PFL 2025 World Tournament 3 Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Round 1

The fight was canceled on Friday afternoon due to an illness
suffered by Watley. News of its cancelation broke from the
promotion shortly after the event started.

Round 1

Every match tonight will have tournament implications as this is a
single-elimination grand prix where you win and move on. Four
semifinalists for lightweight will be established, but before then,
middleweights are up to bat. PFL newcomer Jeffery (15-5, 0-0 PFL)
will try to ply his trade with the company, while Ramazanov (12-2,
1 NC; 1-2 PFL) is hoping the 15 extra pounds on his frame will give
him the advantage he seeks. Before they throw down, they touch
gloves. Referee Blake Grice is ready for what happens next. Jeffery
probes his way forward with jabs and leg kicks, and Ramazanov sits
down and jabs him back harder. The Russian shoots, and Jeffery
turns him around against the fencing and pursues his own single-leg
takedown. Ramazanov leans against the cage, smacking the Canadian
on the side of the head, and he thwarts a snapping attempt from his
opponent. The action stalls out as they are tied up, with neither
man able to ground the other. Ramazanov spins his man around,
thumps him in the chest with a knee and trips his leg out to put
Jeffery on his seat. Ramazanov climbs on top of him into half
guard, and Jeffery hand-fights to keep himself safe. Ramazanov
adjusts when Jeffery pushes off the floor to stand up, and Jeffery
sneaks in an elbow and changes levels. Ramazanov shuts down the
single again, and Jeffery settles for a sharp elbow up close and
personal. Ramazanov gets in a pair of knees, and they proceed to
trade them when the takedowns fail. Ramazanov keeps his balance
leaned up against the fencing, and when he breaks, Jeffery charges
at him swinging. The momentum of the Canadian results in another
clinch, and he strings together a few punches and an elbow while
eating a few strikes at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery

Round 2

With Jeffery coming out of his corner hot, Ramazanov takes several
steps back and pumps out his jab. He works the jab until Jeffery
bears down on him, with the Canadian hunting for a single that is
not there. Ramazanov turns the corner to apply leverage for a body
lock attempt, and Jeffery stifles it and slips an elbow over the
top. Ramazanov forces a break, and he uses his jab as a
range-finder. Jeffery plants his shin on the lead leg, and he
pushes forward back into the clinch. Jeffery imposes his full body
weight on his foe, leaning without changing levels and instead
occasionally thumping Ramazanov up with short elbows or knees.
Ramazanov gives him one elbow back to think about, and they get off
knees on the inside until Ramazanov is sick of it. The Russian
drags Jeffery to the floor for a second, and he jumps on Jeffery’s
back but cannot cling to him. Jeffery peels him off by putting his
back to the fence, and then spins around to jam Ramazanov up.
Jeffery scores a heavier-than-usual knee and looks for a Thai plum
to deliver more clinch strikes. He lands a few uppercuts and knees,
and Ramazanov responds all with knees. The clinch leads them across
the cage, and Jeffery leans lower and knees the Russian in the top
of the head once or twice. Ramazanov fights out of the clinch after
absorbing an elbow, sneaking out a right hand and sitting down on
his punches when Jeffery walks towards him. Jeffery sells out for a
body lock takedown as he closes in to wrench his adversary down,
and Ramazanov’s defense holds up well as he leans against the wire.
A few more short strikes end the round for Jeffery, but not before
Ramazanov cuts open the bridge of his nose.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jeffery

Round 3

The fighters meet in the center of the cage, with Jeffery a bit
less hot than before. He punches his way into the clinch, and the
grind resumes. Jeffery muscles his man towards the wall, getting
lifted up a few times with stern knees that he no-sells. Jeffery
lines up a solid knee, and Ramazanov sells out for a takedown. The
first effort fails, so he looks for a body lock with a trip to get
him down. Jeffery nullifies the try, and Ramazanov breaks out of
the tie-up. Ramazanov prods out a couple jabs on the beak, and he
ducks a looping right hand to hit a picture-perfect double-leg
takedown. Jeffery butt-scoots all the way across the cage to
wall-walk his way upright without taking so much as a punch. He
gains some space, and he sees the big punches coming and initiates
another clinch to take the heavier hands of Ramazanov out of the
equation. Ramazanov drops to his knees and pushes Jeffery to the
wall so he can scoop him up and deposit him to the mat. The
Canadian posts off his arm to stand up in seconds, and Ramazanov’s
mat return immediately follows. Jeffery smacks him in the side of
the head with elbows, and gets in one knee before Ramazanov drops
down to his own knee. Ramazanov still goes for the double, and
through sheer horsepower he wrangles Jeffery down. Jeffery stands
before he sustains any damage, and he sets up a power guillotine
choke to stave off a takedown try. Jeffery drags his foe to the
floor and dings him with a knee on the way, but Ramazanov will not
be grounded and tries to put Jeffery down again. Ramazanov firmly
embraces the grind, keeping tightly pressed against his opponent
until the fight concludes.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Ramazanov (29-28 Jeffery)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Ramazanov (29-28 Jeffery)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Ramazanov (29-28 Jeffery)

