PFL 6 took place on Friday night and featured Raush Manfio taking on his best friend Nata Schulte. Although Schulte won the bout, the PFL decided that it was so lackluster that both fighters were suspended and allowed Shane Burgos to move forward.
MMA Payout interviewed Manfio prior to the fight and he stated that it would be the hardest fight to date because of his strong friendship with his training partner.
Schulte took to twitter to express his displeasure with the decision to put Burgos, a big signee for the PFL from the UFC last year, in the PFL lightweight playoffs and a shot at the $1M prize.
@francis_ngannou @MMAJunkie @combate @MMAFighting @PFLMMA @espn @RonnyMarkes @AgFight @junior_cigano @AnaHissa @guicruzzz @Adrianoreporter @SPonzinibbioMMA @ThiagoMoisesMMA @AmericanTopTeam @sextoroundmma @mmahoje_ @blackbeltmma1 @MMAUNCENSORED1 @portaldovt @OnPointMMA pic.twitter.com/bMS1VufWS1
— Natan' Schulte (@NatanSchulte) June 25, 2023
Payout Perspective:
In suspending the fighters, the PFL cited a clause in the fighters’ contracts which state “All fighters in their PFL fight agreements agree to use their best efforts … skills and ability as a professional athlete to compete … and defeat any opponent.” The PFL went on to state, “[I]t was very clear that Natan and Raush did not meet that contractual standard in yesterday’s bout.”
To pit two friends against one another is a hard thing to do and even if putting aside friendships, it is still an emotional thing to fight someone you are close to. Of course, it is within PFL’s discretion to do what it did. While there’s no claim that the fight was rigged or pre-determined, the fight lacked action that PFL wants for its viewing audience. The other factor here is that Shane Burgos was a key signing for PFL and he had yet to perform to the marketing behind his entrance into the promotion. Giving him another shot definitely gives the promotion another shot at marketing him.
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