PFL Finals: Denis Goltsov vs. Oleg Popov early preview and prediction

The PFL 2024 regular season has now entered its playoff events. The first of the playoff series was PFL 7, which took place on Friday, August 2 live from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The event witnessed the semi-finals for the heavyweight and women's flyweight divisions. As a result, the finalists for those divisions who will challenge for the titles at PFL 10 were determined.

The PFL's heavyweight division, in particular, is quite interesting. The first time a heavyweight champion was crowned within the tournament was 2018, and a new champion has been crowned each year since then (with the exclusion of 2020 due to the global pandemic). The 2024 heavyweight champion will be the fifth in the tournament's history and, with both finalists never being crowned champion previously, a brand new titleholder is guaranteed.

In 2018, Philipe Lins defeated Josh Copeland to be crowned the champion. 2019 saw Ali Isaev defeat Jared Rosholt to be that year's titleholder. In 2021, the PFL regular season made its return and, at the end of it, Bruno Cappelozza defeat Ante Delija to become the champion. 2022 saw Delija promote himself from runner-up to champion, as he defeated Matheus Scheffel. The 2023 regular season was the most recent, and it had Renan Ferreira defeat Denis Goltsov to become the champion.

The 2024 regular season heavyweight championship finals will see the aforementioned Goltsov meet Oleg Popov for a chance to claim the gold. For Goltsov, this is a chance for him to replicate Delija's success by upgrading from championship runner-up to undisputed titleholder in consecutive years. Popov, on the other hand, is having quite the standout debut year within the PFL, and he now finds himself with a chance of getting gold on his first try.

Goltsov has had quite the performance in this year's tournament. At PFL 1, Goltsov defeated Linton Vassell via a third-round TKO. After the original plan of facing Sergey Bilostenniy fell through, Goltsov ultimately faced Thiago Santos at PFL 4. He won the fight via a first-round TKO, and secured a place in the semi-finals. At PFL 7, Goltsov faced Tim Johnson, and he won that fight via a first-round ground and pound.

For Popov, the 2024 tournament has been proving grounds for his determination and willingness to fight anyone. At PFL 1, Popov defeated Steve Mowry via a second-round TKO after punches from crucifix. For PFL 4, Popov had two opponent changes, as he was initially supposed to face Blagoy Ivanov then he was scheduled to face Marcelo Nunes - both those fights fell through. Popov ultimately faced Davion Franklin at PFL 4, and he won via a unanimous decision. PFL 7 also saw a change in opponent for Popov, as he was initially supposed to face Valentin Moldavsky. He ultimatrly had a fight against Linton Vassell, and he won the fight via unanimous decision.

At PFL 10, Goltsov and Popov will both be looking to be crowned the 2024 heavyweight champion for the first time in their careers. Only one of them can actually walk away as the champion though, and there are some factors that could have an effect on who that could be.

Preview and prediction for the heavyweight finals match

Goltsov currently has a 35-win and 8-loss record, and he is currently riding a 3-fight winning streak. He made his professional debut in August 2010 but would only join the PFL in June 2019. A majority of Goltsov's victories have come by way of knockout, with 18 being attributed to the finish. 11 of his wins have come by way of submission and the remaining six have been decisions.

Popov has a 19-win and 1-loss record, and he is on an incredible 17-fight winning streak. He made his professional debut in October 2015, and he fought at a variety of promotions before joining the PFL in April 2024. Prior to that, Popov had a unanimous decision victory in his sole Bellator fight, which took place in 2023. Nine of Popov's wins have come by way of knockout. Seven others have come via decision, and the remaining three have been submission victories.

Goltsov and Popov have shown that they can get the victory in different ways. However, they both have shown an affinity for knockout finishes. At PFL 10, it can be expected that the pair will certainly be looking to claim the 265-pound title in stunning fashion.

Goltsov will have an advantage of being more experienced than his adversary - both as a mixed martial artist and as a PFL championship challenger. Popov's only loss took place in 2016 in his third-ever fight, and he is riding an undeniable wave of momentum. This season, Goltsov has managed to finish all three of his fights. On two out of three occasions, Popov has relied on the judges' scorecards.

In this fight, it can be expected that experience will trump momentum. Goltsov will manage to achieve what he came so close to doing in 2023 but Popov won't be an easy walk in the park.

Prediction: Denis Goltsov defeats Oleg Popov via unanimous decision.