A big weekend in MMA continues in Atlanta this Friday. While Cage Fury Fighting Championships hands out its bantamweight championship in Atlantic City, the sport’s league finalizes its playoff brackets in both the heavyweight and women’s featherweight divisions.
Atlanta"s Overtime Elite Arena is the setting for PFL 5 and the PFL 5 main event. All told, barring any late cancellations between now and Friday night, the card will feature 12 fights.
Live coverage begins at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT on ESPN+. Part two of the show will follow at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN proper, though ESPN"s broadcast may be joined in progress if the Virginia/ Florida game in the College World Series runs long.
Highlighting the night"s activities is a heavyweight showdown in the PFL 5 main event. 2022 PFL Heavyweight Champion Ante Delija (23-5 MMA, 0-0 PFL 2023, zero points in the standings) will try to bounce back from an injury earlier this season when he takes on Maurice Greene (11-7 MMA, 1-0 PFL 2023, five points in the standings.)
As with all PFL regular season and semifinal fights, this headliner is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.
We saw the craziness of the race to the 2023 #PFLPlayoffs last week
Here are the playoff scenarios for the Heavyweights looking to lock up their spots 🔒
[Fri, June 16th | 6:30ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLRegularSeason] pic.twitter.com/BY9m9yPcuy
— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 13, 2023
Heading into the PFL 5 main event on Friday night, Maurice Greene stands as the taller man at 6-foot-7, compared to the 6-foot-5 frame of Ante Delija. In addition, Greene owns a three-inch reach (82 inches to 79 inches) advantage and a six-inch leg reach advantage (47 inches to 41 inches) over Delija.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the oddsmakers have Ante Delija installed as a -500 favorite on the money line. Maurice Greene counters as a +375 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Ante Delija enters the PFL 5 main event on Friday night having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. Currently, he"s on a four-fight winning streak.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend last November, Delija scored a first-round knockout (punches) of Matheus Scheffel (17-9 MMA) due to punches during PFL 10 to take the heavyweight championship. He was initially supposed to fight on April 7 in PFL 2 against Yorgan de Castro, but was forced to withdraw from the event due to an unspecified injury.
With his injury healed, how will Ante Delija begin his title defense? Tune in and find out.
In the other corner, Maurice Greene has posted a 2-3 record over his last five fights. Back on April 7, he returned to the win column with a second-round TKO (punches) of Marcelo Nunes (9-2 MMA, 0-1 PFL 2023, zero points in the standings).
If the heavyweight regular season were to end today, Maurice Greene would clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. He"ll punch a ticket to the August postseason with a victory on Friday night, but as Brendan Loughnane found out the hard way last Thursday, this is something easier said than done.
Despite “The Crochet Boss" having an easy path to the bracket at 265 lbs., his objectives remain unchanged something that he brought up in a recent interview.
“There"s no relief until you get your hand raised and they say you"ve clinched a playoff spot," Greene said. “That"s the relief, they"ve clinched. So, a win clinches me a playoff spot. The goal is still the same as the last fight: Win the fight, right? Proper preparation, prepare properly, do the right things, go out, win the fight."
Will he do what Loughnane couldn"t? Only time will tell.
Stylistically, the PFL 5 main event looks to favor Maurice Greene, a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, compared to Ante Delija"s status as a judoka.
One constant throughout Ante Delija"s career as a fighter is the fact that he can get the job done with his fists. Just look at his fight against Scheffel last fall.
Midway through the first round, Delija scored with a flurry of punches, although Scheffel managed to move his head to dodge them. From there, the former landed a left hook and some jabs.
Smelling blood in the water, Delija unloaded with a barrage of punches to knock Scheffel down and out. It"ll only take one punch for him to end the PFL 5 main event.
In the other corner, Maurice Greene can also punch his way to a win. During the second round versus Nunes, after having landed several huge shots late in round one, Greene landed a knee to Nunes" body, backing him up to the cage fence.
This onslaught continued with Greene scoring more knees to the body against the fence. With Nunes having turned his back and his nose bloodied, Greene landed a few punches before referee Mark Smith called off the fight.
If Maurice Greene is able to effectively counterpunch against Ante Delija, the PFL 5 main event could be over in a hurry.
On paper, the PFL 5 main event looks like it could easily turn into a boxing match at any given moment. To paraphrase Chris Berman, “That"s why they have the fights." Enjoy this heavyweight showdown.
Prediction: Maurice Greene by First-Round Knockout.
