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Matthew Wells

2023 PFL Playoffs 3 official results: Clay Collard wins instant classic semifinal bout vs. Shane Burgos

ESPN PFL Playoffs 3 Bruno Miranda Clay Collard Olivier AubinMercier Shane Burgos Abdullah AlQahtani Abigail Montes Biaggio Ali Walsh Carlos Leal

2023 PFL Playoffs 3 took place Wednesday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.

The event featured welterweight and lightweight playoff bouts at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card aired live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

In the featured contest, Clay Collard (25-10) took on Shane Burgos (16-6) in a Fight of the Year contender lightweight semifinal bout. It was a brutal contest with high-volume striking, but in the end, Collard earned unanimous 29-28 scores from the official judges.

Fists were flying early and often in the first round, living up to the expectation of an exciting matchup. Collard’s volume was higher, mixing up punches to the body and head with sharp combinations. Burgos landed well early and added some nice kicks, but as the round wore on, Collard put a stamp on the round by hurting Burgos with shots to the chin.

Collard continued to march forward with accurate punches early in the second, causing blood to flow from Burgos’ face. Keeping his opponent honest, Burgos fired back with damaging inside leg kicks. Collard continued to pepper out jabs, but was knocked off his feet by a hard leg kick from Burgos. The momentum only lasted seconds, as Collard returned to his feet and landed a hard left hook to send Burgos to the mat. Collard followed him to the ground for more strikes, but the finish wouldn’t come as Burgos worked his way back up. The round closed with more striking exchanges on the feet.

The striking exchanges continued at a high clip in the final round. Burgos added punches to the body along with kicks, as Collard worked fast punches and showed excellent head movement. A hard inside leg kick prompted Collard to shoot for a takedown, but Burgos stuffed it and shook his fingers at his opponent. They returned to the center to trade more strikes, but the inside kicks from Burgos really bothered Collard. After a clinch against the cage, it was back to fighting in the phone booth in the center of the cage. More inside leg kicks affected Collard’s movement, but he kept firing as they traded blows until the final horn.

The judges saw the fight unanimously for Collard, earning his first PFL finals appearance.

Collard entered the lightweight playoffs as the No. 1 seed after picking up a unanimous decision win over Yamato Nishikawa and a second-round stoppage of Stevie Ray in his regular season bouts. He now advances to the finals where he will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who recorded a second-round TKO stoppage against Bruno Miranda in the co-main event.

In the welterweight semifinal bouts, Sadibou Sy defeated Carlos Leal by split decision, and Magomed Magomedkerimov turned away Solomon Renfro to advance to the finals.

Check out the official results, details and highlight clips from each bout below.

Full 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 results

MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Clay Collard def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – lightweight semifinal
  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Bruno Miranda via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:41 – lightweight semifinal
  • Sadibou Sy def. Carlos Leal via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) – welterweight semifinal
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Solomon Renfro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – welterweight semifinal
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Ed Davis via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:23 – amateur bout

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

  • Alexei Pergande def. Shawn Stefanelli via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Mostafa Rashed Neda def. Korey Kuppe via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:55
  • Michelle Montague def. Abigail Montes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:38
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. David Zelner via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
  • John Caldone def. Nathaniel Grimard via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:32

John Caldone vs. Nathaniel Grimard

Records: John Caldone (5-1), Nathaniel Grimard (4-3)
Division: Featherweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Keith Peterson
Result: John Caldone def. Nathaniel Grimard via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:32

Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. David Zelner

Records: Abdullah Al-Qahtani (7-1), David Zelner (4-3)
Division: Featherweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Mike Walter
Result: Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. David Zelner via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)

Abigail Montes vs. Michelle Montague

Records: Abigail Montes (4-3), Michelle Montague (4-0)
Division: Women’s Featherweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Dan Miragliotta
Result: Michelle Montague def. Abigail Montes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:38

Mostafa Rashed Neda vs. Korey Kuppe

Records: Mostafa Rashed Neda (8-3), Korey Kuppe (11-6)
Division: Middleweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Mike Walter
Result: Mostafa Rashed Neda def. Korey Kuppe via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:55

Alexei Pergande vs. Shawn Stefanelli

Records: Alexei Pergande (4-0), Shawn Stefanelli (4-3)
Division: Middleweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Keith Peterson
Result: Alexei Pergande def. Shawn Stefanelli via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

 

Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Ed Davis

Records: Biaggio Ali Walsh (0-0), Ed Davis (0-0)
Division: Lightweight – amateur bout
Broadcast: ESPN
Referee: Mike Walter
Result: Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Ed Davis via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:23

Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Solomon Renfro

Records: Magomed Magomedkerimov (33-6), Solomon Renfro (11-4)
Division: Welterweight semifinal
Broadcast: ESPN
Referee: Dan Miragliotta
Result: Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Solomon Renfro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Sadibou Sy vs. Carlos Leal

Records: Sadibou Sy (16-6-2), Carlos Leal (19-5)
Division: Welterweight semifinal
Broadcast: ESPN
Referee: Keith Peterson
Result: Sadibou Sy def. Carlos Leal via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Bruno Miranda

Records: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (20-5), Bruno Miranda (16-4)
Division: Lightweight semifinal
Broadcast: ESPN
Referee: Dan Miragliotta
Result: Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Bruno Miranda via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:41
Recap: 2023 PFL Playoffs 3 results: Olivier Aubin-Mercier TKOs Bruno Miranda for second-straight finals berth

Clay Collard vs. Shane Burgos

Records: Clay Collard (23-10), Shane Burgos (16-4)
Division: Lightweight semifinal
Broadcast: ESPN
Referee: Keith Peterson
Result: Clay Collard def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 3.

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