The
Professional Fighters League determined its welterweight and
featherweight finals during its
PFL DC card.
The main event of the nine-fight card saw 2022 featherweight
champion Brendan
Loughnane take on Kai Kamaka
III for a shot at a second PFL finals appearance. Loughnane
(29-5) wasted little time to make a statement, using pinpoint
punches and some well-placed knees to knock down Kamaka (14-6-1)
late in Round 1. „The Fighting Hawaiian“ lived up to his nickname,
though, not just surviving the barrage but finding plenty of
success in the second round. The final frame would see Loughnane
outpoint his opponent to secure a split-decision victory with
scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 30-27.
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Loughnane will look to earn another million dollars by going up
against Timur
Khizriev in the featherweight final.
Umalatov Outstrikes Gracie
Magomed
Umalatov booked his way to the welterweight finals by defeating
Neiman
Gracie. It took mere seconds for fans to realize that Gracie (13-6) was
outgunned on the feet. Umalatov (17-0) used a stiff jab to control
the distance and fired off hard right hands that stung the
Brazilian over three rounds. The Russian would knock Gracie down in
the final round but had to settle for a unanimous decision win with
scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in his favor.
The welterweight final will be a battle of unbeaten fighters as
Umalatov will go up against Shamil
Musaev.
Khizriev Stays Undefeated
The first featherweight semifinal saw Khizriev stay undefeated
against his toughest test yet in Gabriel
Braga.
Khizriev (17-0) came out controlling the distance and outstriking
his Brazilian opponent early on. Braga (14-2) struggled to get
inside, instead eating jabs and straight punches repeatedly in the
first two rounds. The third round would be closer, as Braga finally
began to find a home for his hard punches, but it proved to be too
little, too late.
After 15 minutes, Khizriev received a split decision (30-27, 28-29,
30-28) win.
Musaev Strikes Twice
The main card opened with a rematch between Shamil
Musaev and Murad
Ramazanov for a spot in the welterweight finals.
The opening round saw a motivated Ramazanov (12-2) come out
aggressively, looking to take down Musaev (17-0-1) and get revenge.
However, Ramazanov couldn’t get the „Silent Assassin“ to the floor
and was exhausted as a result. Musaev would easily control the rest
of the fight, taking his fellow Russian down and outstriking him on
the feet.
Having earned a unanimous decision win with scores of 29-28, 30-27
and 30-27, Musaev is now 2-0 against Ramazanov.
PFL 9 2024 Prelim Results:
In preliminary action, Mukhamed
Berkhamov (16-1) dominated Ray Cooper
III (25-11-1) at welterweight to earn what wound up being a
perplexing split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28); Enrique
Barzola (21-9-2) landed a fight-changing uppercut that shifted
the tides and led to three 29-28 scorecards over featherweight foe
Tyler
Diamond (14-4); Jose Perez
(9-1) outworked Jesse Stirn
(16-7) over 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27,
30-27) win and show that he’s a featherweight to watch; Maxwell
Djantou Nana (6-1) gave fellow heavyweight Kent
Mafileo (6-2) his second defeat via
a brutal knockout at 4:50 of the second round; and in the first
fight of the night, welterweight Shido Boris
(9-1) overwhelmed Tyler Hill
(13-11) with punches
en route to a TKO victory at 3:31 of the first frame.