Rob Wilkinson was originally meant to fight Phil Davis in the first round of the 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. However, it was announced in late March that Davis is out for the season. As a result, the former PFL champ got himself a new opponent – Tom Breese.
Rob Wilkinson vs. Tom Breese Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rob Wilkinson | -200 |
| Tom Breese | +160 |
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Date: Friday, April 12, 2024
- Time: ~10:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ESPN
Rob Wilkinson’s Road to Another $1M Starts on April 12
Rob Wilkinson is 17-2-1 overall with a 5-0 record since coming to the PFL in 2022. The year he joined this promotion was when he won the $1 million prize for winning the Light Heavyweight tournament. He did it by winning every single one of his fights by stoppage.
The mustachioed Aussie was expected to win the tournament last year as well. It looked like that after he beat former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos by unanimous decision. However, it later turned out that Wilkinson was juicing, so he was kicked out of the tournament.
More than a year later, he’s coming back, and he’s determined to get himself another $1 million. He was meant to fight against former Bellator champ Phil Davis in the first round of the PFL Light Heavyweight tournament, but Davis is removed from the roster for the 2024 season. Instead, he’s going to fight against Tom Breese.
Tom Breese Making His Proper PFL Debut
Tom Breese is an English fighter who’s 18-4 overall with most of his fights happening in the UFC. He left Dana White’s promotion in 2021 and fought in several other organizations including KSW and Levels Fight League, which is where he made his light heavyweight debut in the summer of 2023.
His second-ever light heavyweight fight was in PFL Europe. It was his most recent fight, fought in December 2023. He won it by submission in the first round, which is what prompted PFL’s management to select him as Phil Davis’s replacement.
Breese is a tall guy but is skinny and not too powerful. In fact, in the past, he fought in the middleweight and welterweight divisions. He doesn’t hit hard, but he’s an expert when it comes to grappling, the evidence being that 12 of his 18 wins happened by submission.
Rob Wilkinson vs. Tom Breese Prediction
Tom Breese is someone who looks capable of submitting almost any opponent in the PFL. However, for that to happen against Rob Wilkinson, he needs to get really close to him. That’s something that’s not very likely to happen as Wilkinson is a hell of a striker.
He also has decent grappling skills, so even if Breese gets him in a clinch, it doesn’t mean it’s game over for the Aussie. In fact, a much more likely scenario is that Wilkinson will utilize his power to beat Breese by KO/TKO early on in the fight.
Pick: Rob Wilkinson