PFL 2019, Playoffs 2: Daniel Pineda extends 100 percent finish rate to book featherweight final spot

LAS VEGAS – Daniel Pineda defied the doubters and surged into the PFL featherweight final after claiming back-to-back first-round finishes in the PFL’s second playoff event of the 2019 season at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Pineda (28-13), who went into the playoffs seeded seventh of the eight remaining 145-pounders at the start of the evening, finished Movlid Khaybulaev in just 29 seconds to earn a spot in the semifinals, then submitted Jeremy Kennedy via guillotine choke after four minutes to secure his passage through to the final in New York on New Year’s Eve.

Pineda’s latest two finishes extended his remarkable 100% finish rate across 28 career wins and booked his place in the featherweight final, where he will face fellow American Lance Palmer at Madison Square Garden. Chatting to reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after the event, the 34-year-old was understandably pleased with his performances.

“It went good, I’m very happy,” he said. “Everybody doubted, and I’m here now. To the finals we go.

“I just wanted to prove myself, you know. Prove that I belong in this tournament. And I wanted to finish him off. I said it in the interview before we fought. Everybody’s talking about his knee (but) wait to we fight, you’re gonna be talking about me. And there you go!”

Pineda is a veteran of the UFC octagon and the Bellator cage, but admitted he found the challenge of fighting two bouts in one night a testing one, and said he had to pick himself up before stepping into the cage for his semifinal fight with Kennedy.

“When I was about to come out for my second fight I was really tired,” he said. “I was like: ‘Man, it’s late!’ I’m just sitting around, gloved up, and ready to go again, but once they said: ‘Hey! You’ve got 10 minutes!’ Alright, let’s go. Let’s fight again. Two checks, why not?!”

The last man standing between Pineda and the $1 million tournament title is defending featherweight champion Palmer, and the Houston native said their respective qualities should make for a thrilling final at The Garden on New Year’s Eve.

“Man, he’s a good opponent, he’s a good champion,” he said. “He’s got good wrestling. His stand-up, anybody has power with those four-ounce gloves. So you can’t underestimate those little four-ounce gloves. If he catches me, he might knock my ass out. But I think it’ll be a good fight, I think we’re gonna make a hell of a show in New York and we’re gonna throw down. So you can’t miss this fight.”

And although he knows he faces a tough test in the form of defending champion Palmer, Pineda says he’s confident he can extend his finishing streak to a 29th career win in the final.

“Man, I’m a finisher,” he said. “I’ve just gotta work hard and get good wrestling partners. I”m a wrestler myself, I’ve been wrestling for a while. So I don’t think that Palmer can just take me down and hold me down. He’s going to get finished if he takes me down, or I’ll finish him standing up, one of the two.”