PBP 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals ***Sherdog Discussion*** 6/12 8:30PM ET

Keep supporting corrupt judging, you human spermbank.
Lmao. Keep supporting the guy who cant go one fight without GnPing someone on the back of their head.

Get Jacksons nutsack off ya chin
 
Lol, first he has to saw a woman in half and put her back together....either that or manage a Hot Topic at the mall. The guy is wearing many hats these days.
He's also a part time barista, and moonlights as a beatnik
 
He chased Jackson whose sole meta this fight was to shoot sloppy takedowns from out of range. Jackson threw zero strikes with fight ending intentions.

How did he chase Jackson when he spent rounds 2 and 3 just moving backwards looking for counters and doing fuck all because Jackson was mostly too scared to engage?

I'm glad Jean won, but he was shit. So was Jackson.
 

So, Storley or Thad Jean is making half a mil this summer
Guys like Bryan Battle or Geoff Neal should think about doing a season if the Musaevs and Umalatovs are off. They will never make that money in the UFC
 
Any idea why he left after going 1-1? Did he just decide he wanted to leave? Seems like a weird tour in the UFC
I wasn't being facetious btw lol. I checked with my folks down there and they said the UFC wasn't happy with his performances and that's why they decided to cut him.
 


Here's your 2025 #PFLWorldTournament welterweight final: Thad Jean vs. Logan Storley pic.twitter.com/W6VmKEkBxP

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 13, 2025


Thad Jean took his next step towards Professional Fighters League stardom Thursday night after defeating former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jason Jackson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 27-30) in the 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals main event from Nashville Municipal Auditorium.



This fight was heavily anticipated and for good reason. Jean, a young, explosive contender, had yet to face an opponent as seasoned and accomplished as Jackson, and many wondered how he’d handle himself. Jean set the tempo in Round 1 by dropping Jackson on his back with a stiff jab. Jackson composed himself and forced Jean into wrestling exchanges throughout the rest of the period, but Jean showcased his strength by getting the match back to the feet.

The two would trade momentum throughout the rest of the bout. Jackson carried the edge in the grappling department, but Jean’s power was evident in the striking field. Jackson landed shots on the younger challenger and gave him the toughest fight of his career. It was anybody’s guess who would win and you could hear a pin drop as the scorecards were read. Alas, Jean’s strong start and crispy combos were enough to edge out Jackson’s well-rounded effort on the cards in the fight of the night.


With the win, Jean (10-0) moved on to the welterweight finale to face another accomplished wrestler, former Bellator titleholder Logan Storley.

Quiet Pinedo Has Loud Finish​

For a fighter nicknamed “The Mute,” Jesus Pinedo’s hands do a lot of talking.

The 2023 PFL featherweight champion demolished archrival Gabriel Braga in the first round of their rubber match (1:16) to secure his spot in the tournament finale. Pinedo starched Braga in three rounds last time out but didn’t even need three minutes in Thursday’s co-main event. Using his superior height and reach, Pinedo walked the charging Braga into a right hook that flattened the Brazilian flat on his back. Braga has proven to be one of the PFL’s best featherweights, but Pinedo is a stylistic nightmare. He’s powerful, awkward and blessed with a granite chin.

The featherweight finale between Pinedo and Movlid Khaybulaev should be an elite clash of styles.

Related »​


Storley All Business Against Kikuiri​

Storley punched his ticket to the welterweight final by outwrestling Masayuki Kikuiri over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-27, 29-28). Storley, a former Bellator titleholder and four-time NCAA D1 All-American wrestler, proved his pedigree against the Japanese combatant.

Kikuiri found success when he kept his distance and even had Storley wobbled in the second round. Storley would weather the storm and drag Kikuiri back to the mat and control him till the final bell.

Khaybulaev Back in Finals​

PFL 2021 featherweight champion Khaybulaev is one win away from reclaiming his crown after defeating Tae Kyun Kim by unanimous decision in the semifinals (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Kim was frustrated as he struggled to break Khaybulaev’s python-like grip. The Russian dominated all three rounds with his control time, unbreakable clinch and position-breaking leg strikes. Ultimately, it was a risk-free performance from Khaybulaev, but he once again proved that he can shut down the best strikers in his division.

Borics Edges Kennedy​

Featherweight vet Adam Borics bounced back from his quarterfinal loss to Jesus Pinedo with a majority decision win over Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy.

