Preview: PFL 8 2024 | Light Heavyweight, Lightweight Playoffs

The 2024 Professional Fighters League playoffs continue this Friday with a highly anticipated rematch in the main event. Defending light heavyweight tournament winner Impa Kasanganay shares the SmartCage yet again with Joshua Silveira in the sequel to their championship showdown from November.

Fellow light heavyweight contenders Rob Wilkinson and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov square off for the right to meet the Kasanganay-Silveira winner in the $1 million championship, but the fun doesn’t stop there. The lightweight tournament final will also be finalized, as top-seeded Brent Primus takes on fan favorite Clay Collard. That winner will have his hands full with whoever is victorious in the matchup between Gadzhi Rabadanov and Michael Dufort.

The PFL 8 mayhem begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, with the main card following at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (ESPN/ESPN+) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Four fighters will cash in their ticket to the championship final, while the others will watch their $1 million dreams end. Now to the preview for PFL 8:

Light Heavyweight Semifinal

Impa Kasanganay (17-4, 7-1 PFL) vs. Joshua Silveira (13-3, 6-3 PFL)

Kasanganay is one win away from the chance to defend his light heavyweight title, but he’ll have to get past the man he beat in last year’s final. Silveira is a crafty threat who can get the job done standing or on the mat. This matchup will determine who’s grown the most over the last year. To most, that person would be the champ. Kasanganay’s confidence has skyrocketed since he claimed the title, and you can see it in his fighting. From his war with Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen to his back-to-back knockout wins over Alex Polizzi and Jakob Nedoh, Kasanganay is fighting on another level. The Kill Cliff Fight Club product had to prioritize his heavy striking to ensure that he got a playoff spot, but now he can focus on what he does best: sticking to a strong game plan. Kasanganay’s intense defensive wrestling keeps the fight standing and allows him to flow into his explosive combinations, but that doesn’t limit him to just being a puncher. He has an in-depth understanding of cage generalship and knows how to win rounds off activity and control. He doesn’t have to knock you out to beat you, which is good since Silveira is as tough as they come. The American Top Team product may be coming off a loss, but Silveira’s gritty performance against Rob Wilkinson showed that you must be at your best to beat him. Wilkinson controlled most of the fight, but Silveira turned the tables late and nearly took the victory with a face crank. Wilkinson held on, but Silveira left the cage with life in the tournament. Like Wilkinson, Kasanganay is a sharper more, explosive striker than Silveira, but the two are pretty evenly matched on the mat. If Kasanganay takes a defensive approach, however, he could once again stifle his man en route to a unanimous decision.

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Kasanganay vs. Silveira
Wilkinson vs. Yagshimuradov
Rabadanov vs. Dufort
Primus vs. Collard
Walsh vs. Stapleton
The Prelims