Professional Fighters League Continues 2018 Regular Season With Action-Packed PFL5 Card

MAGALHAES CLINCHES TOP SEED AT LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT; LONG ISLAND NATIVE CHRIS WADE AND NATAN SCHULTE PUNCHED THEIR TICKETS TO 2018 PFL PLAYOFFS

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Professional Fighters League

Aug 03, 2018, 01:08 ET

UNIONDALE, N.Y., Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Professional Fighters League (PFL) hosted PFL5 at NYCB LIVE, the home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York Thursday night and kept the regular season momentum rolling. The eight-fight slate provided high-stakes action with fighters dueling for a spot in the 2018 PFL Playoffs. With a shot at the $10 million postseason prize pool on the line, the competitors looked for early aggressive and decisive wins.

Natan Schulte continued his impressive regular season run with a dominant submission win over highly-regarded Jason High. Schulte took High's back and was able to sink a fight-ending rear-naked choke in the first round to place himself atop the lightweight standings for the moment. Only Brian Foster, who has yet to fight his second bout, can catch the Brazilian before the playoff bracket is finalized.

The top seed in the light heavyweight division is wrapped up after Vinny Magalhaes notched another six-point victory. The grappler showed off his striking array in a quick dustup with heavy-hitting Brandon Halsey and came out with his hand raised yet again.

Long Island-native Chris Wade was returning to the cage after a lackluster performance at PFL2 which left him with zero points and an uphill climb to make the playoffs. His first-round dispatch of Yuki Kawana gave him six points and clinched the coveted playoff berth.

"Our Professional MMA format consistently delivers powerful make-or-break action, and our lightweight and light heavyweight fighters brought the fans to their feet with their exciting fights," said Carlos Silva, PFL League President. "Every round matters in the PFL and our fighters enter the cage with focus and purpose, knowing they have a shot to clinch a spot in the PFL Playoffs and a chance at $1 million and the 2018 title. We will continue to see increased intensity at PFL6 on August 16 at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City."

Results:

Natan Schulte def. Jason High by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:18 R1
Vinny Magalhaes def. Brandon Halsey by TKO (strikes) at 1:34 R1
Will Brooks def. Robert Watley by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)
Maxim Grishim def. Rakim Cleveland by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:03 R2
Rashid Magomedov def. Luiz Firmino by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 29-28)
Chris Wade def. Yuki Kawana by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:24 R1
Dan Spohn def. Artur Alibulatov by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27 and 29-27)*
Thiago Tavares def. Arthur Estrazulas by split-decision (29-28, 28-29 and 29-28)

*The fight went to the score cards after the cageside physician stopped the bout after an illegal groin strike. It was the second low blow and one point was deducted before the cards were tallied.

Lightweight Division

Rank	LIGHTWEIGHTS	Total Pts	PFL 5 Pts	PFL 5 Result	PFL 2 Pts
1 - x	NATAN SCHULTE	9	6	Win by submission (1st round 4:18)	3
2 - x	WILL BROOKS	6	3	Win by unanimous decision (90 scored)	3
3 - x	ISLAM MAMEDOV	6	3	Win by walkover	3
4 - x	CHRIS WADE	6	6	Win by submission (1st round 4:24)	0
5 - x	ROBERT WATLEY	5	0	Loss by unanimous decision (81 scored)	5
6 - x	BRIAN FOSTER	4			4
7 - x	RASHID MAGOMEDOV	3	3	Win by unanimous decision (89 scored)	0
8	THIAGO TAVARES	3	3	Win by split decision (86 scored)	0
9	RAMSEY NIJEM	0			0
10 - e	LUIZ FIRMINO	0	0	Loss by unanimous decision (82 scored)	0
11 - e	ARTHUR ESTRAZULAS	0	0	Loss by split decision (85 scored)	0
12 - e	YUKI KAWANA	0	0	Loss by submission (1st round 4:24)	0
13 - e	JASON HIGH	0	0	Loss by submission (1st round 4:18)	0
14 - e	EFRAIN ESCUDERO	0	0	Loss - missed weight	0

x = clinched a playoff berth
e = eliminated from playoff contention

Light Heavyweight Division

Rank	LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS	Total Pts	PFL 5 Pts	PFL 5 Result	PFL 2 Pts
1 - x	VINNY MAGALHAES	12	6	Win by TKO (1st round 1:34)	6
2 - x	MAXIM GRISHIN	11	5	Win by submission (2nd round 4:03)	6
3 - x	DAN SPOHN	7	3	Win by unanimous decision (88 scored)	4
4 - x	SEAN O'CONNELL	5			5
5	RAKIM CLEVELAND	4	0	Loss by submission (2nd round 4:03)	4
6	BRANDON HALSEY	4	0	Loss by TKO (1st round 1:34)	4
7	BOZIGIT ATAEV	0			0
8	RASHID YUSUPOV	0			0
9	SMEALINHO RAMA	0			0
10	RONNY MARKES	0			0
11	JASON BUTCHER	0			0
12	JAMIE ABDALLAH	0			0
13 - e	ARTUR ALIBULATOV	0	0	Loss by unanimous decision (80 scored)	0

x = clinched a playoff berth
e = eliminated from playoff contention

The 2018 PFL season features 126 fights on Thursday nights in seven regular-season events, bracket-style "win-or-go-home" playoffs, and a $10 million postseason prize pool—the largest prize pool in the history of MMA. The season began with 12 athletes in each of six different weight-classes. Eight fighters from each class will earn their way into the playoff round, and one fighter in each division will earn the title of champion.

U.S.-based and international fans can watch all PFL regular season, playoff, and championship fights—over 66 hours of live action—for free. In the United States, all of the PFL regular season events air live on Thursday in primetime exclusively on NBCSN, and stream live on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and www.pflmma.com. Outside the U.S., Facebook will stream up to six hours of free, live coverage for each event. In the U.S., fans can watch the first three hours of coverage of each event on Facebook.

About Professional Fighters League™

The Professional Fighters League presents MMA for the first time in the sport format where individuals compete in a regular season, "win-or-go-home" post-season, and championship. Co-founded by Donn Davis, Russ Ramsey, and Mark Leschly, the Professional Fighters League is backed by an ownership group of sports, media, and business titans. The PFL 2018 Season has 72 fighters in six weight-classes, competing in the regular season on Thursday nights in June, July, and August. The top eight in each weight-class face off in single-elimination playoff fights on Saturday nights in October and the PFL season concludes December 31 with six championship bouts back-to-back with a $10 million prize pool. Watch the entire PFL season action beginning June 7 live on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), Facebook Watch, and www.PFLmma.com. For more visit www.PFLmma.com.