Jackson vs. Koreshkov: PFL's High-Stakes Face-Off Recap

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00:00But the welterweights and featherweights like guys

00:02are gonna be getting involved,

00:03starting all for us and kicking us off,

00:06starting with the main event of Jason Jackson,

00:08Andrei Koreshkov.

00:10We talked to Jackson last week,

00:11you've seen some of the clips

00:12that we've put out on social media

00:13that the PFL has put out as well about this fight.

00:16The ass-kicking machine in Jason Jackson,

00:1934-year-old from Jamaica, 18 and five in his career,

00:23going against Koreshkov, the 34-year-old Russian,

00:2528 and five, 14 wins by KO, TKO, 10 by decision.

00:29This is a guy who wants to keep his standing.

00:30Jackson, a guy who has a lot of wins by decision,

00:32six by KO.

00:33So this is gonna be an on-the-feet battle

00:35between these guys for much of it, I'm sure,

00:37unless someone gets dropped down.

00:39Eight and two, Bellator record for Jason Jackson.

00:42Fought for the title last June, but could not get it.

00:44Won the title over on Mosov back in November of 2023.

00:48Wins over guys like Lima, Cooper III,

00:50Daly, Neiman Gracie, Ben Henderson.

00:53So he has fought the best of the best.

00:54Koreshkov fought Lima three times

00:58when he was in Bellator.

00:59Lost to Molotov last season in the title fight

01:03for that one, and beat Lima good.

01:05Benson Henderson, Lorenz Larkin.

01:08So he's fought for the title, has never achieved it,

01:10but now he is going to try to get to that end goal here

01:13once again.

01:14I mean, as we said, this is a fight between guys

01:17who could've been matching up in the finals.

01:19Now they're gonna be matching up to kick it all off

01:20as the main event for this tournament.

01:22Great job by the PFL getting us caught up into it

01:26right away out of the gates here with this first card.

01:29You know what?

01:30It's hard to pick which one.

01:31These guys are the same age.

01:32Both these guys have a lot of experience.

01:34I think I'm gonna lean towards Jackson a little bit

01:36over the opponents that he has beaten.

01:38And we talked to him.

01:40He seems ready, not just physically,

01:42but you see the mental head games,

01:44the mental space that you gotta have

01:46with this kind of tournament format.

01:47He's experienced with that.

01:49Look forward to this fight,

01:50but I think I'm leaning towards him

01:51as my pick in that fight.

01:53Featherweight, co-main event between Jesus Pinedo

01:55and Adam Boric.

01:57We talked to Boric a couple weeks ago,

01:59coming back off a long-term injury that he had,

02:02fought last in November, 2023.

02:04Was supposed to fight a couple times last year,

02:05but had to pull out.

02:06He is a 2023 PFL featherweight champ.

02:0828, I'm sorry, Pineda is a 28-year-old from Peru.

02:13But 23, six and one in his MMA career.

02:16Looking forward to getting back in there

02:17and seeing that he is championship level once again.

02:20Going against a Boric, a 31-year-old from Hungary

02:22who now lives in the US.

02:2319-2 in MMA, 10-2 in Bellator in the PFL.

02:27Tried to fight for the title in 2022

02:28against Patricio Pitbull.

02:30Lost, and then he's been out almost two years due to injury.

02:32There's the confusion for me, both these guys.

02:34I've had long-term injuries,

02:35we haven't seen them in a couple years.

02:37Both making their returns.

02:38Both guys who could have, again,

02:40been favorites in this tournament.

02:42Maybe not as much as that last fight in Jackson and Koreshkov

02:45because they've both been out for a while here

02:47with injuries, but now we will see them both

02:49try to shake off that ring rush against each other

02:52and take each other out.

02:53I'm leaning towards Pineda right now.

02:55You know, a guy who has held the title.

02:56A guy who has gone the distance and taken a belt.

02:59I think he comes back in dominant fortune

03:01here against Boric.

03:02Both these guys have some highlight reel finishes, though,

03:04so don't blink, this one could be over quick.

03:08Then, well to wait on the main card as well.

03:10Logan Storlie, Magomed Umalatov.

03:12Again, the other two guys that would have been a favorite

03:14in this tournament for me before the tournament

03:17matchups were announced.

03:18Storlie, the 32-year-old from the US.

03:1916-3, nine wins by KO TKO.

03:22Wants to, you know, stand and trade.

03:2310-2 in Bellator.

03:24One-on-one the PFL, beat Nemi Grasme and Michael Vanapage.

03:28Lost to Mosov twice and lost to Musaev last year.

