!
COLLARD SURVIVES! THE CROWD IS ON THEIR FEET#2022PFL4
pic.twitter.com/1GsWfV42IZ— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 18, 2022
The co-main event saw PFL 2021 light heavyweight champion Antonio
Carlos Jr. clinch a playoff spot by defeating Bruce
Souto. There was little urgency from Souto (15-5), who was
eliminated from playoff contention mid-fight, and Carlos Jr. (15-5,
2 NC) easily controlled the fight whether it was on the feet or on
the ground. “Cara de Sapato” would cap the performance with a
takedown, which helped secure the Brazilian a unanimous decision
victory with a trio of 30-27 scorecards. No. 2 ranked Carlos Jr.
will face No. 3 seed Omari
Akhmedov in the semifinals. Former PFL lightweight champion Raush
Manfio lost his first fight since 2018 after Olivier
Aubin-Mercier took a clear, yet dull, decision win. Both
strikers started off slow with Aubin-Mercier (15-5) disrupting the
gameplay of Manfio (16-4) in Round 1. The second frame was equally
as slow with Aubin-Mercier a step ahead on the feet. The third
round would finally see a bit more action but it was too little,
too late for “Cavalo de Guerra.” Judges all saw the fight in the
favor of “The Canadian Gangster,” who advanced to the playoffs with
six total points this season after taking scores of 30-27, 30-27
and 29-28.
The main card kicked off with a lightweight battle between Myles Price
and mixed martial arts veteran Jeremy
Stephens. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship alumni struggled to make weight,
which was demonstrated by his shaved head, and had just as many
issues dealing with the all-around game of Price (11-9). Stephens
(29-20, 1 NC) was the sharper striker on the feet, landing damaging
calf kicks, but couldn’t fully find his rhythm for a stoppage. The
resilient Price was able to find himself in advantageous positions
on the ground in the final two rounds. Ultimately, the judges
preferred the offensive work of Stephens, who took home a split
decision victory and three points with scores of 29-28, 28-29 and
29-28, but didn’t manage to advance to the PFL playoffs.
Light heavyweight contender Akhmedov stayed perfect in the 2022 PFL
season by defeating Teodoras
Aukstuolis. The heavy hands of Akhmedov (23-7-1) were a
constant factor as Aukstuolis (11-7-1) was repeatedly punished on
the feet throughout the first round. While Aukstuolis had a glimmer
of hope in the second round after dropping Akhmedov, the Lithuanian
was swept and subsequently put in an arm-triangle choke. Aukstuolis
didn’t tap but was choked unconscious at the 2:50 mark of Round
2. With the win, Akhmedov clinched a playoff spot with 11
points.
Lightweights Natan
Schulte and Marcin Held
had a back-and-forth scrap for three rounds. While Held (27-9) won
the pair’s first encounter in 2021, it was Schulte (22-5-1) that
showed improvement. “Russo” was able to keep the fight largely
upright and had the sharper striking, which led to the Brazilian
pulling away as the fight continued. After 15 minutes, all three
judges scored the fight in the favor of Schulte with scores of
30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. With the victory, Schulte earned three
points.
Delan
Monte scored a significant light heavyweight upset against
Emiliano
Sordi. While both fighters traded punches early, it was Monte
(8-2) that scored the more accurate blows. A huge overhand right
clipped Sordi (23-10-1),
who was unable to compose himself as Monte rained down punches.
The quick six points were officially earned at 1:32 of Round 1.
Rob
Wilkinson secured a PFL playoff spot by defeating fellow light
heavyweight Viktor
Pesta. Wilkinson (15-2) started strong by pelting Pesta (18-8)
with punches and controlling the center of the cage. After rocking
his opponent with a well-timed counter, “Razor”
floored Pesta and threw several punches at a clearly dazed opponent
before the fight was waved off at the 3:03 mark of the first
round. The Australian now has 11 points, which secured him the No.
1 seed and a semifinals bout against Monte.
Joshua
Silveira opened the first light heavyweight clash of the
evening by adding to his highlight reel at the expense of Marthin
Hamlet. While Hamlet (9-4) found success early on in
controlling the distance and striking from afar, a head kick from
Silveira (9-0) badly rocked the Norwegian fighter. The undefeated
American
kept looking to do damage and eventually put away his opponent with
a big knee and punches. The end officially came at 3:27 of
Round 1, earning Silveira six points in his promotional debut.
The opening showcase bout saw lightweight replacement Jake
Childers go up against Nate
Jennerman in what wound up being a one-sided affair. “Nasty”
came out aggressive as he backed Childers (9-3) up against the cage
and kept hounding his foe with constant punches. Round 2 would be
even more dominant as Jennerman (16-5) took “The Working Man” down
and
locked in a rear-naked choke for the victory. The tap
officially came at 2:00 of Round 2.