PFL 9 will feature the final semifinal round fights in the lightweight and welterweight tournaments as the playoffs march towards a finale. Up first we look at the lightweight matchups, which take place Wednesday from The Theater at Madison Square Garden live on ESPN and ESPN+.
PFL 9: Lightweight Semifinals Set For MSG
Clay Collard, Shane Burgos, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Bruno Miranda meet Wednesday in the semifinals of the PFL lightweight playoffs. The event takes place from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, airing live on ESPN and ESPN+.
Collard and Burgos are set for the main event, with Aubin-Mercier and Miranda in the co-main event role. The main card also features welterweight action between Sadibou Sy-Carlos Leal and Magomed Magomedkerimov and Solomon Renfro.
PFL 9: Clay Collard Vs. Shane Burgos
Collard enters the SmartCage as the No. 1 seed following a finish of Stevie Ray and a decision over Yamato Nishikawa. He has now gone 5-2 since joining the PFL after a run that included fights in the UFC and boxing ring.
Collard showed off his devastating punching power vs. Ray, clocking him in the second round for his 11th career win by knockout. He is 23-10 overall with a no-contest.
Burgos took advantage of the opportunity presented to him after PFL officials made a change. He went 1-1 this past regular season, besting Nishikawa while falling to Aubin-Mercier via decision.
Prior to joining the promotion, Burgos fought for the UFC, earning wins over the likes of Cub Swanson, recent Ultimate Fighter winner Kurt Holobaugh and Charles Jourdain.
PFL 9: Olivier Aubin-Mercier Vs. Bruno Miranda
Aubin-Mercier, the reigning champion, has strung together a streak of eight consecutive wins – all of which have come since joining the PFL. He knocked out Ray last year in the finals and advanced to the final four with wins over Burgos and Anthony Romero this year.
His run includes other victories over former champions Raush Manfio, Nathan Schulte and Marcin Held.
Miranda claimed his 16th career win this past June with a split decision vs. Alex Martinez. He also downed Ahmed Amir in April and has now won seven fights in a row since a 2017 defeat.
