Reigning
Professional Fighters League light heavyweight tournament
champion Impa
Kasanganay brutally took his first step toward defending his
title with a first-round TKO win over former Bellator
MMA bruiser Alex
Polizzi in the
PFL 2: 2024 Regular Season main event at The Theatre at Virgin
Hotels in Las Vegas on Friday.
Kasanganay (16-4) went into the SmartCage with pressure to live up
to the seven-straight finishes that proceeded him. If the
Kill Cliff FC stud were going to keep up in the standings, he
would have to dispatch the former Northwestern wrestler in the
opening minutes. Polizzi looked to grapple with Kasangany but was
only met with leather to the face. Kasangany battered Polizzi with
both hands until he could barely stand on his own, and referee
Marc
Goddard was forced to save the day just 3:29 into the
match.
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The win might’ve capped off a violent night but did nothing to
separate Kasanganay from the rest of the pack. Fellow light heavies
Rob
Wilkinson, Joshua
Silveira, Antonio
Carlos Jr. and Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov each finished their foes in the first round. The
light heavyweights return to action on June 21 in Salt Lake
City.
PFL 2022 light heavyweight tournament winner Wilkinson (18-2)
watched from the sidelines for most of last season as another
fighter claimed the $1 million prize. It was his own fault, having
been suspended for failing a post-fight drug test. Looking for
redemption and his spot back on top, the Aussie took his first step
back up the mountain with a brutal first-round finish (1:10) of
England’s Tom
Breese.
Breese isn’t a pushover and has won in some of the toughest
promotions in the world, but stood no match against Wilkinson’s
power. With the first jab, he was forced to retreat and cover up,
and Wilkinson didn’t hesitate to go for the kill. With Breese
trapped against the fence,
“Razor” sliced through the guard with a shoulder punch and knee to
the head, dropping Breese in the process. Breese was like a
helpless lamb as Wilkinson reigned unanswered hammer fists until
referee Herb Dean was
forced to call him off. Wilkinson couldn’t afford to let Breese out
of the first round since three light heavyweights before him also
secured first-round finishes. If he’s going to make it to the
playoffs, every punch and every second counts.
PFL fan-favorite Clay
Collard and former Bellator lightweight kingpin Patricky
Freire delivered on their pre-fight hype and kept fans on the
edge of their seats. In the first round, the 38-year-old former
champ smoothly forced Collard to give up his four-inch reach and
follow along the cage. With perfect timing, Freire dropped
“Cassius” flat on his back and went in for the finish. Last year’s
PFL lightweight runner-up refused to be derailed and climbed back
to his feet. Now wiser, Collard worked behind his jab and kept the
shorter man on the end of his punches.
By the end of the frame, Collard had nearly retaken the momentum
and went to his corner with the smell of blood in his nostrils. By
Round 2, Collard had Freire figured out and in danger. With
Pitbull’s back pinned against the fence,
the Utah native let go of everything in his arsenal before the
fight was mercifully stopped at 1:32. With the second-round finish,
Collard put himself into a three-way tie for first place in the
standings with Brent
Primus and Michael
Dufort.
Dufort is a promising prospect who’s starting to put it all
together. Still, his regular season bout against experienced
Bellator contender Mads
Burnell would serve as a great measuring stick. Early in the
fight, Burnell’s patience and poise in the pocket made Dufort miss
at will, but the Canadian never stopped throwing.
Burnell (18-6) banked the first round, but his calmness would lead
to his downfall soon after. Trapped against the fence, Burnell
looked to slip and counter but was clipped by a front kick to the
face and another to the midsection. Burnell’s legs buckled, and he
lowered right into Dufort’s guillotine.
The submission was so smooth many were left confused by what
happened. One minute, Dufort was swinging like he was at the
driving range, and then Burnell was tapping for his life the next.
Dufort (13-4) came into the lightweight tournament as an underdog
under a plethora of experienced names, but the 30-year-old put
everybody on notice with his flashy 5-point statement at the 1:03
mark.