The Official Result

Aaron Jeffery def. Murad Ramazanov via Split Decision (28-29,
29-28, 29-28)

Round 1

The lightweight bracket commences differently than expected, as
Alexandr Shabliy was planning on competing in this slot only to
fall off the lineup. In his stead is aggressive Brazilian Cenci
(10-2, 0-0 PFL), who wants to shock the world and put away a former
Bellator champion. That ex-champ is Primus (15-4, 1 NC; 3-1 PFL),
who will be aiming to place the brutal loss to Gadzhi Rabadanov
last year behind him. The third man in the cage will be referee
Bryan Miner, who clocks the fighters in as they choose not to bump
fists. Cenci stands in the center of the cage and fights behind his
longer jab. Primus hops on the outside until darting in with a
right hand, and the sheer impact knocks the Brazilian back. Cenci
charges at him, leaping in the air with a flying knee, and Primus
catches him and repositions him against the wall. When he pursues a
takedown, Primus forces Cenci to turn, and this allows him to climb
on the back and cinch up a body triangle. Primus holds on like a
malicious backpack, imposing his weight rather than landing any
strikes of note. Miner asks for more than just clinging, and Primus
complains that his gloves are being grabbed. Primus starts
striking, elbowing the ribs when Cenci looks to break out of the
body lock on his waist. Primus hacks at the side of the Brazilian’s
dome, and Cenci can do little but keep his hands up and try to
predict which side Primus will attack. Just before the round ends,
Primus releases his leg grip.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Primus
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Primus
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Primus

Round 2

Cenci strikes first to open up the second stanza, rifling off a
body kick in his preferred range. He brings up a front kick to the
chest, and he ducks out of the way of a looping Primus punch. The
two clash together, and Cenci sees an opening for a guillotine
choke and grabs it while pulling guard. The former Bellator champ
sees it coming a mile away and slides his neck out of danger, all
the while advancing to half guard. As Primus opens up with strikes,
Cenci explodes to reverse him and flip over to his knees. Primus
hangs on using a grip on Cenci’s shoulder to flirt with a crucifix,
but Cenci breaks out of it and the two return to their feet. Primus
punches his way back in, and Cenci steels himself and fires back a
left hand. Cenci launches in the air with a knee, and Primus shrugs
it off and pursues a double. Primus sells out while transitioning
for a body lock and throw, and he falls to his back. Cenci climbs
on top, and he quickly finds that Primus is setting up a Gogoplata
on him. Primus wraps his left leg up and around Cenci’s shoulder,
in hopes of slithering the shin under the chin in the ultra-rare
sub. The grappling-minded Cenci works his way out of it and returns
to the closed guard, only for Primus to open it up very quickly to
set up the Gogoplata again. The left leg of the former Bellator
champ wraps behind Cenci’s head, and Cenci bucks out of it to end
the round.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Primus
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Primus
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Cenci

Round 3

It could be all up for grabs in this round, as the last frame was
quite close. Primus engages quickly, putting out a body kick and a
sharp jab to disrupt Cenci’s movement. Both fighters suddenly start
throwing hands, and Cenci ends it with a failed jumping knee.
Primus ducks a subsequent overhand left to grab hold of a double,
elevating the Brazilian and slamming him to the floor. Upon the
impact of the takedown, chants for “USA” rain down in favor of
Primus. Cenci shifts back and forth between open and closed guard,
and Primus opens it back up with a firm elbow. Cenci scoots his way
to the fence, but before he can wall-walk, Primus climbs into a
tighter position. Cenci bucks him off using butterfly hooks, and
Primus backs off and finds his way back down with a looping
standing-to-ground right hand. Primus slices into full mount, and
he is quick to isolate the arm-triangle choke. As Cenci scrambles,
he gives up his back, and Primus gladly takes it and fishes for a
rear-naked choke instead. Cenci rolls all the way about, but Primus
is on him like a cheap suit with his right leg fasted around the
underdog’s midsection.
Primus snakes his forearm under the chin and secures the rear-naked
choke, surprising the submission artist with the solid maneuver.
Cenci thinks about toughing it out, with mere seconds left on the
clock, but it is too tight and he finds himself drifting in and out
of consciousness. Before he fully communes with his
ancestors, the Brazilian surrenders. While the majority of Cenci’s
wins are by tapout, all of his losses remain exclusively from this
type of choke. Primus punches his ticket to the semis and sticks it
to recappers and play-by-play writers everywhere with the
ultra-late stoppage.

