PFL playoffs — Breaking down the welterweight, heavyweight matchups

The first round of the PFL playoffs continues on Friday, as the welterweight and heavyweight divisions have their semifinal matchups in Cardiff, Wales (ESPN and ESPN+ at 11:30 a.m.).

The main event will be a bout between former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald and late replacement Dilano Taylor. It was supposed to be undefeated Magomed Umalatov taking on MacDonald, but Umalatov was pulled from the bout on Thursday because of visa issues. Taylor won his first fight of the regular season but then was defeated by 2019 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov.

Also dropping out of the semifinals with visa problems on Thursday was top heavyweight seed Denis Goltsov, so Matheus Scheffel will now take on replacement Juan Adams on Friday. Adams came to the PFL in midseason and scored a knockout of Sam Kei in his only bout.

With spots in the $1 million finals on the line, here’s how I see Friday’s fights playing out.

Welterweight: Rory MacDonald vs. Dilano Taylor

For MacDonald, this could be his last chance at a championship in the sport of MMA. He will have a huge advantage in experience and level of competition over his opponent and will need to use every bit of it in order to get to the final.

Look for MacDonald to wrestle early and keep the fight on the floor, where he can keep Taylor from striking. Prediction: MacDonald to win.

Ferreira, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, looked clueless when fighting on his back in his last fight. Not only was he not a submission threat, but his defense also looked lackluster, at best. And, he was being taken down with ease.

Delija didn’t blow me away in his second fight, either, but he got the win. He has good striking and wrestling with strong top control.

I am taking the underdog in Delija here. I believe his striking is better than Ferreira’s, he just has to avoid the power shots. To do that, he can take this fight to the ground. Prediction: Delija to win.

Heavyweight:…