Ante Delija claims fifth consecutive victory at the PFL in Atlanta
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Ante Delija (Screenshot/PFL/Twitter)
by Srecko Mavrek
At the PFL 5 event in the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, the Croatian fighter defeated the American Maurice Greene by unanimous decision, but it was not enough for the semi-finals.
This year, due to a knee injury, he missed the first of the two qualifying rounds, and had a super difficult task in the second. As he was fighting for the first time this season, he needed a win in the first half of the first round to have any shot at securing a heavyweight playoff spot.Â
As Delija didn’t succeed in that, his season is over, but he leaves Atlanta with a victory. He won his 24th victory in the twenty-ninth professional fight of his career.
Before the main match of the event, a weigh-in was held. The 36-year-old American weighed two kilograms more than Delija on the official scale. He is five centimeters taller (201), and his arm span is seven centimeters longer (208). Greene simply needed a victory to lock up a playoff spot.
At the end of the first round, Delija was close to victory for the first time, and even closer at the beginning of the second quarter. At the end of the second round, the American was saved by the gong sign. Delija was dominant in each round. He also scored the strongest shot of the entire evening. No one has pulled with such speed.
Ante Delija starts the 2nd round swinging! Greene survives…#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023
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Delija eliminated Greene from the semi-finals with his victory and brought luck to another American, Jordan Heiderman, who will fight in the final against the Russian Denis Goltsov, while in the other semi-final the opponents are Brazilians, Renan Ferreira and Marcelo Nunes.
Delija entered this fight 23-5 in professional MMA, with 17 stoppages (13 in the first round). After losing to Bruno Cappelozza in the 2021 heavyweight title fight, Delija defeated Matheus Scheffel, Shelton Graves, Renan Ferreira and Scheffel (in a rematch) to claim the 2022 championship.