The Official Result

Brent Primus def. Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci R3 4:52 via Submission
(Rear-Naked Choke)

Round 1

This next 185-pound quarterfinal should shape up to be quite the
violent one, with combatants sporting finish rates hovering around
90% each. Shipman (17-4, 0-0 PFL) made his bones in the Bellator
circuit, once sporting a 13-fight win streak, but things have
changed since that run. Ex-light heavyweight Silveira (13-4, 6-4
PFL) had a similarly impressive stretch to start his career,
winning his first nine before running into the buzzsaw that was
Omari Akhmedov. He has struggled lately, dropping his last two,
although two of his last three losses came to champ Impa
Kasanganay. Referee Marcos Perez draws the charge and plans on
keeping things on the up-and-up, which starts well at the
competitors respectfully touch ‘em up. Shipman comes out of his
corner guns blazing, winging a huge right hand that Silveira
springs out of the way and avoids. When Silveira lashes out with a
kick, Shipman clips him with an overhand right and pushes the heavy
favorite up against the wall. Silveira fights out of the tie-up and
pitches out a low kick that is out of range. Shipman’s lunges miss
the mark, with Silveira shoulder-rolling well enough to not get
hit. Shipman runs at him and decides to push Silveira to the wall,
and Silveira frames off his face and jams him with a mean elbow.
Shipman leans over and briefly is in submission danger, but he
shakes out of it without concern. Shipman gets in one knee before
he is spun around, with Silveira smacking him in the face with his
shoulder. Shipman bends Silveira over and knees him on the nose,
and Silveira looks at him like he is personally offended from the
blow. Shipman lumbers forward swinging his fists, and Silveira
largely avoids the greatest of the danger and knees Shipman in the
guts several times. After those knees, Silveira dings Shipman in
the side of the head with an elbow. When Shipman goes for a
takedown, Silveira attacks the guillotine, and quickly transitions
it to a ninja choke. Shipman survives the move but hits the mat,
and as they furiously scramble, Silveira locks down a guillotine
choke. Shipman pulls the choking arm with all his might, and he
signals to Perez that he is still with it. At the exact sound of
the bell, Perez is in there to break up the action.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Silveira
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Silveira
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Silveira

Round 2

The second round starts off with the two in the center of the cage,
and Shipman leas off with a leg kick. He surges forward with a
right hand that zips around the guard, and goes back to kicking the
lead leg. Silveira’s counters are out of range, and he keeps his
guard up to block a spinning back fist. Shipman’s low kick makes
Silveira take a funny step back, and he wraps a right up and around
the raised hand. Shipman splits the guard with an uppercut and
chains a low kick behind it, and his overhand right finds the mark.
A double jab from Shipman keeps Silveira guessing, and although he
loops a left hand up high, Silveira rings his bell with a quicker
left hook. Shipman wings punches to close the distance, pushing
Silveira back to the wire. Shipman explodes with punch
combinations, and he pushes Silveira against the fence again. The
Brit elbows his man on the break, and he absorbs a knee on the chin
without blinking. Shipman tries to take the fight down, and
Silveira threatens with a guillotine to stop it from materializing.
The right hands from Shipman open a cut on the corner of Silveira’s
left eye, and he stays tightly pressed against the favored man and
tries to hit a body lock trip. Silveira is wise to it, and at the
very last second, he turns to put Shipman on his back. Shipman
hangs on with a two-on-one wrist lock in hopes of reversing his
fortunes, and Silveira wriggles his limb out of that and tries to
advance position. Shipman uses the moment to explode back to his
feet, and Silveira immediately shoots in on his hips. Silveira gets
Shipman to a knee when the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Shipman
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Shipman
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Shipman

Round 3

The middleweights touch ‘em up to open the last round. Shipman
strikes first with a leg kick, and he ducks out of the way when
Silveira tries to strike back. Shipman wings a left hook but is not
able to land it, and Silveira rips an elbow over the top in
response. Shipman tries a jumping switch kick, and Silveira evades
it and fails to take the fight down. Shipman bounces off the fence
and puts a few punches and a kick together, and he lands a right
hand right before Silveira reaches him. With over three minutes
left in the round, Silveira scoops up one of Shipman’s legs and
deposits him gingerly to the canvas. Silveira partially stands in
hopes of bypassing Shipman’s active open guard, and he lands a few
strikes when the openings present themselves. Shipman leans to his
side to pursue a kimura that he can use to sweep, only to abandon
it when he takes several stiff ones to the face. Silveira flattens
the Brit out and finds his way into half guard, briefly hopping
into full mount before getting dragged back. Silveira thinks about
an arm-triangle choke, and abandons it to rain down elbows. Shipman
grimaces and has to suddenly deal with Silveira leaping into mount
and battering him with any strike he can find. As the punches,
elbows and maybe even a steel chair smack into the durable Shipman,
time expires.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Silveira (29-28 Silveira)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Silveira (29-28 Silveira)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Silveira (29-28 Silveira)

The Official Result

Joshua Silveira def. Mike Shipman via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Mike Pendleton scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result