Friday’s PFL featherweight semifinal between Brendan Loughnane and Movlid Khaybulaev isn’t a $1 million fight, but it has a championship feeling to it.
Loughnane is anxious to sweep his infamous appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, in which he won but didn’t close out the fight seeking a finish, into the footnotes of his career with a PFL championship victory. He’s won both of his fights in the PFL regular season, opening with a quick knockout of UFC veteran Sheymon Moraes in April, and locked up the No. 1 seed.
The fourth-seeded Khaybulaev finished the regular season 2-0 as well, capping it off with a victory over Lance Palmer in June that eliminated the two-time PFL champion from playoff contention. The win made Khaybuladev 17-0-1 for his career.
The Loughnane-Khaybulaev clash headlines the last of three PFL semifinal cards at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida (Live on ESPN+; 10 p.m. E.T. on ESPN2/ESPN+), and also features another 145-pound semifinal as well as two light heavyweight semis on the main card.
At featherweight, No. 2 seed Chris Wade faces third-seeded Bubba Jenkins. The 205-pound semifinals pit top seed Antonio Carlos Junior against 2019 PFL champion (and No. 4 seed) Emiliano Sordi, while No. 2 seed Cezar Ferreira faces No. 3 Marthin Hamlet.
Prior to the four playoff semifinals, there are six prelims featuring a mix of fighters from the 2021 season and some PFL newcomers.
Follow along throughout the night for instant analysis.
Still to come:
Featherweights: Sheymon Moraes vs. Lazar Stojadinovic
Light heavyweights: Chris Camozzi vs. Cory Hendricks
Featherweights: Anthony Dizy vs. Jesse Stirn
Featherweights: Jason Knight vs. Bobby Moffett
Featherweights: Alejandro Flores vs. Carl Deaton
Lightweights: Jacob Kilburn vs. Brandon Jenkins
ESPN2/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET
Featherweights: Brendan Loughnane vs. Movlid Khaybulaev
Featherweights: Chris Wade vs. Bubba Jenkins
Light heavyweights: Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Emiliano Sordi
Light heavyweights: Cezar Ferreira vs. Marthin Hamlet