03:32Umalatov, the 32-year-old Russian.

03:3317-1, was unbeaten before losing to Musaev

03:36by third round TKO last November for the title

03:39in the PFL playoffs.

03:40Eight-and-one in the PFL.

03:42This is a tough one.

03:43I lean towards Umalatov, though.

03:45You know, this guy has had more recent success.

03:47You know, he has shown us how dominant he could be

03:49before getting to the top of the mountain

03:50and losing that title.

03:51But even in that fight, he was a badass

03:53before losing to his opponent.

03:55Just couldn't figure out the guy that no one else

03:57has been able to figure out, because he stands unbeaten.

04:00So, you know, not a bad loss on his record at all

04:03for his only and first loss.

04:04I think he rebounds quick here against Storlie

04:06and gets right back into the mix

04:08as one of the contenders in this division.

04:11And rounding out the main card will be

04:12the featherweight battle between Jeremy Kennedy

04:14and Movlid Kaiboulayev.

04:17Kennedy, the 32-year-old Canadian,

04:18who now trains in the US as 19-5 in MMA,

04:21fought in the UFC, Bellator, and PFL.

04:23Lost to Borch in April of 21,

04:25before, you know, has come back

04:27with back-to-back losses last year.

04:29So, has struggled over the last few years here.

04:32Lost to Pitbull by TKO for the title last March.

04:34Lost to Gabe Braga last November.

04:37So, he needs a serious rebound here.

04:39Not good track record, though, recently,

04:41in the recent history, going against a guy

04:42in Kaiboulayev, the 34-year-old Russian

04:44who won the tournament back in 2021.

04:4721-0-1 in MMA, 6-0 in the PFL.

04:51Hasn't fought since 2023, but again,

04:53has not been beaten.

04:55I'm not gonna pick against a guy who has not lost yet.

04:57I think he takes this fight here against Kennedy

05:00and sends him to a third straight loss

05:02in these last two years.

05:04On the prelim card, you got some great matchups.

05:07You got Ukumayev, Berkumov versus Florian Zendel.

05:11Berkumov, the Russian, is 17-2 with one no contest.

05:14Most of his wins by submission.

05:17Zendel, 10-1-1, five by KO, TKO, four by submission.

05:20So, he's game wherever it goes,

05:21but probably doesn't wanna get to the mat

05:23against a more dominant opponent on the ground.

05:26I think he probably wants to keep it more undefeated

05:28in PFL Europe.

05:29Won the 2024 PFL title.

05:31Now, moving up to the even bigger leagues in the PFL here.

05:34This is gonna be a step up in opponent for him,

05:37but I think he's gonna be game

05:38as long as he can keep it standing

05:40and stuff those takedowns.

05:41By the way, you have Gabe Braga versus Yves Landu.

05:43Braga, the 26-year-old from Brazil, 15-2 in MMA,

05:467-2 in the PFL.

05:48Lost to Pinedo in 2023 for the title,

05:503-1 since, and beat Kennedy last November by decision.

05:53Landu, the 38-year-old from France, 21-9 in MMA,

05:576-1 in Bellator, won his last five fights

05:59coming off a back-to-back split decision wins.

06:02But you know what?

06:03Braga's younger, gonna be faster,

06:05gonna be hungry to get back into that title mix.

06:07I'm sticking with the Brazilian in that fight.

06:10You also have welterweight,

06:11Takuri versus Yanis Bashar.

06:13Takuri, the Japanese fighter from 29-year-old,

06:15is 10-2 in one.

06:17Seven wins by KO TKO.

06:18He wants to stand, mostly his fights are in Pancrase.

06:212-0 in Bellator, both by TKO.

06:23Bashar, 9-2, the Tunisian fighter fighting out of Greece,

06:26is 9-2, eight by TKO.

06:30Both these guys have had more experience outside the PFL

06:33than they have inside major promotions,

06:35but both these guys like to stand and trade.

06:37I don't know who to pick in this one yet.

06:38I haven't seen enough of these guys,

06:40but I can tell you I don't think this one

06:41is gonna go the distance.

06:43And then to round out, featherweight battle

06:44between Nathan Kelly and Taekyun Kim.

06:47Kim, the South Korean fighter, 30-year-old,

06:48make his major promotion debut.

06:50He's 10-1.

06:51Kelly, 11-3 in MMA.

06:53We just saw him lose on that Ireland-Dagestan card.

06:56I'm gonna take a shot with the South Korean,

06:58thinking he's a little hyped

06:59to make a name for himself in this card.

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