Scotland’s Stevie Ray produced a cool, calm, collected performance in the biggest fight of his career to defeat former UFC champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and reach the $1 million PFL lightweight final.

Ray defeated Pettis via modified twister submission in their most recent bout, but Pettis brushed off the result, saying he had already qualified for the playoffs prior to their meeting. However, Ray faced Pettis again in Friday night’s semi-finals at the Hulu Theater in New York, and defeated “Showtime” for a second time.

Ray utilised his grappling once again as he effectively controlled Pettis on the mat and even threatened to repeat his modified twister as he came close to locking up the rarely-seen submission for the second successive fight. The Scot also had Pettis in a tight north-south choke as he chased another submission finish.

Pettis did enough to survive those submission predicaments, but wasn’t able to roll back the years and produce the sort of dynamic striking that made him one of the world’s most dangerous lightweights in his UFC prime.

Instead, it was Ray who looked on top of his game as he claimed the biggest victory of his MMA career with scores of 29-28 on all three cards. “Braveheart” now stands just one win away from the PFL lightweight title, and a cheque for a cool $1 million.

Omari Akhmedov def. Josh Silveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Omari Akhmedov won the battle of American Top Team teammates to book himself into the light heavyweight final after a controlled, composed performance against Josh Silveira in the night’s co-main event.

Akhmedov outstruck Silveira on the feet as he landed the heavier, more impactful strikes, and effectively got straight back to his feet when Silveira managed to take him to the canvas.

It may not have been the most eye-catching performance of Akhmedov’s PFL career, but it was undoubtedly his most important as he secured his berth in the final, and a shot at $1 million.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Alexander Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

“The Canadian Gangster” Olivier Aubin-Mercier produced a dominant display to completely shut down Alexander Martinez and punch his ticket to the lightweight final.

Aubin-Mercier dropped Martinez twice with big punches and dominated matters on the mat to earn the shutout victory on all three cards, with two judges awarding “OAM” a 10-8 round as he defeated Martinez with relative ease to progress to the 155-pound final.

Robert Wilkinson def. Delan Monte via knockout (punches and knee) – Round 1, 1:37

The first semi-final bout of the night saw Australia’s Robert Wilkinson score a resounding knockout victory over Delan Monte to blast his way into the light heavyweight season final.

Monte came out swinging and connected clean with Wilkinson’s chin on multiple occasions as the Brazilian threatened to upset the No. 1 light heavyweight seed. But Wilkinson weathered the storm, showcasing his solid chin along the way, before unleashing some heavy shots of his own.

A barrage of punches from the Aussie forced Monte backward, then a perfectly-timed knee to the face finished the job as Monte crashed to the canvas.

PFL Playoffs 1: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Stevie Ray def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)  – lightweight semi-final
  • Omari Akhmedov def. Josh Silveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)– light heavyweight semi-final
  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Alexander Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) – lightweight semi-final
  • Robert Wilkinson def. Delan Monte via knockout (punches and knee) – Round 1, 1:37 – light heavyweight semi-final

EARLY CARD

  • Itso Babulaidze def. Mahmoud Sebie via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:30
  • Marthin Hamlet def. Cory Hendricks via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – 2023 light heavyweight qualifier