Fight Facts: 2023 PFL Championships

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 994
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 108

The Professional Fighters League crowned six new champions across a long card on Black Friday. Half the field saw past victors earn another giant check while three new millionaires were coined. The 2023 PFL Championships featured the first champion in two weight classes, an unflinching Canadian cruiser and the introduction of several tantalizing matchups between PFL and Bellator MMA champs.

Departing for Greener Pastures: Across the evening, four former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters prevailed in their respective tournaments: Impa Kasanganay, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Jesus Pinedo and Larissa Pacheco. This ties 2022 with the most UFC vets winning PFL titles in a year.

Gangster, Eh: Aubin-Mercier outhustled Clay Collard en route to a million-dollar victory. The Canadian is the second two-time lightweight tourney winner, a feat first performed by Natan Schulte in 2018 and 2019.

Incredible Way to Go Out: “OAM” joined the promotion in 2021 and won a pair of showcase bouts to reach the 2022 season. He has not tasted defeat since joining the roster, accounting for two championship runs and 10 wins altogether, making him one of a small number of fighters in organizational history to go 10-0 in their first fights alongside names like Justin Gaethje, David Branch, Marlon Moraes, Kayla Harrison and Magomed Magomedkerimov.

Ngannou Time? Renan Ferreira clubbed Denis Goltsov to win the heavyweight tourney. The 6-foot-8 striker has earned five knockouts since 2021 with PFL, putting him one shy of divisional leader Goltsov.

Clearly Someone’s Problem: “Problema” boosted his professional finish rate to 92% by scoring the comeback on Goltsov. His lone decision win came over Carl Seumanutafa in his first triumph on the roster.

Now Try 135: Pacheco became the first male or female fighter to win PFL tournaments in two divisions. She previously captured lightweight gold in 2022, dropping to 145 pounds to run that gauntlet and top Marina Mokhnatkina for the crown.

Bring on Cyborg: Throughout her tenure as a PFL competitor, Pacheco has amassed 12 wins. She is tied with Ray Cooper III for the fifth-most in promotional history while sitting three behind women’s leader Harrison.

Never Once Looking Back: Since losing to Harrison in 2019, Pacheco has racked up 10 straight victories. She and Harrison are the only two women in league history to even compete 10 times, and no other female fighter besides Harrison has notched more than five wins thus far in the PFL (Mokhnatkina).

Out-Harrisoned Harrison: Sharing a card with Harrison for the 11th time, the massively favored Pacheco (-1800) had never before closed with a higher betting line than Harrison (-800) until this event.

Now You Get Jason Jackson: Magomed Magomedkerimov dispatched rival Sadibou Sy with a guillotine choke in Round 3 to claim the giant check and gold strap again. In the process, the Dagestan native earned his 17th win with the company, setting the record for the most all-time.

Old Tournaments and New: Like Aubin-Mercier, Magomedkerimov became a two-time champ at night’s end. He is the sole competitor to win in his 2018 and 2023 brackets.

Magomedgaethjimov: Adding his submission of Sy to his total of nine stoppages with the organization, Magomedkerimov joins Gaethje for the third-most of any fighter to compete under the World Series of Fighting-PFL banner. Cooper’s 10 and Harrison’s 11 lead the pack.

They’re 18 and They Like It: Magomedkerimov and Sy both entered into their 18th bout with the promotion, moving into a three-way tie with Schulte for the third-most in league history. The Russian’s 17 at 170 pounds are the most in that weight division, as Sy first came to PFL as a middleweight.

From an Imp to a Demon: Up two weight classes from the division he spent half his UFC career, Kasanganay earned a spot at light heavyweight through the Challenger Series and won it all in the same year. He becomes the first Challenger Series contract winner ever to run through a PFL tournament after taking a decision over Joshua Silveira.

Welcome Back Kayla: For her lone appearance in 2023, Harrison faced late replacement Aspen Ladd at 150 pounds. This marked her first appearance in PFL lighter than 155 pounds, and she won a decision over the UFC vet.

The House That Kayla Built: Harrison added to her record with the most wins of any female fighter to set foot in the PFL cage, with 15 on her ledger. Her finish rate fell to 75%, needing all three rounds to get past Ladd.

Quick Stop Off: Taking a fight at middleweight before embarking up to 205 pounds in 2024, Derek Brunson debuted with PFL and won against Cooper. In doing so, he took Cooper the distance for only the sixth time in the Hawaiian’s 35-fight career.

Sweet Revenge, Too: On the prelims, Pinedo put Gabriel Braga away early in the third round to claim the lightweight throne. The Peruvian has earned 78% of his wins inside the distance, with his last seven victories all via knockout.

A Cap on That Performance: Phil Caracappa handled Khai Wu to get the nod on all three scorecards. The New Jersey native has earned nine of his 11 pro wins at the hands of the judges.

Demotivated: Cooper and Josh Blyden came in .8 pounds heavy for their bouts against Brunson and Jesse Stirn, respectively. Both men lost via decision, and nine of the last 12 heavy PFL fighters this year have come up short.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into the PFL 2023 Championships, Kasanganay had never competed beyond the third round (17 fights), Cooper had never competed at middleweight (34 fights) and Braga had never been defeated (12 fights).