Bantamweight bully Lewis
McGrillen-Evans (10-1) could be one of the most exciting
additions to the
Professional Fighters League Global roster next season after
the Manchester native won the organization’s European bantamweight
title with an outstanding second-round TKO over Alexander
Luster at the
PFL Europe 2024 Finals in Lyon, France.
McGrillen opened the fight very strong, dropping the German with a
left hook, but Luster wouldn’t go away quietly. Luster shook off
the cobwebs and cut McGrillen over his eye with his own heavy
shots, and just like that, it was on. The two warriors slugged it
out until the Manchester Top Team standout put Luster (9-2)
flat on his back with another picture-perfect left
hook. It would only take a few more finishing blows to
cap off the performance. At 24, McGrillen–Evans could be a rising
star in the PFL. Last season, he was stopped short of PFL Europe
glory, but he redeemed himself on Saturday with an unforgettable
performance.
Advertisement
The PFL Europe lightweight championship was a back-and-forth
affair.
Undefeated Jakub
Kaszuba entered looking to win his second-straight 155-pound
PFL Europe title, but he’d have to go through the heavy-handed
Connor
Hughes. Hughes took control of the bout early and dropped
Kaszuba multiple times with his textbook boxing. Two rounds into
the fight, Kaszuba looked bewildered but remained confident that he
could turn things around if he could close the distance.
In the third stanza, the Poland native finally got his hands on
Hughes and took the Englishman to the mat. Kaszuba battered Hughes
and drained his battery before finally putting his stamp on the
comeback in round four.
With Hughes pinned, Kaszuba dropped elbows from above
while referee Daniel Movahedi pleaded with Hughes (10-2) to
respond. Movahedi finally called the bout 4:07, giving Kaszuba
(14-0) his second straight PFL Europe title. Now, he sets his
sights on the global tournament.
The PFL Europe welterweight final was short and sweet.
Daniele
Miceli and Florim
Zendeli fought furiously for four and a half minutes, but in
the end, Zendeli’s hand was raised in victory. Miceli (13-6) took
the fight to the mat early and fiercely bloodied the Albanian’s
nose, but Zendeli’s grappling was too fluid. With blood dripping,
Zendeli (8-1-1)
took Miceli’s back against the cage and finished the fight with a
rear-naked choke (4:24) to claim the PFL Europe
welterweight tournament title.
Polish puncher Paulina
Wisniewska claimed the $100,000 PFL Europe women’s flyweight
grand prize after brutally TKOing Italy’s Valentina
Scatizzi in the opening minute (0:20).
Scatizzi (3-4) bull rushed the undefeated prospect early and ate a
flush knee for her trouble. As Scatizzi fought to regain her
footing,
Wisniewska reigned down unanswered shots until the fight was
called. This marks back-to-back PFL Europe
championship losses for Scattizi, who was defeated by PFL global
champion Dakota
Ditcheva in last year’s finals. Wisniewska was initially
supposed to fight Great Britain’s rising star Shanelle
Dyer in the finals before Dyer was forced to withdraw due to a
leg injury.
French welterweight favorite Abdoul
Abdouraguimov notched his ninth-straight win with an
authoritative showing against Laureano
Staropoli. Abdouragimov’s (19-1) grappling was too much for the
experienced Argentine on Saturday. Staropoli had success on the
feet and tagged his man with several hard right hands but
Abdouragiumov routinely took Starropoli’s back and threatened
dangerous submissions. Staropoli (13-7) is a solid fighter with
experience in the UFC and the PFL global roster but Abdouraguimov
clearly was a step ahead and cruised to the unanimous decision
(30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
After two dominant rounds, 165-pound prospect Patrick
Habirora closed the show against Catalin
Safta with one of the
cleanest one-shot knockouts you’ll ever see. As Safta
pressed the undefeated Habirora (5-0), the young stud slipped two
punches, shifted into a southpaw stance and knocked out Safta with
a picture-perfect lead right hook (2:16). The knockout was
Habirora’s third in a row and big things could be ahead for the
explosive Belgian.
French heavyweight Mickael
Groguhe (6-2) picked up his third straight win after earning a
unanimous decision over Senegal’s Mamadou
Lamine Sene in a slow-paced bout (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Groguhe
was the sharper fighter on the feet but coasted through the rounds
once Sene entered the clinch. Sene (5-8) dropped his second in a
row.
Salvo
Giudice (1-0) won his first professional bout in dominating
fashion, as he outwrestled Atilla
Kobas (2-2) throughout their 176-pound catchweight bout en
route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25). The fight was
the first of three “Doumbe Decides” fights where French kickboxing
and MMA star Cedric
Doumbe decides if a fighter’s performance warrants a PFL Europe
contract. Doumbe was impressed by Giudice’s dominance but bored by
his wrestling-heavy performance and lack of a finish.
French featherweight Mathys
Duragrin earned himself a PFL contract from Doumbe with a
dominant three-round showing over Yassin
Chtatou (30-26, 30-26, 30-25). Duragrin (4-0) had his way with
Chtatou the entire fight and led the action with his wrestling
along the cage. He easily picked his shots and tagged Chtatou, but
the sturdy Chtatou (5-5) wouldn’t go away.
Mahio
Campanella left Doumbe smiling ear-to-ear after submitting
Ezzoubair
Bouarsa with a arm-triangle choke 4:45 into the first round of
their bantamweight bout. Campanella’s flashy striking and spinning
kicks brought the crowd to its feet before
finally closing the show with a devastating submission in the
closing seconds of the frame. Campanella (6-1) secured
his fourth-straight win.
At 6-foot-5, Irish welterweight Eoin
Sheridan could be an eventual terror to the division. The SBG
Ireland prospect improved to 2-0 on Saturday after controlling
French favorite Brice
Belghazi (1-1) for three rounds en route to a clear decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Despite his lanky frame, Sheridan showed
impressive MMA grappling skills and routinely got to top position.
Belghazi was game but was out of position for most of the
fight.
SBG Ireland lightweight prospect Claudio
Pacella (5-2) opened the broadcast with his second straight win
over the experienced Oscar
Ownsworth (8-4-1). Pacella got the better of the exchanges and
edged out the early rounds but faced adversity in the third period
when he was hurt to the body by an Ownsworth knee. Pacella showed
poise and weathered the storm to coast to a unanimous decision win
(29-28, 30-27, 30-27).