He was made to work for it but Wilkinson edged his spot in the PFL playoffs earlier today with a victory against Josh Silveira.
The fight took place at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, USA and was broadcast live on Stan Sports in Australia.
The 32-year-old utilised his grappling to earn a split decision victory in an entertaining light-heavyweight match-up. Notably Silveira was also able to clinch his spot in the play-offs as the final seed in the tournament.
Wilkinson will be looking at regaining the PFL championship, a title he earned back in 2022 in his debut season.
A positive drug test in the opening fight of the 2023 forced him out for the rest of the season as he was suspended for nine months due to an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio through suspension.
The fight with Thiago Santos was also changed to a no-contest and has been the only blemish in his last 9 bouts.
Light-Heavyweight Standings:
- *Impa Kasanganay – 11 points
- *Rob Wilkinson – 9 points
- *Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – 9 points
- *Josh Silveira – 6 points
- Antonio Carlos Jr. – 6 points
- Sadibou Sy – 4 points
- Alex Polizzi – 3 points
- Simon Biyong – 0 points
- Jake Nedoh – 0 points
- Tom Breese – 0 points
- Andrew Sanchez – 0 points
*Top 4 qualify for playoffs