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Former super-middleweight boxing champion Savannah
Marshall took her first step into the world of mixed martial
arts and the
Professional Fighters League with a first-round stoppage win
over Brazil’s Mirela
Vargas (0:32) in the
PFL Europe 2 2024 Regular Season main event at Utlita Arena in
Newcastle, England.

Marshall was 13-1 with 10 knockouts in professional boxing, and her
power carried into the Smartcage. Vargas looked to trade and even
caught Marshall with an overhand right. Marshall walked through it and pilled on the
pressure until the fight was eventually called. With the win,
Marshall (1-0) will look to a potential MMA bout with three-weight
world boxing champion Claressa
Shields. Marshall defeated Shields in the amateurs before
Shields evened the score. Shields faced off with Marshall
post-fight as both fighters were open to a rubber match in the
cage.

Dylan
Tuke (8-4) scored a solid win over lightweight veteran Kane Mousah
(30-27 29-28, 29-28). Mousah stepped behind Tuke in a slow-paced
fight as the Dublin native stole rounds with his grappling.

Jack
Grant beat Charlie
Leary down like it was personal. It only took Grant 41 seconds to dispatch his
fellow English welterweight after suplexing him into the
canvas. Dazed and confused, Leary could not keep Grant’s fist
from flying at his head. With the win, Grant moved into the 2024
PFL Europe Playoff welterweight semis.

Lewis
McGrillen-Evans bounced back from his first loss with a gritty,
spirited performance against Latvia’s Matiss
Zaharovs (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Zaharovs started the fight off
strong and stuck McGrillen as he tried to close the distance.
However, McGrillen wouldn’t let a little leather stop his momentum.
In rounds 2 and 3, “The McGrizzla” marched forward and walked down
his foe. Zaharovs had counters ready, but no more pop on his
punches. McGrillen got past his guard and took his back, swaying
the judges. With the win, the Manchester Top Team rep redeemed
himself after a lackluster loss to Weslley
Maia in last year’s PFL Europe finals.

Shanelle
Dyer inserted her ballot for knockout of the year on Saturday
after turning off Mariam
Torchinava’s lights with a swift, subtle and sensational head kick at 3:53 of
the first round. Dyer (5-0) has a reputation as one of Europe’s
best female strikers and she put that on display in a snap. With
one flick of her right leg, Torchinava’s (8-3) five-fight win
streak was history. Dyer will face Valentina
Scatizzi in the 2024 PFL Europe Playoff semifinals.

It only took Ibragim
Ibragimov 50 seconds to defeat his most experienced opponent.
“The Mauler” took out
Cage Warriors veteran Josh Reed
(13-9) with a debilitating arm triangle in the first round.
Reed had little answers for the Dagestani wrestler as Ibragimov
improved to 7-0 while securing his fourth straight finish.

Dominique
Wooding was likely three more unanswered punches away from
snapping his two-fight skid, but late replacement Julien
Lopez had other plans. Wooding dropped Lopez early into their
bantamweight battle with a perfectly timed rear uppercut. Wooding
moved in for the kill, but Lopez’s closed guard gave him a few
precious seconds to recover. Once Lopez (7-3-1) got the fight back
to its feet, the Frenchman quickly returned the favor and dropped Wooding with an overhand before putting him
to sleep with a guillotine at 3:10 of the opening period.

Karolina
Wojcik edged fellow flyweight Lizzy
Gevers by a close unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to
move on to the semifinals. Wojcik and Gevers let it all out in the
cage and traded throughout. In the end, both fighters believed they
deserved to win, and the PFL broadcast was split as well. All three
judges, however, favored the stockier Wojcik. With the win, Wojcik
set up a semifinal showdown with fellow Pole Paulina
Wisniewska on Sept. 28 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Claudio
Pacella picked up his biggest career win after upsetting
previously unbeaten Mark Ewen in
a lightweight showcase. Ewen (5-1) tried to pick Pacella apart on
the outside, but Pacella repeatedly made him pay with overhand
rights. Ewen was forced to fight back and was quickly dragged into
a slugfest. Pacella’s heavy hands served him well as Ewen took the
worst of the punishment. After three entertaining rounds, Pacella
(4-2) was awarded the win unanimously (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Last year’s PFL Europe bantamweight champion Khurshed
Kakhorov (13-1) claimed the title off the heels of his
fight-ending power. He could be well on his way to repeating after
taking out Tuomas
Gronvall in the third round (1:11) with a dynamite right hand.
Gronvall (12-7-1) pressed Kakhorov and kept him on his back foot
for most of the fight. Kakhorov adjusted and put Gronvall down and out
with a short right hand that put him flat on his back.

Scatizzi bounced back from her loss to Dakota
Ditcheva in last year’s PFL Europe finals with a unanimous
decision over Marie
Loiseau (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Scatizzi did her best in the
clinch and bullied the lean Loiseau into the fence. Loiseau found
success in the center of the cage where she could put her reach to
use, but Scatizzi’s pressure neutralized her offense for most of
the fight.

Two-time K-1 kickboxing champion Ben
Woolliss (4-0) added another victim to his ledger when he
dispatched Nikola
Ivanovic (0-8) in the first round (4:02). Ivanovic was brought
in on a week’s notice and fought gamely for the opening minutes,
but Woolliss was unfazed by Ivanovic’s power. He walked his man
into the fence and put him away with a brutal left hook to the body
followed by a breathtaking knee to the solar plexus.

Alperen
Karabulut took Alexander
Luster to the mat early in their bantamweight battle, and the
decision cost him dearly. Luster instantly attacked Karabulut’s
knee, then transitioned to a heel hook and finally finished the fight with a rear-naked choke 1:59
into the first round. Luster (8-1) has won three straight, and all
eight of his victories have come within the final bell.

Wisniewska improved to 3-0 after starching Dee Begley
(4-6) in two rounds (3:08). Begley was six pounds over the
125-pound limit, but it made little difference. Wisniewska used her
reach to keep Begley at the end of her right cross and dropped her
early in the first round. Wisniewska nearly finished the fight in
the first frame with a rear-naked choke, but after Begley survived
with her on her back for over two minutes. The Polish puncher went back to her bread and
butter in the second stanza and with another snap of her right
dropped Begley again and finished her off to advance to the 2024
PFL Europe playoffs.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger