Ray Sefo hails unfancied stars after PFL lightweight, featherweight playoff finals decided

LAS VEGAS – After a successful second night of playoff action at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, PFL president Ray Sefo arrived at the dais for the post-fight news conference looking happy and relaxed, and for good reason.

“The guys fought great,” he told the assembled media, including MMA Junkie. “There were six finishes. From last week, we had two No. 1 seeds that didn’t make the finals. This week, obviously the guys were like, ‘Hey, we’re No. 1 seeds for a reason.’ So they came out and put it on the line tonight and made it to the final. Great to see.”

The former kickboxing ace-turned-fight promoter said PFL’s two Las Vegas playoff events so far have been a big success for the organization. Sefo said bigger and better things are to come as he looks to build the PFL playoffs into an annual event the promotion can take to big cities across the U.S.

“(For) last week’s show and this week’s show, I thought we had a great turnout,” he said. “Again, this is just the beginning. Vegas is great for us in terms of the playoffs, and it’s just a matter of time where I think cities are going to be asking us to have the playoffs there. I think PFL brings a great show to the city.”

The night was a big one for two unfancied contenders, with No. 7 seeds Daniel Pineda and Loik Radzhabov both progressing to the finals at featherweight and lightweight respectively. Both men will face the top seed in their respective weight divisions, Lance Palmer and Natan Schulte at the New Year’s Eve finale.

“I think it’s great, because it shows the growth of the PFL and shows that we have some real fighters and some real talent that can compete with some of the best,” Sefo said. “Pineda showed that tonight, and so did Loik. I believe he’s been representing Tajikistan, but he lives in Germany, so it’d be good to see him come out next time with the German flag. But that’s entirely up to him and his team. I’ve been told that’s what he’ll do next.”

“Pineda, we didn’t get to see much of him at all in the regular season, but tonight in the playoffs you truly looked amazing tonight – so glad to have you here,” Sefo said after spotting Pineda in the room.

He also hailed defending lightweight champion Schulte’s composure, saying, “There’s a reason why that guy’s the champion from last year. He’s very good at what he does, he’s very methodical at what he does, and I think one of the biggest attributes in his game is that he’s very patient.”

All in all, it was a good night for Sefo and the promotion, who still have a third and final playoff date in Las Vegas on Oct. 31 before all roads lead to Madison Square Garden for the playoff finals on New Year’s Eve.

“It was a great night of fights. PFL continues to grow and continues to show the world that there’s a reason why we’re here,” Sefo said.

“The great thing about the PFL is that, No. 1, we get to see two guys fighting twice in one night. It’s been a long time, over 20 years, since we’ve seen that in MMA – and back then, there were no rules. Tonight, everybody fought to the rules and everybody came out and fought tremendously well. I was super proud of all the guys.”