Fighters Clinch Playoff Spots in Professional Fighters League
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (BUSINESS WIRE) Professional Fighters League (PFL) hosted PFL4 at NYCB LIVE, the home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York. PFL4 was a high-stakes fight night on the road to the playoffs, as fighters battled to clinch a spot in the postseason lineup. With a shot at the $10 million prize pool on the line, combatants looked for early and decisive wins.
After controlling his opponent for the first two rounds, Lance Palmer forced Juma Tuerxun to tap after locking in a neck crank at 4:34 of the third round. Palmer’s victory earns him four points on the night leaving him with nine points overall and positioning him well for one of the top seeds in the playoffs.
Andre Harrison turned in a dominating performance in front of the hometown crowd, controlling Nazareno Melagarie for all three rounds, earning him a unanimous decision victory. With an additional three points, Harrison clinches a spot in the playoffs as he continues his quest to become the PFL 2018 Champion and earning $1 million dollars.
Throughout the first half of the regular season, PFL fighters have demonstrated that every second counts in the cage, and PFL4 was no different. Steven Siler took down Alexandre Almeida, before the one-minute mark in the first round; clinching the number one seed in the featherweight division, and both Philipe Lins and Kelvin Tiller prevailed in their second rounds after their opponents gained the early advantage, earning spots in the playoffs.
“Our true sport MMA format has consistently delivered make-or-break action, and our second lineup of featherweight and heavyweight fighters did not disappoint,” said Carlos Silva, League President of the PFL. “Every round matters in the PFL and our fighters always enter the cage with a hunger to prove themselves and clinch a spot in the December 31 championship event. We can expect the same level of intensity at PFL5 on August 2, when we will be back on Long Island.”
“There were definitely some come-from-behind wins tonight,” said Ray Sefo, President of Fighting Operations of PFL. “When a shot at a title fight is on the line, both fighters are going to bring everything they’ve got to the cage. As we saw at PFL4, the high stakes bring upsets and incredible action for MMA fans.”
The 2018 PFL season features 126 fights on Thursday nights in seven regular-season events, bracket-style “win-or-go-home” playoffs, and a $10 million postseason prize pool — the largest prize pool in the history of MMA. The season began with 12 athletes in each of six different weight classes. Eight fighters from each class will earn their way into the playoff round, and one fighter in each division will earn the title of champion.
U.S.-based and international fans can watch all PFL regular season, playoff, and championship fights—over 66 hours of live action — for free. In the United States, all of the PFL regular season events airs live on Thursday in primetime exclusively on NBCSN, and streams live on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and www.pflmma.com. Outside the U.S., Facebook will stream up to six hours of free, live coverage for each event. In the U.S., fans can watch the first three hours of coverage of each event on Facebook.
