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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

Jesus Pinedo takes out unbeaten Gabriel Braga to win featherweight crown | 2023 PFL Championship Fight Night HQ

Gabriel Braga Jesus Pinedo PFL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The PFL crowned its newest $1 million featherweight winner Friday.

No. 2 seed Gabriel Braga (12-0) met No. 4 Jesus Pinedo (22-6-1) in the 145-pound season championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

Go inside the matchup below, from the backstory and the buildup through the end of the fight itself, with stats, photos, preview videos, highlight videos, quotes, recaps and more.

The story will update throughout the fight and event.

How we got here

Gabriel Braga vs. Jesus Pinedo

Braga earned his way to the PFL through the Challenger Series in March. Then he beat Pinedo by split decision in their first regular season fight in April. Braga then beat Marlon Moraes by first-round KO. In the semifinals, he took a split call from Chris Wade.

Pinedo rebounded from his loss to Braga with a first-round knockout of defending million-dollar winner Brendan Loughnane – the only way he could reach the playoffs. In the semifinals, he knocked out Bubba Jenkins in the second round to get to his rematch with Braga.

Braga vs. Pinedo: Weigh-ins

The walkouts

Final betting odds

Gabriel Braga, 2023 PFL Championships Official Weigh-Ins at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C., Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)

Braga closed as a -125 favorite; the comeback on Pinedo was +105. Their first fight was a close split decision win for Braga. The odds for the rematch are the closest by far of any of the PFL’s six $1 million season finals.

Patricio "Pitbull" on a research trip

The winner will be the reigning PFL featherweight titleholder – and with the promotion’s purchase of Bellator, the winner will be aligned for a fight with Bellator 145-pound champ and pound-for-pound great Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who was cageside for the fight.

Braga vs. Pinedo: The fight

Records: Jesus Pinedo (22-6-1) vs. Gabriel Braga (12-0)
Round 1: Pinedo may have broken Braga’s nose in the first, but the fight picked right back up where their first one left off – pretty much razor thin and highly competitive.
Round 2: Pinedo again had a solid round, but wasn’t necessarily running away with things.
Round 3: Pinedo landed a jumping knee that hurt Braga, and then he poured on the punishment until Fernando Yamasaki stopped it. Braga thought it was an early stoppage. It may have been. The end came at the 0:58 mark of the third round and made Pinedo a new millionaire.

The aftermath

Patricio Freire vs. Jesus Pinedo

With the PFL’s purchase of Bellator, Pinedo now is likely to fight Patricio Freire in 2024. “Pitbull” was cageside with his Bellator featherweight belt and came into the cage for a faceoff with Pinedo, the PFL’s new featherweight champion.

Pinedo post-fight interview

Fight stats

Fight photos

Pinedo post-fight interview with Mike Bohn

Patricio Freire post-fight interview with Mike Bohn

PFL's 2023 champions

Pinedo celebrates

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