Jesus Pinedo wants to go away little doubt he’s the higher fighter in his rivalry with Gabriel Braga.
Pinedo, the 2023 PFL featherweight champion, is tied up at 1-1 with Braga, and the 2 will get a probability to settle the rating within the semifinals of the 2025 PFL featherweight tournament.
Pinedo (24-6-1) and Braga (16-2) first fought in 2023, with Braga coming out on top in a detailed decision win. Just a few months later, they rematched in the ultimate of the 2023 season, with Pinedo avenging his loss by third-round TKO to say the 2023 PFL featherweight title and $1 million prize.
This time around, the Peruvian wants to point out the MMA world that he’s vastly superior to Braga and shut out the trilogy with a definite win.
“Braga is a tricky fighter. Nobody can say otherwise,” Pinedo told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “He has a superb record, he’s been winning his fights, but I even have to be sincere: I believe I’ll finish him quick. I do know he’s a tricky guy, but I’m going to make it look easy.”
Pinedo vs. Braga 3 is one of the crucial anticipated bouts of the 2025 PFL tournament series. It got a number of fans talking after watching the 2 win their respective bouts at 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 earlier this month, after which face off in an intense staredown.
Pinedo vs. Braga III is OFFICIAL! The trilogy we wanted to see! 1-1. The ultimate chapter begins with FIRE of their eyes. 🔥🇵🇪🇧🇷#PFLWorldTournament
🇺🇸 LIVE NOW | ESPN2 & ESPN+
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Braga was very aggressive throughout the staredown, but “El Mudo” was on no account intimidated by the Brazilian.
“No, the reality is that I wasn’t bothered,” Pinedo explained. “I know the way it feels. I do know that he has all of the pressure on him. I’m coming off beating him and, for my part, the 2 times we fought I won them each with the last one being more dominant. He has the pressure. He knows what he’s coping with. He knows who I’m. I just hope he’s ready.”
Pinedo is, within the eyes of many, the favourite to win this 12 months’s PFL featherweight tournament. It’s a rather more different position than when he first entered the promotion as an unknown and unproven fighter in 2023.
“I feel like everyone know sees me with different eyes, and that’s recent,” Pinedo said. “Even after this fight, persons are realizing that none of this was a coincidence. It’s all labor. People know me and that motivates me because now no one goes to underestimate me. I even have to coach very hard. Fights are going to be even harder now.”
Take a look at the Hablemos MMA YouTube channel for Spanish-language videos and interviews with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.
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