Welterweights
Rory MacDonald (23-8-1, 2-2 PFL) vs. Sadibou Sy (10-6-2, 4-4-2 PFL)
MacDonald performed as expected at PFL 3, where he wasted little time taking Brett Cooper down, advancing position and landing ground-and-pound to set up a fight-ending rear-naked choke in the opening stanza. It was a prime example of “The Red King” recognizing the weakness of an otherwise experienced opponent and capitalizing on it in short order. Sy was far less decisive in earning a split decision against Nikolay Aleksakhin in their rematch, but his rangy kickboxing and movement was just enough to bank three points in the regular-season standings. Sy works behind a skilled jab and kicks to all levels and has proven to be at least a competent defensive wrestler. However, his offense can vacillate between the spectacular—he has head kick and body kick KOs in PFL—and the pedestrian, as he will often spend significant periods of time waiting for the counter. There is no guarantee Sy can win a kickboxing duel, as MacDonald has an equally educated jab, a toolbox of kicks and combination punching in his arsenal, but it is also unlikely the Canadian even tempts fate by letting it get to that point. While Sy returned to his feet reasonably well against Aleksakhin, he still struggles against dominant wrestlers, and MacDonald’s ability to transition from striking to grappling could pose problems. The best bet is that MacDonald follows a similar gameplan to his last fight, grounds Sy early and puts him away on the canvas.
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Harrison vs. Young
MacDonald vs. Sy
Cooper III vs. Cooper
Magomedkerimov vs. Zeferino
The Prelims