The
Professional Fighters League determined its light heavyweight
and lightweight finals during its
PFL Hollywood card.
The 11-fight card was headlined by an intriguing light heavyweight
rematch between 2023 champion Impa
Kasanganay and Joshua
Silveira. Kasanganay (17-4) won the first encounter less than a
year ago, which caused Silveira (13-3) to come out far more
aggressively and find success during the first frame. Kasanganay
would have a much better second round, although “Coninha” landed
some slick uppercuts late. The final five minutes saw both men land
hard shots and the result was up in the air as it went to the
judges’ scorecards.
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Ultimately, the judges preferred the work of Kasaganay, who took a
unanimous decision with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in his
favor. He’ll advance to his second-straight light heavyweight final
and will look to repeat.
Yagshimuradov Decisions Wilkinson
The co-main event saw former champion Rob
Wilkinson battle Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov for a spot in the finals. A back-and-forth opening frame saw Yagshimuradov (24-7-1) gain a
slight upper hand by landing heavier strikes. Wilkinson (19-3, 1
NC) would find some success as the fight went along and was able to
stuff several takedown attempts, but the hardest kicks and punches
were still coming from Yagshimuradov. The third round was also
tightly contested but more of the same.
Yagshimuradov would advance and be awarded a unanimous decision win
with a trio of 30-27 scorecards.
Rabadanov Destroys Dufort
Gadzhi
Rabadanov earned a spot in the lightweight finals by knocking
out Michael
Dufort.
The first round was quite tepid at first, with both men feeling
each other out and working their jabs. However, things changed
dramatically in the second round after Rabadanov (23-4-1) knocked
Dufort (13-6) down
with an overhand left. Vicious ground and pound would secure
the stoppage and send Rabadanov to the championship.
The thudding stoppage came at 1:51 of Round 2.
Primus Outgrapples Collard
The first lightweight semifinal between Brent
Primus and Clay
Collard was one of the night’s most anticipated bouts, but it
didn’t wind up being the war fans were hoping for.
Instead, the opening frame was all Primus (15-3, 1 NC), who was
able to take the back of Collard (25-14, 1 NC) and control the
action. The second frame was more of the same, although a finish
was never all that close despite it being a one-sided beating. The
final round saw a bloodied Collard have more success on the feet
before once again giving up a takedown, giving his back and losing
most of the frame.
After 15 minutes, the judges awarded Primus a well-earned unanimous
decision win with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for him. He’ll
fight Rabadanov for the chance to win $1 million.
Ali Walsh Quickly KOs Stapleton
The main card’s opening fight saw lightweight prospect Biaggio
Ali Walsh take on an overweight Brian
Stapleton, who missed weight by 4.5 pounds.
Clearly annoyed by his opponent’s lack of professionalism, Ali
Walsh (2-0) came out looking to strike. It quickly became clear
that Stapleton (0-1) was outclassed on the feet. Landing 14 of the
19 punches he threw, Ali Walsh managed to knock his opponent out
with a vicious overhand right and two follow-up punches.
The first-round stoppage officially came at the 55-second mark.
PFL 8 2024 Prelim Results:
In preliminary action, bantamweight contender Danny
Sabatello (14-4-1) fought Lazaro
Dayron (8-0-1) to a majority draw (29-27 Sabatello, 28-28,
28-28) after Dayron got a point deducted for a fence grab; Mads
Burnell (20-6) outworked fellow lightweight Elvin
Espinoza (10-2) over 15 minutes to earn three 29-28 scorecards;
welterweight prospect Thad Jean
(8-0) stayed undefeated by picking up a unanimous decision win
(30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over Chris Brown
(10-5); Jordan
Oliver (2-0) picked up a unanimous decision win against fellow
featherweight Braydon
Akeo with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28; and in the first
fight of the night, women’s featherweight Michelle
Montague (5-0) submitted Marilia
Morais (3-1)
with a rear-naked choke just 1:44 into Round 1.