The PFL returns to Long Island for Thursday’s PFL 5 event.

This card originally was set to feature a main-event matchup between Brian Foster and Natan Schulte, but that bout was scratched when an illness forced Foster to withdraw. Instead, Jason High faces Schulte in the headlining contest. High is in a desperate situation at PFL 5, having lost his first regular-season lightweight fight via controversial stoppage. Schulte enters PFL 5 with three regular-season points thanks to the unanimous-decision win he picked up at PFL 2.

Lightweights aren’t the only fighters competing in their second, and final, regular season bout at PFL 5. Three light heavyweight contests are also on the docket. Five of the six 205-pound fighters competing scored finishes in their first regular-season bouts. That number includes the two fighters competing in the co-main event. Vinny Magalhaes wrapped up his PFL 2 contest with a first-round submission. His opponent, Brandon Halsey, took slightly longer to finish his fight. He scored a doctor’s stoppage TKO on that same card.

PFL 5 takes place Thursday at NYCB Live in Uniondale, N.Y. The main card airs on NBCSN following prelims on Facebook.

Here are five reasons to watch the event.

1. Catch a break

High has to be optimistic that a break is coming his way. At PFL 2, High’s opponent, Efrain Escudero, came in six pounds over the 156-pound lightweight limit. That was bad, but things got worse for the former UFC fighter during the bout itself. In the third round of the contest, referee Josh Stewart waved off the fight when he thought he saw High tap to a guillotine choke. As soon as Escudero released the hold, High vehemently protested the stoppage, putting his hand on Stewart in the process. On his way back to the dressing room, the infuriated High knocked over some chairs. His protest of the stoppage was in vain, and the referee’s decision stood.

With that controversial loss behind him, High enters his second and final regular season bout with no points. The good news for High (21-7) is that only two fighters in the 155-pound division scored stoppages in their first regular-season bouts, so he still has an opportunity to grab a playoff spot depending on the outcome of his fight against Natan Schulte (12-3).

Schulte scored an upset unanimous-decision win in his first regular season bout. His opponent in that contest, Chris Wade, was a 6-1 favorite. Schulte entered that matchup coming off a 15-month layoff.

2. Looking for improvement

Magalhaes might not have been the pre-event favorite to take home the $1 million prize at light heavyweight, but the talented grappler’s win at PFL 2 did serve to remind his potential opponents that they don’t want to risk going to the ground with him. Magalhaes submitted Jamie Abdallah in the first round to earn six points in his first regular-season bout.

After the win, which was Magalhaes’ first victory in more than two years, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champ said he is taking his opportunity with PFL very seriously.

“I have like five weeks to train for the next fight,” Magalhaes told MMAjunkie. “So it’s going to be like a 19-week training camp, which nobody does. Everybody’s going to take two days off. I’m not. I’m going back to the hotel right now, and I’m going to get a workout. Tomorrow I’m going to be training again, twice. Nobody’s going to beat me.”

Magalhaes (15-9) faces former Bellator middleweight champion Brandon Halsey (11-3). Halsey struggled a bit with the ground game of Smealinho Rama in his first regular-season bout, but he was able to earn a doctor stoppage between the second and third rounds due to a cut. The somewhat controversial scoring on that stoppage earned Halsey four points.

Halsey said he does plan to make some adjustments ahead of his second regular-season matchup.

“I feel good,” Halsey told MMAjunkie after his win at PFL 2. “We’re going to build on this. I’m already in shape. I felt a little sluggish – it was a weight thing. So we’re going to bring it back down, make some adjustments and come back stronger. We’ve got a long season ahead, and we’re just going to climb from here.”

3. Reunited, and it feels so good

Robert Watley earned five points for his second-round TKO stoppage of Thiago Tavares at PFL 2. The win, like Escudero’s victory over High, was marred in controversy. Watley landed an accidental kick to Tavares’ groin in the second round. After the five-minute recovery period, Tavares was unable to continue and Watley was awarded the TKO victory. The result caused a great deal of confusion.

The Illinois State Athletic Commission cleared things up when Tavares’ manager, Alex Davis, inquired about the ruling.

“Mr. Tavares was not struck by an illegal blow, as low-blows are considered accidental,” a spokesperson wrote to Davis. “Per our rules – Section 1370.630 (c)(2)(b)(iii) states: A contestant who is hit with an accidental low-blow must continue after a reasonable amount of time, but no more than five minutes, or he or she may lose the bout by technical knockout.”

Watley is now sitting atop the lightweight standings entering his second regular-season bout. Tavares was the biggest name Watley had ever fought in his career. In his second regular-season contest, Watley (11-1) gets another big test when he faces former Bellator lightweight champion, Will Brooks (19-4).

Brooks defeated Luiz Firmino in his first regular-season bout. The unanimous-decision win earned Brooks three points. Perhaps more importantly than those points, it brought an end to his three-fight losing skid and gave him some momentum heading into his second regular-season bout.

‘Winning … I miss you so much!’” Brooks told MMAjunkie after the fight. “It took us a little bit to get back together, but we’re back. I’m a guy that’s very critical of myself. Even though I got the win, I was still a little bummed out.”

4. Gunning for the top spot

Maxim Grishin might have been unclear about the PFL scoring system, but with a first-round stoppage of Jason Butcher in his initial regular-season bout, the light heavyweight didn’t need to concern himself with the ins and outs of the points system.

“To be honest, I don’t know that much about this,” Grishin told MMAjunkie post-fight through an interpreter. “I haven’t figured it out, the points system. The main thing, the most important thing is to win. Keep winning, keep winning, and it will organize itself.”

Grishin knocked Jason Butcher to the mat with a big right hand. Butcher injured his ankle as he tumbled to the ground. The injury left him unable to continue.

Grishin is a bit of an unknown quantity. He’s spent the majority of his career in Russia, and it’s not easy to find tape on him. Opponents looking to scout him on his sole PFL performance won’t have much to go on, as this fight against Butcher lasted just 100 seconds.

A training partner of Fedor Emelianenko, Grishin (27-7) faces Rakim Cleveland (19-9-1) at PFL 5. Cleveland earned four points in his first regular-season bout when his opponent Rashid Yusupov was unable to continue due to a jaw injury. The stoppage was the first loss of Yusupov’s career. Yusupov was a 9-1 favorite over Cleveland.

These two might not be the biggest names on the PFL roster, but they have the chance to land the coveted No. 1 playoff seed.

5. Time to make up some ground

One of the pre-season favorites in the lightweight division, Rashid Magomedov did not get an opportunity to compete at PFL 2. Magomedov, a former UFC competitor, suffered an injury and was forced from his scheduled bout against Jason High on that fight card. As such, Magomedov is going to need to need to rack up as many points as he possibly can if he wants to make the playoffs. Fortunately for him, the standings are pretty wide open in the 155-pound division with only five fighters scoring points in their first regular-season bouts. (Escudero was ineligible to score points since he came in overweight for his fight against High)

Magomedov fought out his UFC contract in April 2017. During his run with the promotion he went 5-1. His final UFC bout was a split-decision win over Bobby Green.

Magomedov is a solid striker, but he is not the most aggressive fighter, he has a single stoppage win in the past six years. With no points heading into his matchup against former WSOF title challenger Luiz Firmino (20-9), Magomedov (22-2) might need to rethink his approach if he wants to make a run for a playoff spot.

Firmino is also desperate for points. He dropped a decision to Will Brooks in his first regular-season contest.

For more on PFL 5, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.