Kennedy (29-28, 28-28, 29-28) and Borics are two seasoned vets with 50 professional fights between them, and you could sense the level of respect between the former foes. Borics defeated Kennedy in 2021 and went 2-0 in the series by landing clean long-range punches. Kennedy successfully closed the distance and kept control for periods of time, but never advanced position or threatened a submission.

Umalatov Rebounds Against Ivy​

Magomed Umalatov was the toast of the PFL welterweight division last season before he was starched in the championship finale. The formally unbeaten Eagles MMA product has waited patiently for redemption and it would come Thursday night in the form of a beautiful first round knockout over Anthony Ivy (2:28).

Ivy (15-8) started aggressive and even caught Umalatov with a hard right hand over a lazy jab, but the San Antonio native became overzealous. Ivy charged toward Umalatov and threw an out of range jumping knee that Umalatov read like a children’s book. Umalatov punished Ivy’s aggression with a picture perfect left hook that left Ivy flat on his face, giving Umalatov (18-1) his 13th career knockout.

Shields Dominates Luciano​

American Top Team welterweight Sarek Shields impressed in his PFL debut, ragdolling Jospeh Luciano for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Luciano had no answers for Shields wrestling and was forced to operate from guard for most of the fight. Shields didn’t inflict tons of damage but his sheer control was too much to ignore.

Surging St. Louis Puts Away Berkhamov​

Kendly St. Louis notched the biggest win of his career after submitting Mukhamed Berkhamov in the third round of their welterweight clash (3:21). Berkhamov was eliminated from the 2025 World Tournament by St. Louis’ teammate Thad Jean earlier this year, but instead of knocking Berkhamov out, St. Louis handed him his first career submission loss with a rear-naked choke.

With the win, St. Louis (11-4) notched his eighth win in a row.

Pergande Impresses in Hometown​

Nashville’s own Alexei Pergande improved to 6-0 with a unanimous decision winning performance over Georgia’s Mike Bardsley (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Bardsley (5-2) proved to be a game and rugged opponent, but was left bloodied by the lanky 24-year old. Both fighters entered the match with impressive grappling backgrounds, but Pergande proved to be a tricky outfighter. He routinely tagged the charging Bardsley and opened up a nasty cut over his temple that poured blood down his chest.

‘Raw Dog’ Shows Teeth in Tennessee​

Fans flocked to the arena early to see Tennessee’s own Jason Danner hunt a third-straight win against savvy bantamweight veteran Nathan Gilmore. They were treated to a back-and-forth brawl that included several momentum swings and riveting moments. Danner’s pace and scrambling kept Gilmore flustered throughout the first frame but Gilmore nearly finished Danner in the second round with a devastating knee. Gilmore followed him to the mat and nearly capped off the upset with arm triangle, but the hometown hero survived. Gilmore gave everything he had in the second-round rally and couldn’t handle the pressure in the closing minutes.

Danner grinded his way to a well-earned unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) to improve to 3-0 as a pro. Gilmore fell to 4-6.

READ HERE

 
I wasn't being facetious btw lol. I checked with my folks down there and they said the UFC wasn't happy with his performances and that's why they decided to cut him.
I couldn't tell one way or the other lol. It seemed like you'd said before that you have contacts down that way, and I'm aware that you take interest in South American/Latin events. Thanks for actually figuring that out, I appreciate you. UFC fucked that one up, he's the exact prototype for everything they want, today
 
I couldn't tell one way or the other lol. It seemed like you'd said before that you have contacts down that way, and I'm aware that you take interest in South American/Latin events. Thanks for actually figuring that out, I appreciate you.
Yeah. I've been covering LATAM MMA for around 15 years now. LATAM MMA had little to no English coverage before the first season of TUF LATAM. I began covering LATAM MMA in English a few years before that. I remember being younger and getting all excited the UFC used some of my work for it lol. They never credited me directly, but I know they sourced some of my work for their scouting as they mentioned it during their casting. Now there's more folks who post about LATAM MMA as it's much more visible, but then it was different. There's endless stories I could share from all of the years, but I don't want to go on a never ending rant.
 
