PFL 3 Regular Season Predictions: Fight Card, Vegas Odds, and Picks (Apr 14)

• It’s time for PFL 3, which is on the program this Friday in Vegas.
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Shane Burgos is the main event of the evening.
• Another four fights are on the main card, all of which we’ll preview now.

The 2023 season of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) continues with PFL 3, an evening taking place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, on Friday 14. The event is headlined by the lightweight clash between Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Shane Burgos, with another four fights on the main card and seven prelims.

Schedule and How to Watch

• Where: The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, Nevada
• When: Friday, April 14, 2023, at 10 p.m ET
• How to Watch: ESPN/ESPN+

2023 PFL 3 Predictions

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Shane Burgos

Olivier Aubin-Mercier (17-5) is the man who won the 2022 PFL Lightweight tournament and got himself the $1 million prize. He did it by knocking out Stevie Ray in the grand finale, which was only his second KO/TKO win of his career. The first one happened in 2018 when he was fighting in the UFC.

Speaking of the UFC, another former UFC fighter will take part in this year’s PFL tournament. The man in question is Shane Burgos (15-3) whose PFL story is expected to start with a loss. One of the main reasons why he’s seen as the underdog is that he’s moving up a weight division. In fact, the fight on Friday is going to be his first-ever lightweight fight.

Prediction:

Clay Collard vs. Yamato Nishikawa

Clay Collard (21-10-1) is expected to have an easy job on Friday against Yamato Nishikawa (21-3-6). The main reason is that his opponent is 10 years younger than him.

The 20-year-old Japanese fighter does have plenty of fights under his belt, but most of them happened in local promotions in Japan.

Meanwhile, Collard has been fighting in the PFL for two years, winning three of his five fights. He did lose twice in this promotion, but both of those losses were by decision (split and unanimous).

Prediction:

Patrick Brady vs. Denis Goltsov

This is the only heavyweight clash on the fight card. Denis Goltsov (29-7) was supposed to fight last weekend, but he decided to pull out of the fight with Yorgan de Castro. In our opinion, that was a smart decision, because he should have a fairly easy job against Patrick Brady (5-0) this Friday.

Brady is still undefeated in his pro career, but that’s because he hasn’t fought at such a high level as his opponent. In fact, the 39-year-old has only fought in local promotions so far, such as Art of War Cage Fighting and Stellar Fights.

Prediction:

Carlos Leal vs. David Zawada

Carlos Leal (17-4) is a well-rounded fighter who’s got a lot of experience fighting against tough opponents. He had all wins from summer 2015 to summer 2022, but then Sadibou Sy beat him by a unanimous decision in the PFL Playoffs.

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His next opponent is David Zawada (18-7) who does have UFC experience, but he didn’t do much in that promotion. In fact, before being released by the UFC, he was 1-4.

Prediction:

Magomed Umalatov vs. Dilano Taylor

Magomed Umalatov (12-0) is undefeated, and we think he’s going to stay undefeated for at least one more fight. In fact, we believe he’s going to beat Dilano Taylor (10-3) by a knockout.

It’s because 10 of Umalatov’s 12 fights saw him win by this method. It’s also because two of Taylor’s three losses happened by KO/TKO.

Prediction: