Rivalries: Ante Delija

Ante Delija now faces one of the toughest tasks in sports: the challenge to repeat.

The defending Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion will kick off his 2023 campaign when he confronts Maurice Greene in the PFL 5 headliner on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Delija returns to the stage with the wind of a four-fight winning streak in his sails. The 32-year-old Croatian owns a 7-2 record in the PFL, with four of those seven victories having resulted in finishes.

As Delija draws ever closer to his upcoming confrontation with the 6-foot-7 Greene, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Marcin Tybura

Delija suffered a gruesome injury in a failed bid to claim to the M-1 Global heavyweight championship against “Tybur” in the M-1 Challenge 61 headliner on Sept. 20, 2015 in Nazran, Russia. The immediate stoppage made Tybura a winner 2:21 into Round 1. Delija pawed with his jab, tested the waters with power punching combinations and clipped the defending champion on more than one occasion. Then disaster struck. Delija broke both bones in his lower right leg when the Pole checked one of his kicks. Referee Vyacheslav Kiselev recognized the injury immediately—the sickening crack that echoed throughout the arena was a giveaway—and rushed in to prevent further damage. A stoic Delija was removed from the ring via stretcher several minutes later. Nearly three years passed before he fought again.

Denis Goltsov

Delija leaned on timely takedowns and suffocating positional control to spring the upset and walk away with a unanimous decision over the 6-foot-6 Russian in their heavyweight semifinal at PFL 8 on Aug. 19, 2021 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Florida. All three judges scored it 29-28. Delija withstood being mounted midway through the first round, trapped the former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder in the clinch and managed to set a pace for which he was better suited. Goltsov was dominant in the middle stanza, where he stung the Mirko Filipovic protege with jabs, sprawled out of an attempted takedown and drove his counterpart to a kneeling position along the base of the fence. Once there, he unleashed a series of right hands to the side of the Croatian’s head. However, the Sambo Piter export’s inability to finish proved costly. Delija rebounded in Round 3, struck for a takedown inside the first 20 seconds and kept the Russian pinned to the canvas for much of the period.

Bruno Cappelozza

The Corinthians MMA standout was the last man standing in after five rounds, as he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Delija when their heavyweight final helped anchor the 2021 PFL Championships on Oct. 27, 2021. Scores were 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. Cappelozza—who had knocked out the Croatian five-plus months earlier—once again stepped on the accelerator in their rematch. Though the frenetic pace slowed once fatigue settle in, the two heavyweights fought like madmen at the start. Delija stayed competitive despite suffering significant facial damage in the first round. He staggered Cappelozza in Round 2, then settled in for the long haul. Delija chased takedowns across the remaining three rounds but fell short in the output department and slowly but surely allowed his counterpart to stretch his lead. The victory moved Cappelozza to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with “Walking Trouble” and brought him a life-altering $1 million windfall.

Matheus Scheffel

Delija put away the Dana White’s Contender Series alum with first-round punches, as their heavyweight final buoyed 2022 PFL Championships on Nov. 25, 2022 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York. Scheffel checked out 2:50 into Round 1, failing to avenge a previous defeat to the Croatian seven months prior. The CM System product found a home for a few left hooks but could not keep Delija at bay. Scheffel’s inability to manage distance properly proved costly. Delija dazed him with a left hook of his own, pinned him to the fence with follow-up punches and connected with several straight rights that folded the Brazilian at the base of the cage. Suddenly, the seven-figure payday was his.