Dilano
Taylor hushed all talk of a Rory
MacDonald resurgence.
The
Sanford MMA rep cut down the top-seeded McDonald with
first-round punches, as their 2022
Professional Fighters League semifinal headlined
PFL 8 on Saturday at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. A
short-notice substitution for Magomed
Umalatov, Taylor (10-2, 3-1 PFL)
slammed the door 3:59 into Round 1.
Advertisement
MacDonald (23-10-1, 2-4 PFL) initiated an immediate clinch but
wound up on his back after a failed takedown. He ultimately
returned to an upright position but found himself at a significant
disadvantage in the hand speed department. Taylor connected with
regularity before flooring the
Tristar Gym mainstay with a searing right cross. MacDonald then
retreated into a shell on the ground and ate one too many follow-up
punches for referee Marc Goddard’s liking.
Taylor moves on to the 2022 PFL welterweight final, where he will
face Sadibou Sy
on Nov. 25 for a $1 million prize. Sy (12-6-2, 6-4-2) climbed into
the tournament championship with a unanimous decision over Carlos
Leal Miranda in their three-round welterweight semifinal. All
three cageside judges struck 29-27 scorecards for the Swede.
Miranda (17-4, 3-1 PFL) entered the cage on an 11-fight winning
streak and was the aggressor for much of the 15-minute encounter.
However, Sy cut off his advances with a potent jab, sneaky
counterpunching and airtight takedown defense. Miranda was
presented with even more of an uphill climb in the third round,
where he was deducted a point for landing a knee to the groin. It
proved to be a bridge too far for the Brazilian, who suffered his
first defeat in nearly eight years.
Meanwhile, Ante Delija
sent Renan
Ferreira packing with punches in the first round of their
heavyweight semifinal. A protégé of the great Mirko
Filipovic, Delija (22-5, 6-2 PFL)
brought it to a close with a sustained volley of unanswered blows
4:31 into Round 1.
Ferreira (9-4, 3-2 PFL) drew blood in his first exchange with the
Croatian but devolved into a non-factor. Delija bullied his way
into the clinch, executed a takedown and navigated the
Team Nogueira standout’s guard with surprising ease. He
unleashed his ground-and-pound, steadily increased the intensity of
his punches and drew the curtain with a burst of hammerfists.
Delija advances to the 2022 PFL heavyweight final, where Matheus
Scheffel and a shot at $1 million await in November. Scheffel
(17-8, 2-1 PFL) punched his ticket to the tournament championship
with a comprehensive beatdown of Juan Adams,
as he took care of “The Kraken” with punches in the third round of
their heavyweight semifinal. Though Adams (10-5, 1-1 PFL) was still
standing,
referee Rich Mitchell erred on the side of caution and called for
the stoppage due to an accumulation of punishment 3:45 into Round
3.
Adams—who replaced Denis
Goltsov on short notice—enjoyed some minimal success with
clinches and takedowns, but he ran out of gas inside the first
round and more or less became a stationary target. Scheffel
capitalized, as the CM System export connected with powerful left
hooks to the head and body, a steady jab and more than one overhand
right that wobbled his fading counterpart.
In other action, Josh
O’Connor (2-0, 1-0 PFL) dispatched Emran
Sakhizaada (2-2, 0-1 PFL)
with a rear-naked choke 2:56 into the third round of their
lightweight clash; Marcin
Wojcik (16-8, 1-0 PFL) put away Mick
Stanton (9-7, 0-1 PFL)
with a rear-naked choke 4:04 into the first round of their light
heavyweight encounter; Chris Mixan
(4-1, 2-0 PFL) eked out a split verdict—29-28, 28-29, 29-28—against
Christian
Stigenberg (3-2, 1-1 PFL) in a three-round welterweight affair;
Nathan
Kelly (6-2, 1-0 PFL) disposed of Ben Ellis
(4-2, 0-1 PFL)
with a rear-naked choke 2:45 into the first round of their
featherweight showcase; Szymon
Bajor (24-9, 1-0 PFL) took a unanimous decision from Ronny
Markes (22-10, 2-4 PFL) in a three-round heavyweight pairing,
drawing 30-27, 30-27 and 29-27 scores from the cageside judges;
Lee
Chadwick (28-16-1, 1-0 PFL) outlasted Przemyslaw
Mysiala (24-12-1, 0-1 PFL) to a unanimous decision in their
three-round light heavyweight contest, earning 30-27, 29-28 and
29-28 marks from the judiciary; Radu Maxim
(10-2, 1-0 PFL) was awarded a technical knockout when Vojto
Barborik (13-3, 0-1 PFL) suffered a knee injury 1:15 into the
first round of their lightweight scrap; Will Fleury
(11-3, 1-0 PFL) pocketed a unanimous verdict—30-25, 30-25,
30-25—against Anthony
Salamone (7-1, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round light heavyweight
affair; and an accidental Moktar
Benkaci eye poke resulted in a no contest with Francesco
Nuzzi 4:10 into the second round of their bantamweight battle.