Yeah. I've been covering LATAM MMA for around 15 years now. LATAM MMA had little to no English coverage before the first season of TUF LATAM. I began covering LATAM MMA in English a few years before that. I remember being younger and getting all excited the UFC used some of my work for it lol. They never credited me directly, but I know they sourced some of my work for their scouting as they mentioned it during their casting. Now there's more folks who post about LATAM MMA as it's much more visible, but then it was different. There's endless stories I could share from all of the years, but I don't want to go on a never ending rant.
You could just make a thread about it... I'm confident there are several who'd be interested in hearing about it, especially in Worldwide. I know I would be. Bunch of true descendents of warriors in that region, seems like a real frontier for talent
 
You could just make a thread about it... I'm confident there are several who'd be interested in hearing about it, especially in Worldwide. I know I would be. Bunch of true descendents of warriors in that region, seems like a real frontier for talent
yeah def. Im actually in Latin America but tend to focus on eastern euro mma so I would love it.
 
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 1,279
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 135

The Professional Fighters League set the stage for the finals in the featherweight and welterweight divisions. With the victors expected to square off in August, excitement is high for some of the pairings. Wrestling was the name of the game at PFL 2025 World Tournament 5, which featured one of the biggest betting favorites in all of MMA, the fighter with the best record in the sport adding one more W to the pile and a rubber match that ended about as violently as one could.


Regional Rivals: On two occasions, the camps of Fight Sports Deerfield Beach and Kill Cliff FC faced off with representatives against one another. The Fight Sports athletes of Thad Jean and Kendly St. Louis both pulled off upsets.

Hey Jean: Jean advanced his unbeaten record to 10-0 by taking a split verdict over Jason Jackson. All of his finishes have still come within two rounds.

The Rubber Met the Road: Getting the better of Gabriel Braga in their rubber match, Jesus Pinedo left no doubt by punching out the Brazilian in the opening frame. Equipped with a finish rate of 80%, “El Mudo” advanced to featherweight finals to face Movlid Khaybulaev in August.

His Numero: In 2023, Pinedo and Braga squared off twice, with Pinedo earning the third-round knockout in the finals to exact revenge. The only fighter to ever knock out Braga remains Pinedo, who has now done so twice.

Storley Beat Buckley a Few Years Ago: Wrestling his way to the finals at 170 pounds, Logan Storley saw his finish rate tumble to a flat 50% by outworking Masayuki Kikuiri. Dating back to 2020, “Storm” has notched a single finish, a knockout of Brennan Ward in 2023.

He Likes to Movlid Movlid: Upgrading his undefeated record to 23-0 with a draw and a no contest, Khaybulaev did enough to get past Tae Kyun Kim on the scorecards. The Dagestan native still hoists the best lossless record of any active fighter in a major promotion today.

Changed Reputation: “The Kid” Adam Borics snuck past Jeremy Kennedy via majority decision to improve his standing as the featherweight alternate. While heralded for his high-flying attacks, the Hungarian has not finished an opponent since knocking out Pat Curran at Bellator 226 in 2019.

Culling Ivy: Magomed Umalatov bounced back in a big way by crushing Anthony Ivy in half a round, after suffering the first loss of his career. Fourteen of the Russian’s 18 pro victories have come inside the distance.

Water We Dune Hair, B: When Ivy missed weight by 5.4 pounds, Umalatov inflated to an unprecedented -6600 betting favorite. This surpasses the fourth times where a PFL fighter closed with odds at -5000, the previous high. All five of those favored combatants won by first-round stoppage.

Not Spock’s Dad: By winning a decision over Joseph Luciano, Sarek Shields has developed a pattern of victory since turning pro in 2021. He started off with a decision win, and then four fights later did so again. Once more, after three stoppages, Shields went back to winning at the hands of the judges.

There Can Be Only One: Landing a late rear-naked choke on Mukhamed Berkhamov, St. Louis emerged victorious as the heavy underdog and improved his win streak to eight straight. Before this run, “The Highlander” had only compiled a single two-fight winning stretch.

A Russian in King Elvis’ Court: Nashville, Tennessee, native Alexei Pergande made his professional debut with the PFL in 2022 as part of the Challenger Series. Known as “Russian DNA,” Pergande has won all six pro outings after his decision victory over Mike Bardsley, all of them coming in the bounds of the PFL cage.

Quit Barking: In his first two fights, Jason Danner combined for under three minutes of combat time as he notched two knockouts. Against Nathan Gilmore, “Raw Dawg” quintupled that amount of experience by needing all 15 minutes to prevail.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into PFL 2025 5, Luciano had never dropped consecutive bouts (12 fights), Berkhamov had never been submitted (19 fights) and Bardsley had never lost on the scorecards (six fights).

READ HERE

 
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