The Professional Fighters League has established
its playoff event for its European tournament.

On Thursday, the organization released the 12-bout lineup of its

PFL Europe 3: 2023 Playoffs event. The four weight classes of
light heavyweight, lightweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight
will find their finalists at night’s end on Sept. 30. Eight bouts
in those four weight categories will sort out the top two
competitors from each in Paris. Headlining the fight card will be
the highly anticipated debut of French kickboxer Cedric
Doumbe (4-0), who will be taking on fellow unbeaten countryman
Jordan
Zebo (4-0) in a non-tourney welterweight attraction.
Additionally, the co-main event will see the debut of recently
signed powerhouse Abdoul
Abdouraguimov (16-1) against well-traveled Brazilian Quemuel
Ottoni (12-3), also at 170 pounds.

Doumbe, who has won all four of his pro MMA outings by knockout,
left the kickboxing ring to test himself in a new sport. “Le
Meilleur,” or, “The Best,” was initially planning making his
company debut at PFL 6 in the U.S. this past June, but an injury
pushed it back several months. Born in Cameroon, Doumbe previously
served as a two-time Glory kickboxing welterweight kingpin, and he
relinquished his belt after avenging a loss to Murthel
Groenhart in early 2021. In MMA, Doumbe has yet to compete
beyond the 10-minute mark.

Also victorious in his four professional contests, Zebo meets
Doumbe with a recent head kick knockout of Mickael Marie Sarti in
his memory. Primarily coming up the Ares FC circuit, as a pro, Zebo
has yet to fight outside of the borders of France or Germany – and
this will remain true, as PFL Europe 3 takes place at the Zenith
Paris La Villette in Paris. While Doumbe has never reached Round 3
as an MMA fighter, all four of Zebo’s pro appearances have exceeded
that time range, with two third-round stoppages and two decisions
on his ledger.

The second-to-last bout on the billing will include Abdouraguimov
vs. Ottoni in a matchup that might determine a welterweight tourney
participant for next year’s PFL season. Back in January, “The Lazy
King” pulled off a comeback for the ages when he landed a kneebar
with just 25 seconds left in a fight he was losing, tapping out
Rafal
Haratyk to become an Ares champ in two weight classes. Although
Abdouraguimov had reportedly been signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship with his sights
set on its Paris card, he instead joins the PFL to fight in the
City of Light. His foe Ottoni has won five straight dating back to
2019, with four stoppages across various organizations.

PFL Europe 3 Playoffs Lineup:

Cedric
Doumbe vs. Jordan Zebo
– welterweight
Abdoul
Abdouraguimov vs. Quemuel
Ottoni – welterweight
Anthony
Salamone vs. Jakob Nedoh
– light heavyweight semifinal
Simeon
Powell vs. Abdelah
Er-Ramy – light heavyweight semifinal
Dakota
Ditcheva vs. Cornelia
Holm – women’s flyweight semifinal
Yazid
Chouchane vs. Luigi
Vendramini – lightweight
Frans
Mlambo vs. Francesco
Nuzzi – bantamweight semifinal
Dylan
Tuke vs. Jakub
Kaszuba – lightweight semifinal
John
Mitchell vs. Aleksandrs
Chizovs – lightweight semifinal
Ali
Taleb vs. Khurshed
Kakhorov – bantamweight semifinal
Griet
Eeckhout vs. Valentina
Scatizzi – women’s flyweight semifinal
Lizzy
Gevers vs. Shanelle
Dyer – women’s flyweight

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger