What to know about the 2025 PFL welterweight and featherweight finals

8 months ago 18

play

Thad Jean's vicious punch leads to KO triumph (0:53)

Thad Jean drops Mukhamed Berkhamov with a vicious punch and finishes him disconnected with a KO triumph successful the archetypal round. (0:53)

Jeff WagenheimAug 1, 2025, 08:00 AM ET

The PFL has been present earlier -- benignant of. The combat promotion ends its 2025 play with 3 August combat cards featuring finals successful its 8 value classes, starting with Friday's lawsuit successful Atlantic City, New Jersey (9 p.m. ET connected ESPN; prelims astatine 6:30 p.m. ET connected ESPN+), headlined by title fights astatine welterweight and featherweight.

The main lawsuit astatine Boardwalk Hall pits undefeated welterweight Thad Jean against Logan Storley, and the co-main lawsuit matches up past PFL featherweight play champions Movlid Khaybulaev (2021) and Jesus Pinedo (2023).

This year, for the archetypal time, the PFL has followed a single-elimination tourney format to get to the finals. The promotion's erstwhile six seasons ended with title finals, too, but those rubric bouts capped disconnected playoffs determined by a regular-season standings format. Having 8 value classes is besides a archetypal for the PFL, aft past seasons operated successful six divisions.

Here are immoderate things to cognize astir Friday's 2025 PFL finals.

Welterweight: Thad Jean (10-0) vs. Logan Storley (18-3)

How Jean got here: Defeated Mukhamed Berkhamov by first-round TKO connected April 3; defeated Jason Jackson by divided determination successful a June 12 semifinal.

How Storley got here: Defeated Joseph Luciano by unanimous determination connected April 3; defeated Masayuki Kikuiri by unanimous determination successful a June 12 semifinal.

Number to know: 1. That is however galore Bellator champions Jean and Storley person defeated successful their careers, combined. Before joining the PFL, Storley fought 12 times successful the Bellator cage -- but ne'er bushed a champion. That accomplishment goes to Jean, who ne'er competed successful Bellator but secured his 2025 PFL finals berth by defeating Jackson, a erstwhile Bellator titlist. Storley did person immoderate important Bellator wins, though. He defeated Joaquin Buckley and Michael "Venom" Page, some of whom are present successful the UFC. The 2022 triumph implicit MVP earned Storley an interim welterweight championship.

Fighting words: "If [Storley] really does privation to fight, past yeah, I'm going to instrumentality it distant from him. Not successful the 3rd round, the fourth, the fifth. No, the archetypal 2 rounds, he's gone. ... I'm not the boring fighter. I'm the combatant that you privation to see. I'm the combatant that you privation to tune successful and watch. I'm the combatant that you privation to spot triumph oregon suffer -- it doesn't matter, I privation you to ticker me. ... In the large words of [Conor] McGregor, 'We're not present to instrumentality part; we're present to instrumentality over.' And that's precisely what we're doing. We're going to instrumentality implicit everything. That's precisely wherefore it's truthful important for maine to go the champion, due to the fact that I americium the adjacent step." -- Thad Jean

"Why I've had the vocation that I've had is conscionable the grittiness, the consistency of doing hard things implicit and implicit and implicit again. The quality to perform. I've had astir apt 800 hand-to-hand combat and wrestling [matches] since I was 5 years old, done assemblage and successful MMA. I've competed a batch against the champion guys successful the world. And truthful the nerves, what's connected the line, the NCAA [wrestling] tourney connected ESPN, I've done that." -- Logan Storley

X factor: Teamwork. Jean's astir caller triumph -- and biggest triumph of his young vocation -- came against Jackson, a teammate of Storley's astatine Kill Cliff FC gym successful South Florida. Surely Storley, Jackson and their coaches person enactment their heads unneurotic to benignant retired what went incorrect and however Storley tin debar a akin result.

