PFL 9: 2023 Playoffs Post-Fight Scrum; Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden
Eventually the damn was going to burst. At least in front of the press. Although, one can be certain it has behind the curtain of the PFL by now. Ray Sefo is not happy with the action of some of his fighters. Or shall we say, ex-fighters.
After an evening of some really fun fights Ray Sefo teed off on some talent. Despite the calmness of his voice, the anger continued to build through out the scrum on the topic of weight cutting. Here is just a clip of what started the whole thing:
The PFL as any company does, evolves. Originally there was a rule that if a fighter in the tournament missed weight, they would then be bounced out of it. If that was still the case on this night, Carlos Leal would have been removed; scratching his fight against defending welterweight champion Sadibou Sy. Not only was Sefo frustrated by the miss, but so was “The Swedish Denzel Washington”.
But later on Ray Sefo was reminded about last Friday night where heavyweight Daiqwon Buckley was brought up. The Pennsylvania fighter was due to fight Louie Sutherland in a showcase bout. And at stake was a possible ticket into next years tournament. And that came crashing down after a series of events.
Buckley, like Leal this week didn’t hint there were problems coming ahead during their media days. But Buckley wound up missing by more than six-pounds. The PFL originally flipped the fight into a super heavyweight bout. But then the NEW YORK STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION squashed that fight like a person stepping on a cockroach. Sefo stated quite loudly and clearly that he will “absolutely never again be offered a contract while he was the company’s head man”.
Ray Sefo Is Not Pleased By Some Antics
If this was the UFC you may say Leal has some “Dana-White-privilege”. Because yes Sy, and Sefo’s anger is no doubt, it was minor miss in comparison. It was just a two-point-two pound miss. And the Brazilian has not as of yet been cut. He’s also a come forward hard hitter… usually. So perhaps he will be on a short leash come next season, despite his skillset. Sefo remembered a day though, when fighters took weight cuts seriously, and there was no such thing as heavyweights missing.
So Leal’s penatly was not only losing 20% of his fight purse, but he was deducted a point. All but guaranteeing a loss for the 29-year old. Unless he pulled off 10-8 rounds or a finish. When discussing a change in rules again for the tournament Sefo stated:
“I’m happy where the rules are now. But it could take five… five to seven years maybe to perfect and polish them. But I like where the rules are now”.
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