Top Reasons to Catch PFL 6

Brendan Loughnane finds himself in prime position to chase his second seven-figure Professional Fighters League payday in three years.

The 34-year-old Englishman will try to nail down a postseason berth when he locks horns with former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Justin Gonzales in the PFL 6 featherweight headliner this Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Loughnane has rattled off 13 wins across his past 15 appearances. “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” semifinalist last competed at PFL 3, where he needed just 86 seconds to cut down Pedro Carvalho with punches in April. It was the Loughnane’s eighth first-round finish as a pro. On the other side of the docket, Gonzales enters the cage on a troubling three-fight losing streak. He made his PFL debut on April 19, when he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout from Gabriel Braga. It was the first stoppage loss of the Top Notch MMA rep’s 18-fight career. The latest setback for Gonzales followed consecutive decision defeats under the Bellator MMA banner.

In addition to the high-stakes Loughnane-Gonzales clash, here are three other reasons to catch PFL 6:

Against the Wall

Logan Storley backed himself into a corner. The four-time NCAA All-American wrestler needs a finish—the quicker the better—to have a realistic shot at the postseason when he confronts Laureano Staropoli in the welterweight co-main event. Storley’s PFL debut did not go according to plan on April 19, as he succumbed to a volley of punches from Shamil Musaev a mere 27 seconds into the second round of their encounter. The 31-year-old Kill Cliff Fight Club standout has never lost back-to-back bouts. Storley holds a perfect 6-0 record in his native South Dakota, where he was a six-time state wrestling champion at Webster High School. Staropoli, meanwhile, has won four of his last five fights, yet finds himself on the rebound following a first-round rear-naked choke submission loss to Murad Ramazanov at PFL 3 in April. The well-traveled Argentinian operates out of the Chute Boxe affiliate fronted by Diego Lima. Staropoli held the interim Ares Fighting Championship welterweight crown in France prior to joining the PFL.

Bullish Market

Magomed Umalatov checks a lot of boxes. The undefeated American Top Team export puts his perfect 15-0 record on the line against the volatile Brennan Ward in a welterweight showdown that carries equal parts risk and reward. Umalatov, 32, made his first move toward a playoff spot at PFL 3, where he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over former Bellator champion Andrey Koreshkov two months ago. A decorated combat sambo practitioner and onetime Eagle Fighting Championship titleholder, he has delivered 11 of his 15 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. Dilano Taylor, Jarrah Al-Silawi and Kyron Bowen highlight Umalatov’s extensive list of victims. On the other side of the equation, Ward steps into the spotlight on the heels of back-to-back losses. The heavy-handed wrestle-boxer stumbled out of the gate in his April 19 organizational debut, submitting to a rear-naked choke from Don Madge just 62 seconds into their encounter.

Rising to the Occasion

Timur Khizriev has accelerated his climb out of anonymity. The undefeated 28-year-old Russian prospect will look to punch his playoff ticket at 145 pounds when he toes the line against “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 2 winner Enrique Barzola as part of a deep and intriguing undercard. Khizriev established his foothold in the featherweight standings at PFL 3, where he outpointed Brett Johns to a unanimous decision in April. All four of his bouts have gone the distance since he exited the European regional scene in search of greener pastures some three years ago. Barzola, meanwhile, enjoyed an extended run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship from November 2015 to March 2020, going 6-3-1 inside the Octagon and bolstering his resume with victories over Horacio Gutierrez, Chris Avila, Gabriel Benitez, Matt Bessette, Brandon Davis and Bobby Moffett. Barzola has involved the judges in 20 of his 30 career appearances and sports an 11-7-2 record in those outings.