Chris Wade back in PFL playoffs as replacement fighter
Chris Wade celebrates his first-round victory over Ryoji Kudo at PFL 4 on June 8, 2023. Credit: PFL/Ryan Loco
Chris Wade is now a perfect 5-for-5 when it comes to reaching the semifinals of the Professional Fighters League playoffs.
The Islip-raised Wade will replace the injured Movlid Khaybulaev, the 2021 featherweight champion, and face Gabriel Braga on Aug. 4 in San Antonio, Texas. The winner advances to the PFL Championship later this year with a chance to win $1 million.
"We are back. Back for a fifth consecutive semifinal in the PFL $1 million tournament," Wade said in a video posted on his Instagram account. "I’m so amped, you have no idea."
Wade, 35, reached the semifinals the past four times, advancing to the final in 2021 where he lost to Khaybulaev.
This season, Wade (23-9) finished fifth with six points, losing a tiebreaker with Jesus Pinedo for the fourth and final spot in the 145-pound playoffs. Wade lost a unanimous decision to Bubba Jenkins in his first match this season, then submitted Ryoji Kudo in the first round of his second bout. Jenkins is the No. 1 seed in featherweight and will face the fourth-seeded Pinedo.
Braga (11-0) won a split decision over Pinedo and then knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round to earn nine points and finish in second place behind Jenkins because of a tiebreaker.
"Destiny is a powerful thing, as is faith!!," Wade wrote on Instagram. "It’s time to seize the moment and to finish writing a storybook ending to this season in becoming a world champion and millionaire."
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
