Raush Manfio steps in for Mikhail Odintsov, meets friend and teammate Natan Schulte at 2021 PFL 4

Raush Manfio and Natan Schulte may have been perfectly fine fighting each other, but they probably were hoping it would be with $1 million and a title on the line.

But now the close friends and training partners find themselves thrust onto opposite sides of the cage just three days out from 2021 PFL 4, which takes place Thursday at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

With Mikhail Odintsov (18-3) out of his regular season lightweight fight against two-time season winner Schulte (20-4-1), Manfio (12-3) has gotten the call to step in. PFL officials announced the change Monday, but did not give a reason for Odintsov’s removal from the card.

The fight will be a crucial one in the lightweight division. Manfio beat Joilton Lutterbach by split decision in April to pick up 3 points in the standings. But Schulte was upset by Marcin Held for his first loss in more than four years.

Since only four fighters qualify for the lightweight playoffs, and there currently are five fighters atop the table with 3 points, including Manfio, a win for Schulte now is critical – and not only a win, but potentially a finish of his friend that would get him 4, 5 or 6 points.

With the change, the 2021 PFL 4 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, 10 p.m. ET)

• Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin
• Alex Martinez vs. Anthony Pettis
• Bubba Jenkins vs. Bobby Moffett
• Tyler Diamond vs. Brendan Loughnane

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Clay Collard vs. Joilton Lutterbach
• Raush Manfio vs. Natan Schulte
• Lance Palmer vs. Jesse Stirn
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Marcin Held
• Akhmed Aliev vs. Loik Radzhabov
• Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Sheymon Moraes
• Arman Ospanov vs. Chris Wade