You’ve got to hand it to Sadibou Sy;
that was a terrible way to lose a fight. The former welterweight
tournament winner moved up 25 pounds to throw leather with last
season’s light heavyweight runner-up, Silveira. He was
forced to quit in just 1:14 after dislocating his thumb in the
opening minutes.
Silveira (13-2) is a talented wrestler and was in the midst of
securing a single-leg takedown when Sy (16-8-2) posted his hand on
the canvas. The Swede’s thumb went out of socket immediately and
referee Marc Goddard
hurried over to stop the fight. With the win, Silveira became the
third straight light heavyweight to secure a six-point finish.
PFL 2021 light heavyweight champion Carlos Jr. has had a rough
couple of years. After tearing his ACL and then having a
controversial stint on Brazilian reality television, the
American Top Team grappler was prepared to remind the field
that he’s the real deal. He did
exactly that with a first-round submission of Simon
Biyong.
Towering over Carlos at 6-foot-6, Biyong tried to keep the fight on
the feet but had no answers for the former Jiu-Jitsu world
champion. Once Carlos took the back, it was the beginning of the
end, and all Biyong could do was tap or go to sleep at 4:34 of the
first.
2023 PFL Europe light heavyweight king Jakob Nedoh
has been on a violet tear of eight-straight knockouts but ran into
an even stronger animal Friday night. Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov (22-7-1)
dog-walked Nedoh with overhand rights and uppercuts until the
Slovenian could barely stand.
Nedoh was out on his feet and ripe for the TKO, but the 30-fight
veteran wisely picked his final shot — a crisp overhand right — to
put the icing on his six-point first-round knockout. The official
time was 2:54 of the first.
At 38, Primus proved that he still has more than enough gas in the
tank to make a run at the 2024 PFL lightweight crown. The former
Bellator kingpin rag-dolled Bruno
Miranda throughout the first round and pounded the Brazilian
with punches from behind his back. Miranda would survive to hear
the bell, but his misery wouldn’t last much longer, as
Primus ended his night with a rear-naked choke 1:49 into the
second round.
With the five-point finish, Primus (13-3) put himself in the
running to make the lightweight playoffs.
Former Bellator lightweight Gadzhi
Rabadanov notched his seventh straight win on Friday after
outwrestling Cleveland’s Solomon
Renfro over three rounds (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Renfro (11-5) competed in the PFL welterweight tournament last
season and made the semifinals. The natural lightweight looked
strong and fast in Round 1 — getting the better of Rabadanov in
exchanges — but his energy dropped drastically in the second frame.
By the third round, there was nothing Renfro could do to break
Rabadanov’s body lock. Rabadanov (21-4-1) stayed out of harm’s way
and made Renfro carry his weight while keeping him busy with
non-threatening rear-naked choke attempts. A post-fight dust-up
nearly unfolded but the pair was separated.
Elvin
Espinoza could feel his undefeated record slipping away, so he
went for broke. Down two rounds to none to former Bellator
lightweight Adam
Piccolotti, Espinoza won his 10th straight with a
devasting flying knee knockout in the third round.
Piccolotti (14-6) had little problems with the Nicaraguan prodigy,
keeping him guessing with stance switches and fluid wrestling.
Espinoza was too focused on landing a haymaker throughout the first
two rounds and was routinely beaten to the punch. Heading into
Round 3, all Piccolotti needed to do was coast his way to three
points in the standings, but an ill-advised shot left him
vulnerable to Espinoza’s switch knee. The end came at 2:23 of the
final period.
Marcelo
Nunes (11-2) has never been past the second round in his
career, and Jordan Heiderman found out why. The Brazilian submitted
former “The Ultimate Fighter” contestant via armbar 2:40 into the
first round of their heavyweight showcase.
Heiderman (7-2) accepted this fight on a week’s notice and looked
aggressive early. Heiderman backed up Nunes toward the fence but
was left vulnerable when the Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu product reversed
and took his back. The Nebraska native wrestled his way back into
guard but left himself open for a triangle choke. Heiderman
squirmed, but
Nunes morphed his submission into a triangle — picking up his
second straight win while Heiderman dropped his second
consecutive in the SmartCage.