What to ticker for: If you tin work Jean's sanction printed connected the backmost of his shorts, that's atrocious quality for Storley, due to the fact that it means the fighters are lasting and trading punches and kicks, not lying connected the canvas grappling. This is simply a classical striker-versus-wrestler matchup. Storley was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler astatine the University of Minnesota, finishing 3rd astatine 174 pounds successful the 2014 NCAA nationalist championships. Jean, by contrast, is simply a versatile and explosive striker whose accelerated kicks and agelong punches person kept him safely distant from takedown shots. Can Storley adjacent the region without getting knocked out?

Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (23-0-1, 1 NC) vs. Jesus Pinedo (25-6-1)

How Khaybulaev got here: Defeated Jeremy Kennedy by divided determination connected April 3; defeated Tae Kyun Kim by unanimous determination successful a June 12 semifinal.

How Pinedo got here: Defeated Adam Borics by first-round TKO connected April 3; defeated Gabriel Braga by first-round TKO successful a June 12 semifinal.

Number to know: 0. Whenever a fighter's grounds ends successful a zero -- arsenic in, nary losses -- that's ever the cardinal number, particularly erstwhile said combatant has competed much than 2 twelve times arsenic a professional. The happening that's antithetic with Khaybulaev is that helium has tasted decision successful the PFL. In the 2019 quarterfinals, helium was knocked retired by Daniel Pineda -- but the effect was overturned to a nary contention aft Pineda tested affirmative for a banned substance. Still, Khaybulaev has experienced being knocked retired and Pinedo is simply a powerfulness puncher, with KOs successful his past 9 wins.

Fighting words: "I'm conscionable a antithetic benignant of combatant than what [Khaybulaev] has faced. A batch of guys -- whether it's being acrophobic of Movlid oregon over-respecting him -- they alteration their combat benignant erstwhile they spot him. I'm going to combat my aforesaid fight, and that's going to beryllium thing he's ne'er faced. ... My crippled program for each combat is enactment standing, support takedowns and travel guardant and bring unit to the fight. ... I came for the money, the loop and to instrumentality his zero." -- Jesus Pinedo

"If [Pinedo] wants to person a war, we're going to person it. That puts much occurrence into me. ... If helium thinks that helium saw radical who had bully wrestling, helium has different happening coming. Our wrestling is connected a antithetic level. ... The happening with Khabib [Nurmagomedov] being successful my corner, the champion happening is that helium gives precise advice. He sees the afloat picture. Sometimes cornermen outcry antithetic advice. He is ever spot on. He's precise precise. If you perceive to him and execute well, that gives you an advantage." -- Movlid Khaybulaev

X factor: Inactivity. Both of these fighters sat retired each of 2024. Khaybulaev's lack reached astir 2 years, arsenic helium stepped distant successful June 2023 and did not instrumentality until this past April. He's ne'er afloat explained the crushed for his interruption from the sport. Pinedo, connected the different hand, spent overmuch of 2024 recovering from a backmost injury, and his scheduled instrumentality successful November was canceled aft Pinedo severely missed weight. Both fighters bounced backmost with a brace of 2025 tourney wins, and Pinedo's 2 KOs were impressive.

What to ticker for: Pinedo is 9-1 successful his past 10 fights, with six of his 9 knockouts coming successful the archetypal round. In his 1 combat that went the distance, Pinedo mislaid a divided decision. He has not won a determination since 2018. Khaybulaev, by contrast, has built his vocation connected impressing cageside judges. Among his 23 victories, 14 came by decision, each but 3 of them unanimous. He has much determination wins than knockouts (6) and submissions (3) combined. So the happening to ticker for is simply a Round 2 and beyond, thing Pinedo has not experienced since 2023. Considering that the PFL books its finals for 5 rounds, Pinedo could beryllium taken wherever he's ne'er been before. Khaybulaev has fought 5 rounds lone once, but his crippled is built for agelong journeys.