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PFL 2 2024: Kasanganay vs. Polizzi Preview
April 11, 2024
Last weekend, millions of eyes were focused on WrestleMania and the NCAA Basketball Tournaments. This weekend, the MMA world takes over with the mega card that is UFC 300. Before we get there, though, we have an awesome fighting appetizer with PFL 2 2024: Kasanganay vs. Polizzi, which will highlight this season’s Light Heavyweights and Lightweights. Although last week’s PFL show was a fun opener to the season, this card has some really awesome fights to look forward to and is much stronger on paper. Let’s take a look at what will be taking place on Friday, April 12th…
Main Card (ESPN+ and ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET)
Impa Kasanganay vs. Alex Polizzi
Robert Wilkinson vs. Tom Breese
Clay Collard vs. Patricky Pitbull
Mads Burnell vs. Michael Dufort
Sadibou Sy vs. Josh Silveira
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Jakob Nedoh
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Simon Biyong
Prelims (ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET)
Bruno Miranda vs. Brent Primus
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Solomon Renfro
Jay Jay Wilson vs. Adam Piccolotti
Elvin Espinoza vs. Anthony Romero
Marcelo Nunes vs. Jordan Heiderman
The Prelims
As I always say, you can’t sleep on the Prelims. Here is what I’m looking forward to on Friday…
Jay Jay Wilson vs. Adam Piccolotti is a fight that I have my eye on. Jay Jay Wilson is a fun prospect at 10-1. He will have a tough time with Piccolotti, though. As with any Piccolotti fight, Wilson will have to watch his neck. Half of Piccolotti’s wins have come from a rear-naked choke or neck crank. Even though Piccolotti has also lost a couple of times to a rear-naked choke, I would advise Wilson to try and keep this one on the feet.
Gadzhi Rabadanov is coming over from Bellator on a six fight win streak against a really fun Solomon Renfro. Rabadanov has twice as much experience and is coming in as the betting favorite, but Renfro has all the skills to get the upset win here and start the season off right.
Anytime you put Brent Primus in a cage, it’s going to be fun. He had the biggest win of his career over Usman Nurmagomedov last year, but it was overturned due to a banned substance. Nurmagomedov got his zero back in the loss column, but Primus showed what he is capable of, for sure. He’ll be looking to get back on track and show that he’s a true force in PFL.
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Simon Biyong
Carlos Junior was on a great streak in the UFC for a while before losing a few in a row and leaving the promotion. He is back to his winning ways in PFL and will be looking to keep that going in the 2024 season. He has a good matchup to get started with in Simon Biyong. Biyong is dangerous, but hasn’t had a steady win streak in his career to make a push up any rankings. Of course, he can change all of that with a big win against Carlos Junior.
Sadibou Sy vs. Josh Silveira
Sy vs. Silveira to start the season is amazing! This will be Sy’s Light Heavyweight debut after losing in the finals of the Welterweight Division last year. I am very excited to see how he does with having to cut less weight. Will he be as dominant and dynamic on the feet? Will his power translate up a division? It’ll be a tough test against Josh Silveira, either way. Silveira is looking to avenge his loss in the finals of the Light Heavyweight Division last year. He went on quite a tear in the 2023 season before that loss, so he is more than capable of doing it again. Both men are dangerous on their feet, so I will expect Silveira to try and go to the ground. Either way, though, I cannot wait for this fight!
Clay Collard vs. Patricky Pitbull
Patricio Pitbull got his shine in the Bellator Championship Series last month. Patricky will try his hand in the PFL season, though. Patricky, like his brother, was one of the main faces of Bellator. The Pitbulls have done it all in Bellator, so it’ll be interesting to see Patricky in the PFL cage. He is looking to prove that he still has a strong run in him at age 38 and 2-4 in his last six fights. Maybe the change of scenery will help. What won’t help, though, is Clay Collard. Collard had a strong 2023 before losing in the finals of the Lightweight Division. He also lost to AJ McKee at the PFL vs. Bellator event earlier this year. Those two losses were major steps up in competition, though, so we will see if he ramped up his skillset to go against the likes of Patricky Pitbull. This should be another fun one!
Robert Wilkinson vs. Tom Breese
The top of this card had some changes made to it. Rob Wilkinson was originally supposed to be in the main event against Phil Davis. Davis, though, had to pull out and will not be featured in this season. In the reshuffling, Wilkinson will take on Tom Breese, who has UFC, KSW, and PFL Europe experience. Wilkinson is looking to get back to his 2022 form when he won the PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. Both of these men are dangerous all over, so I’m excited to see how this one goes.
Impa Kasanganay vs. Alex Polizzi
With the change to the Wilkinson fight, Kasanganay vs. Polizzi got promoted to the main event. This should be a good one. Kasanganay capped off a great 2023 by winning the PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament. He showcased a well-rounded style, winning various ways throughout the year. Many people expected him to upset Johnny Eblen in their matchup at the PFL vs. Bellator event earlier in the year…and he came close! He will be looking to avenge that split decision loss against former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Polizzi. Polizzi is hoping to right the ship after two straight losses in Bellator. There would be no better way to make a statement than to beat Impa Kasanganay here.
My Picks
Impa Kasanganay
Robert Wilkinson
Patricky Pitbull
Mads Burnell
Josh Silveira
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
Antonio Carlos Junior
Brent Primus
Gadzhi Rabadanov
Adam Piccolotti
Elvin Espinoza
Marcelo Nunes
What do you think? Are you excited for this PFL card? If so, who do you have winning? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a look at UFC 300. See you then!
