PFL 2022 Playoffs

Tape Study Notes

PFL 2022 Playoffs

There are some low level fights on this card that we are going to avoid. I did not include them in my breakdown. There are however a ton of fights I do like!

Cory Hendricks vs Marthin Hamlet

Hendricks is 2-1 in the pfl with a submission win over none other than Marthin Hamlet, a decision loss to Chris Camozzi and then he destroyed the shell of Emiliano Sordi. He is a former TUF contestant and has wins over Khalil Roundtree and Marcel Fortuna. He trains out of syndicate mma. He was losing that fight to Hamlet before finding the sub late in the 3rd round. He’s very well rounded and this is a very interesting rematch. He’s been doing a lot of sparring with the beast that is Khalil Roundtree. Has a ton of heart which we saw in the first hamlet fight

Hamlet is an ELITE wrestler. He showed that against Teodoras and against his current opponent Cory Hendricks before gassing and getting subbed. He also has a loss in similar fashion to modestas Bukauskas. He’s got heavy hands and wrestling. Meat and potatoes fighter. He got knocked out in his last fight against a legit prospect in Silveira. Hamlet is an athletic dude and he rocked Hendricks in their first fight. He even hit Silveira with some bombs.

Very interesting fight and I think it’s lined appropriately. Hamlet tends to gas and quit and I can’t bet on a fighter that does that. Hendricks is the dog that keeps coming. Leaning betting Hendricks, but not sure I pull the trigger on this one

Robert Wilkinson vs Delan Monte

Wilkinson is on a fucking tear. He is massive and has massive power. He finally has confidence in himself and that comes from training day in and day out with the best in the world. He is patient, picks his shots, while remaining the aggressor. He has good footwork and has shown good grappling as well. He came into this season and has shown that he is a favorite to win the entire thing

Monte didn’t get to show himself in his pfl debut. He got crushed by shoeface, He’s 8-2 with 6 finishes. His other loss was 4 years ago and it was by sub. He hits like a truck, he’s super aggressive and he has looked slick on the ground. He looks for takedowns off of wild scrums. He is hitable. Low level of comp and he beat the shell of the shell of Sordi in his last fight

Monte is dangerous, but he’s too hitable to be successful against a guy like Wilkinson. Wilkinson gets another finish here

Olivier Aubin Mercier vs Alexander Martinez

Mercier is a former UFC fighter. He had some good wins in the UFC including wins over Anthony Rocco Martin and Drew Dober. He then lost 3 in a row and got cut from the organization. He joined the PFL and is 4-0. He beat Manfio, Held,  Horcher, and Schulte by split Dec. four very game opponents. He is a grappler. He is a judo black belt and looks to push opponents up against the cage and drag them down. His striking is a bit herky jerky, but he does come with power. He leaps into his opponents with a long 1,2. He is massive for the division. Uses his cardio and strength to win fights. His last fight against Manfio was very boring. Both fighters played it safe going into the playoffs

Martinez had so much hype coming into the pfl and has shown why. He beat one of the toughest guys the pfl has to offer in Loik in his first fight in the organization. He then fought Natan Schulte to a split decision and lost a rematch to Loik. They have been giving him no breaks. He has excellent footwork. Comes from a Taekwondo background. He isn’t scared to grapple. He showed against Loik and Schulte that he doesn’t stop working off his back and when given the chance he can reverse position. He was actively looking for his own takedowns against Loik and landing them. Once on the ground he was able to transition to mount. This kid is no joke and beat a ufc vet in Stevie Ray. He technically won his last fight, but in no way did he beat clay collard. Collard beat him up. He did show toughness, but in a win he got beaten down.

Martinez is +200 and I will take that all day long. This kid is athletic and a dark horse in this division. I bet against Aubin every time and it’s cost me, but the price is right here.

Omari Ahkmedov vs Josh Silveira

Akhmedov is guy who had a good ufc career. He is strong as shit, hits hard and can wrestle his ass off. He’s come into the PFL and has shown he’s a problem for anyone. He’s shown his loss to Jordan Young was a bit of a fluke and he’s now won 2 in a row with 2 finishes. He’s an excellent grappler. Transitions to favorable positions with ease. Good submissions. His striking is very improved and he hits very hard.

Silveira is one of the best prospects the pfl has. This kid got interest from the ufc and Bellator, but picked the pfl. He has excellent submissions, good striking. Has great kicks and he has a great gas tank. Comes from a wrestling background and said he trains a lot with the Dagestany wrestlers. Loves their attitude and grittiness. He showed his power against Hamlet, but he got hit and rocked in that fight

This is a weird fight because these guys are training partners at ATT. Interestingly enough neither guy stopped training there. They both have their own guys and silveira  stated neither guy took any training partners or coaches from each other. Silveira is trying to say Ahkmedov is on his way out, but idk. I think Ahkmedov can hit Silveira early and win the wrestling early. At +150 he’s a great bet. If this fight goes pst round 1 it might be a great live bet for Silveira. Stay vigilant with this one

Anthony Pettis vs Stevie Ray

“Pettis came into the pfl thinking he was going to be top dog right away. He found out quick just how good these guys are. He fought and lost to clay collard and Raush Manfio. He didn’t give a bad account of himself though. Those guys are real legit and he hung around. We all know Pettis is an elite striker and an elite athlete. I loved how he was talking leading up to his last fight. He was saying he’s back to his basics. He wasn’t fed up, he’s not done with fighting and he was generally looking to right the ship. He did just that by getting a first round submission over Myles Price

Stevie Ray is yet another former UFC fighter and he came into the pfl coming off a win over Michael Johnson. He’s only fought once since 2019 and it was a loss to Alex Martinez. He has some really nice wins including MJ, joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson. He even holds a heal hook win over paddy Pimblett in a grappling match. He’s a well rounded fighter. He owns his own gym in Scotland. He is coming out of retirement for this fight. I actually think he lost that fight against Michael Johnson. He has some power and his striking is improving. He got out grappled by Martinez in his last fight

Stevie Ray should have the wrestling advantage and probably pure strength, but I like Pettis to keep this standing and probably knockout Ray. Ray looked hitable against Martinez and Pettis will have a big speed advantage”

That was my breakdown going into their last fight. Anthony Pettis looked good in that fight until the injury. Now you have to give Ray credit for causing the injury with the body triangle, but it was a bit of a fluky thing. Pettis isn’t the guy we saw fighting benson back in the day, but I still think he wins this fight and now we have a much better line because of the fluke loss. Taking pettis