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The Professional Fighters League decided to suspend Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio due to their lackluster fight.
On Friday, June 23, Schulte and Manfio fought at the sixth event of the 2023 PFL season. The lightweight fighters are close friends and training partners, creating an intriguing storyline. Unfortunately, the bout didn’t live up to the expectations, leading to severe backlash by fans labeling the fight as boring.
In the following hours, PFL announced Schulte and Manfio were suspended and received zero season points for the performance. The promotion released an official statement about the situation:
“Last Night Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio did not meet the standards which all PFL fighters agree to uphold in competition. All fighters in their PFL Fight Agreements agree to use their "best efforts ... skills and abilities as a professional athlete to compete ... and defeat any opponent.”
The statement continued:
“It was very clear that Natan and Raush did not meet that contractual standard in yesterday’s bout. PFL immediately suspended both fighters from the season and deemed the fight to have 0 points for purposes of League standings.”
Schulte’s unanimous decision win was supposed to put him into the playoffs with six total season points. Unfortunately, the PFL’s decision resulted in the Brazilian being kicked out of the post-season. As a result, a former UFC fighter punched his ticket to the four-fighter tournament for $1 million.
Shane Burgos punches his ticket to the PFL playoffs due to Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio being suspended
After eleven fights with the UFC, Shane Burgos tested the free agency market and signed with the PFL. Burgos started his promotional tenure in April with a unanimous decision loss against Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Two months later, Burgos defeated Yamato Nishikawa by unanimous decision on the same fight card as Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio.
Burgos ended the season with three points, leaving him out of the playoffs. Luckily for him, the suspension of Schulte and Manfio pushed him into the post-season. On August 23, ‘Hurricane’ looks to secure a spot in the $1 million finals by taking out the number one-ranked Clay Collard.
The other lightweight semifinal matchup is between number two-ranked Aubin Mercier and number three Bruno Miranda.
