While Pedro
Carvalho believes one aspect of the
Professional Fighters League ruleset will take some adjusting
to, he also sees an upside to it.
The former Bellator
MMA featherweight is scheduled to make his PFL debut against
former champ Brendan
Loughnane (26-5) in the co-main event at
PFL 3 on April 19 (Tune into ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET for
the main card.) Along with its unique season format, PFL also
follows the unified rules of mixed martial arts, with some
exceptions. PFL doesn’t allow any elbow strikes, significantly
affecting ground and clinch exchanges. While Carvalho is mostly
concerned about adapting to elbows being banned, he also sees an
upside in not standing the threat of getting elbowed himself.
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“Well, clearly the biggest one that I have to mention is the
elbows, you know, we can’t elbow,” the 28-year-old said during PFL
Chicago media day. “But I prefer to think that I’m not going to get
elbowed, you know, I prefer to think the positive way. Not like I
cannot hit with elbows I prefer to think I’m not getting hit by
elbows.
“And that’s the main one, the rest is a fight, a fight is a fight,
doesn’t matter if he’s on [in] the hallway of the hotel or [in] the
cage a fight is a fight in [at] the end of the day.”
“The Game” also believes the PFL is on the mark with the elbow ban
given the frequency with which the season format requires its
fighters to compete.
“The rule set is there, it’s the same, the only thing there [that]
differentiates it’s the elbows, which I think is smart. Because
especially when you have the seasoned guys fighting so many times
in such a short period of time you have to protect them as much as
you want.”
Carvalho is currently on a two-fight slump and is 1-3 in his last
four. Meanwhile, winner of the PFL 2022 featherweight championship,
Loughnane kicked off his 2023 journey with a knockout win over
Marlon
Moraes. He then faced Jesus
Pinedo, who needed a first-round stoppage win to qualify for
the playoffs. Pinedo, who later went on to win the season, knocked
the Brit out in under two minutes in a shocking upset, snapping a
five-fight winning streak.