If Stevie Ray is to progress towards the $1million PFL final, he'll need to once again get past former UFC world champion Anthony Pettis.
The Scot has had a mixed return to action after three years out of the cage following his UFC exit, losing his debut in the PFL before landing a stunning twister submission against Pettis back in June. The pair fought a tough first round in Atlanta before Ray earned the five points needed to get through to the play-offs with a rare submission.
And while lightning may strike twice in New York City, it's unlikely the twister will given how difficult they are to land at the best of times. Ray would become the first Brit to win the seven-figure lightweight belt if he can get past first Pettis and then the winner of Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs Alex Martinez, which takes place earlier in the evening.
For Pettis, what he needs to get back to winning ways is to return to the striking that made him a superstar. He has had a disaster start to his PFL tenure, losing his two efforts last year and already being stopped once this season.
Despite being known for his devastating striking during his prime, Pettis hasn't knocked anybody out since a freak superman punch stoppage of Stephen Thompson in March of 2019. He was forced to grapple by both Ray and Myles Price this season, and was able to capitalise on Price's ring rust after three years of inactivity to land a maximum-points first round submission.
Elsewhere on the Channel 4 card, which airs at midnight on Friday night, is a pair of light-heavyweight play-offs as well as the other lightweight action. It could be a long night for Aubin-Mercier and Martinez, who have both scraped into the play-offs with a split decision win and an unanimous one each.
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The bookies have the Canadian as a slight favourite, which is hard to argue with given their respective histories in the promotion. After a three-fight skid saw him leave the UFC, he has yet to taste defeat in the PFL cage, and it's expected that after narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year that he'll reach the finals this time around.
Ultimately it's hard to look past the more experienced fighter in this Friday night's clash. Aubin-Mercier has eight more fights and five years experience, and the oddsmakers are likely not wrong to mark him as favourite.
In the light-heavyweight division, Omari Akhmedov and Josh Silveira do battle. The undefeated Brazilian is being picked by many as this year's next champion, but that party could well be spoiled by the Russian, who is far and away his toughest test to date, with five years around triple the fights to his name.
Finally, Rob Wilkinson from New Zealand takes on Declan Monte to round out the main card. This fight is a genuine toss-up where it's difficult to pick a winner between both men.
