Gabriel Braga questions Jesus Pinedo’s silence during intense faceoff, vows to ‘hurt’ him in PFL trilogy bout

Tyler Durden 2025.06.12 3 min read

Jesus Pinedo and Gabriel Braga | Matt Ferris, PFL

The trilogy bout between Gabriel Braga and Jesus Pinedo co-headlines PFL 5 this Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., and the Brazilian is out for vengeance.

The talented featherweights first met in early 2023, with Braga walking away with a split decision victory, but Pinedo had the last laugh later that year, claiming the 145-pound championship with a third-round stoppage. They meet again for a spot in the finals of this year’s featherweight tournament, and Braga brought the heat in the fight week staredown.

“This is the vibe I’m bringing for this fight,” Braga told MMA Fighting. “From the moment I knew I was going to fight him, I was on that vibe, that intensity, something I haven’t done for our previous fights. Now I’m going with a different game, not only physical and technical, but also mental. I’m coming more focused and hungrier for this fight.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Professional Fighters League (@pflmma)

Braga said that Pinedo came back “with more hate” for the rematch in November 2023, and that’s the same feeling he has in his heart now.

“I know how he felt, and I’m going to show that on Thursday,” said Braga, who was annoyed by Pinedo’s silence during the faceoff. “That’s why it pisses me off because in front of others he wants to talk shit, but when he has to talk in front of me he’s silent? I told him [Monday], ‘Hey, you like talking and now you’ll stay quiet? Say something.’ But that’s it, man. I’m super focused. I’m more prepared than ever. I want to got here on Thursday and show I’m better than him.”

Braga admits the TKO loss to Pinedo, his first in the sport, was the one that hurt the most since it was for a title—and a million-dollar prize. It helped him “mature” a lot, Braga said, and bounce back for the gold in 2025.

“I’m more aggressive,” Braga said. “To have my hands raised after the fight is what matters to most to me, obviously, but I want to hurt him there. I have a very aggressive mindset now. I don’t want to leave it to the judges. I don’t want to allow other people to give him the win. I wanna go there and dominate all rounds, if he can take it. But if he doesn’t, he’ll get finished first. I’ll stop him first.”

Gabriel Braga questions Jesus Pinedo’s silence during intense faceoff, vows to ‘hurt’ him in PFL trilogy bout

MMA Fighting – All Posts