After months of preparation, countless hours of film study, repeated trips to training rooms and high-stress hand-to-hand combat inside the cage, only 12 battle-tested competitors are still standing in the Professional Fighters League.
As the finalists continue their preparation for a life-changing opportunity, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
146: Seconds needed for Goltsov to put away Xtreme Couture’s Tim Johnson with punches, giving him the fastest finish of any finalist.
36: Strikes by which Popov outlanded Kill Cliff Fight Club export Linton Vassell, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision in their heavyweight semifinal. The Russian was credited with 69 connections against Vassell.
31: Kicks absorbed by Santos during her unanimous decision over reigning Bellator MMA champion Liz Carmouche in their women’s flyweight semifinal.
26: Years of age for Ditcheva. The youngest of the 12 finalists, she was born on July 11, 1998 in Sale, England—nearly 4,300 miles from where she now trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
1,000,000: Dollars banked by Kasanganay upon winning the middleweight championship in November. No other 2023 titlist returns with a chance to repeat.
4: Yagshimuradov wins by submission, accounting for 17% of his career total (24). His methods of choice: three rear-naked chokes and one Achilles lock.
66: Rounds started by Rabadanov as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 13 different occasions and carries an 11-1-1 record in those bouts.
39: Years of age for Primus. The oldest of the 12 finalists, he was born in Eugene, Oregon on April 12, 1985. “Police Academy 2,” “Mask,” “Ladyhawke,” “Cat’s Eye” and “Desperately Seeking Susan” were the Top 5 movies at the domestic box office at the time.
65: Points on the Fighter Performance Rating for Umalatov when he took a unanimous verdict from Neiman Gracie in their welterweight semifinal. He swept the scorecards from Gracie in the 15-minute affair: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
1: Stalemate on the Musaev ledger. He fought to a majority draw with Michal Pietrzak under the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki banner on Oct. 23, 2021. It remains the only blemish on an otherwise pristine resume.
16: Loughnane victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 55% of his career total (29). His list of PFL victims: Justin Gonzales, Pedro Carvalho, Marlon Moraes, Bubba Jenkins and Sheymon Moraes.
1,075: Days since Khizriev last scored a stoppage. He has involved the judges in six consecutive appearances since he choked Ruslan Ryskul unconscious with a first-round guillotine at an Eagle Fighting Championship show on Sept. 17, 2021.
5: Countries to be represented in the PFL finals. Six of the 12 finalists hail from Russia, with two from England, two from the United States, one from Brazil and one from Turkmenistan.
.873: Cumulative winning percentage between the 12 finalists. They boast a combined record of 249-35-3. Goltsov owns the most victories (35) of anyone in the group while also being saddled with the most losses (eight).