Cássio Barão Jr. VS Kevin Pease

Kevin Pease improved to 9-0 by submitting Cássio Barão Jr. via rear-naked choke at 3:28 of the opening round at PFL Chicago: Carmouche vs. Bishop 2 at Wintrust Arena on October 16, 2026. Barão, making his PFL debut at 10-1-1, used a leg kick sweep to take early top position in half guard. Pease reversed by trapping Barão's left arm behind his back, swept the position, and settled into his own top control. From there, Pease worked through half guard with punches and elbows, transitioned smoothly to the back, and sank in the rear-naked choke to draw the tap. The arm-trap sweep was the pivotal exchange of the bout — it turned an early losing position on the mat into the control that set up the finish.

Cássio Barão Jr. and Kevin Pease contest a lightweight bout on the PFL Chicago prelim card where the PFL's expansion of its lightweight division means roster spots carry genuine value and national broadcast exposure adds stakes beyond the fight itself. Both men come into the Wintrust Arena needing a convincing performance to push their PFL trajectory in the right direction.