The
Professional Fighters League and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will stand
nose-to-nose before the buying public, albeit 2,500 miles apart,
when
PFL Pittsburgh “Eblen vs. Battle” unfolds at the UPMC Events
Center in western Pennsylvania and
UFC Seattle “Adesanya vs. Pyfer” goes down at Climate Pledge
Arena in the Pacific Northwest. There should be an ample supply of
intrigue at both locales.
Strap in, as we examine the cards from a bettor’s perspective and
attempt to maximize our investment in the latest installment of
Prime Picks:STRAIGHT-UP CASH
The former Bellator
MMA champion figures to be as motivated as ever when he zeroes
in on UFC refugee Bryan
Battle in the PFL main event. Eblen, 34, finds himself on the
rebound for the first time, having fallen from the ranks of the
unbeaten through a technical submission loss to Costello
van Steenis in the fifth round of their PFL Champions Series 2
encounter on July 19. The
American Top Team rep entered the cage with a perfect 16-0
record and raced out to a clear lead on the scorecards, then lost
his way across the final 10 minutes before being put to sleep by a
rear-naked choke in the waning seconds. A re-energized and
refocused Eblen could be quite a handful for his counterpart.
Battle was jettisoned by the UFC after a series of missed weight
cuts and looks to land on his feet in his PFL debut. “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 29 winner has proven vulnerable to Eblen’s
strengths in the past, most notably during a December 2022
unanimous decision defeat to Rinat
Fakhretdinov in which he surrendered seven takedowns. An
accomplished amateur wrestler, Eblen was an NCAA qualifier with
more than 80 victories at the University of Missouri and has always
leaned into those skills in MMA. Battle could be in for a rough
night.
’DOG WILL HUNT
Arce has always managed to fly under the radar despite an extensive
track record of success. The
Team Tiger Schulmann mainstay and former two-division Ring of
Combat champion draws his first assignment under the PFL banner
in a featherweight showcase opposite the undefeated Alexei
Pergande. Arce, now 36, steps into the spotlight on a
three-fight winning streak that dates back to his days in the UFC.
He last saw action in the New York-based Victory Fighting League
organization, where he punched out Wilson Reis
exactly two minutes into their Oct. 24 confrontation. Arce faces an
uphill climb in his PFL debut. Pergande has established himself as
one of the company’s most promising homegrown talents with seven
straight wins, three of them by submission, to start his career.
While he has been installed as the rightful favorite (-130), the
24-year-old has not yet faced anyone anywhere near Arce’s caliber.
All the pressure to perform falls on Pergande, which makes his
opponent a worthy flier.
AN ACCUMULATION CONTEMPLATION
Michael
Chiesa Wins Inside the Distance (-170)
Total Odds: +367
Everything appears to be in place for Pyfer to launch himself to
stardom. The
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate gets his crack at one of
the top dogs in the middleweight division when he dukes it out with
two-time champion Israel
Adesanya in the UFC Fight Night 271 headliner. Pyfer, 29, has
won eight of his past nine bouts—a decision loss to the crafty
Jack
Hermansson was the only hiccup—and seems to be on a steady
ascent after consecutive victories over Marc-Andre
Barriault, Kelvin
Gastelum and Abusupiyan
Magomedov. Plus, he wields some of the heaviest hands in the
185-pound weight class. On the other side of the equation, Adesanya
finds himself in a career-worst tailspin following
back-to-back-to-back defeats to Sean
Strickland, Dricus Du
Plessis and Nassourdine
Imavov. The setback against Imavov was particularly troubling,
as he failed to get out of the second round. Any further slippage
from the 36-year-old
City Kickboxing star would leave him alarmingly vulnerable to
what Pyfer does best.
Meanwhile, Grasso and Barber are entrenched as Top 5 contenders in
the UFC women’s flyweight division ahead of their showdown in the
co-main event, and they seem to be exceedingly well-matched on
paper. That could lead to plenty of give and take between them,
potentially resulting in a bogged-down stalemate. The heightened
stakes of their position on the card could also conspire to create
caution and inaction, as they attempt to separate themselves from
one another. Experience and resume favor Grasso, who went 1-1-1 in
a trilogy with current champion Valentina
Shevchenko. Questions still surround Barber after she suffered
a seizure that resulted in a last-minute fight cancellation with
Erin
Blanchfield less than a year ago. She put some doubts to rest
with a unanimous decision over Karine
Silva at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, but she still has some ground to
cover in order to restore some of the shine she lost. The services
of the judges will almost certainly be needed to settle the score
between these two.
Finally, Chiesa closes out his career in a welterweight feature
opposite Nico Price. The Sikjitsu standout has enjoyed a
serviceable if unspectacular tenure in the UFC since he burst on
the scene as an unbeaten prospect in 2012. Chiesa, 38, heads into
his supposed “retirement fight” on the heels of three straight
victories over Tony
Ferguson, Max Griffin
and Court McGee.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 winner has nailed down more than
half (12) of his 19 pro wins by submission, providing him with a
clear path to the winner’s circle against his latest adversary.
Price fills in as a short-notice replacement for Carlston
Harris and does so with a reputation as a
live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword competitor. Only six of his 28
bouts have gone the distance, and he has lost twice via submission
to opponents—Brandon
Thatch and George
Sullivan—with far weaker grappling profiles than Chiesa. Expect
“Maverick” to ride off into the sunset on a high note.