In what ultimately turned into a battle of the highlights, light
heavyweight Impa
Kasanganay secured himself a
Professional Fighters League contract during
PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 7 on Friday at Universal
Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Kasanganay (11-3) closed the show with a devastating first-round
knockout of Osama
ElSeady in the final bout of the four-fight card on FuboTV.
ElSeady (8-3) and Kasanganay traded blows early in the round before
the former’s gas tank depleted. The 29-year-old fighting out of
Charlotte walked ElSeady across the cage before knocking him out
cold with 45 seconds left in the opening frame.
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Kasanganay won his second consecutive fight and secured the
contract, but it’s debatable that he won the night.
In the fight prior, Taylor
Johnson buried Trey
Williams with an overhand right from the underworld in round
1.
Johnson ate several crisp shots before eventually timing Williams
with an overhand right to the temple. Williams’ legs stiffened
before giving out under Tombstone’s immense pressure. Johnson took
Williams’ back and reigned down blows until the referee James Larry
Folsom Jr. intervened.
Johnson’s won back-to-back fights since his 2-2 stint with Bellator
MMA ended in 2021. He’s been plagued by inactivity, but looked
sharp coming off a 13-month layoff. Johnson hasn’t fought twice in
a year since 2021, but could return to the cage soon after the
swift performance.
Johnson’s knockout of Williams set the stage for Kasanganay and
both fighters arguably deserved contracts. Even celebrity judges,
former UFC champions Tyron
Woodley and Randy
Couture disagreed on who deserved the contract.
Elsewhere, Roland
Dunlap (4-0 MMA) outclassed Monte
Morrison in the opening bout, but a third-round blunder nearly
cost “The Dream” his unanimous decision victory (29-27, 29-27,
29-27). Dunlap opened the first round out slowly before securing a
takedown and pinning Morrison against the fence. Dunlap capped the
opening round with a pair of flying hammer hooks that dazed the
Nigerian prospect (3-1 MMA).
Dunlap opened up the second round with a medley of body kicks and
roundhouses before finishing the period dominantly in mount but he
couldn’t close the show. With another opportunity to transition
into mount, Dunlap landed an illegal knee on a grounded Morrison
late in the third stanza. After shaking off the shot, Morrison
finished the contest with his best combinations and even wobbled
Dunlap. But it wasn’t enough. Dunlap evened the round 9-9 on all
three scorecards and avoided letting the fight slip through his
gloves.
Billy
Elekana (5-1) dominated but missed his opportunity to finish
Tristan
Overvig (5-2). Elekana landed a flush double knee on the
23-year-old in the first round and stuffed numerous takedown
attempts all night. Elekana, who trains at Uprising MMA, showcased
his experience by smothering and mugging Overvig in the clinch
against the cage. Elekana ended the fight landing hard, flush shots
on a bloody Overvig and cruised to the unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), but his victory was overshadowed by back-to-back
first round knockouts.