FIRST. ROUND. FINISH!
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October 19, 2024
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Francis
Ngannou emphatically returned to the world of mixed martial
arts on Saturday with a first-round technical knockout (3:22) over
2023
Professional Fighters League Tournament winner Renan
Ferreira in the “Super
Fights: Battle of the Giants” main event at The Mayadeen in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou showed no rust from his over two-year hiatus from mixed
martial arts. After two high-profile boxing matches against
Tyson
Fury and Anthony
Joshua, many wondered if Ngannou would stand and bang with the
6-foot-8 giant, but the former lineal heavyweight kingpin was too
smart. Ngannou took Ferreira down with a smooth double leg and
dragged him to the fence where he patiently waited to strike.
Ferreira sacrificed his butterfly guard to throw up a triangle
attempt, but as Ngannou shrugged off the attempt, Ferreira’s back
became exposed. Smelling blood in the water, Ngannou pounced on
Ferreira and reigned down bombs until his prey was laid out stiff
on the canvas.
It’s unclear what’s next for Ngannou (18-3). He’s arguably the most
famous heavyweight fighter on the planet and has proven to be a box
office draw in MMA and boxing. Ngannou’s main focus postfight was
mourning the loss of his then 15-month-old son Kobe.
Cris
Cyborg turned back the clock and denied the young, hungry and
scrappy Larissa
Pacheco in the co-main event. After five violent rounds, Cyborg
emerged victorious via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to
win the PFL Super Fights featherweight title. Cyborg looked
ferocious in the opening round and consistently cracked Pacheco
with heavy shots, but as the fight wore on the two-time PFL
Tournament winner gained momentum.
Pacheco’s best round came in the third where she battered Cyborg
with hard rights and had her face bloodied from cuts suffered
earlier in the contest. The lacerations and the blood must’ve
fueled Cyborg, who quickly retook control of the fight in Round
four. With three rounds in the bag, Cyborg refused to coast to the
finish line and poured on the pressure as the fans exploded out of
their seats.
Johnny
Eblen once again proved that he’s the best middleweight in
Bellator by dominating Fabian
Edwards.
Eblen cruised to a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) win
despite a late fight flurry from Edwards. With his dominant
wrestling, Eblen controlled the first 20 minutes, but Edwards
nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback late once he could back Eblen
down with elbows and punches. Eblen weathered the storm and
clinched his way to the final bell. With the win, Eblen improved to
16-0 and picked up his third title defense.
Despite coming in as a comfortable favorite, Husein
Kadimagomaev had little answers for Germany’s Zafar
Mohsen. Kadimagomaev looked slow and lethargic and couldn’t
keep Mohsen from employing his wrestling. Mohsen (14-4) has
finished his last three fights but cruised to a decision win in his
PFL debut (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Welcome to the big show, Paul
Hughes.
The budding Irish superstar picked up the biggest win of his career
via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over former Bellator
featherweight champion A.J. McKee in
an action-packed lightweight showdown.
McKee started the fight strong and tagged the former
Cage Warriors champion before Hughes nearly took his head off
with a knee. It didn’t take long for Hughes to gain McKee’s
respect, and he quickly established that he was the bigger puncher.
With the first round still in the balance, Hughes (13-1) surged
ahead on the scorecards with a flush shot that dropped McKee on his
butt at the buzzer.
McKee was much more cautious throughout the rest of the fight and
looked visibly gassed. Hughes admitted to being exhausted, but his
body language spoke confidently as he sprawled off McKee’s
desperate takedown attempts. The fight tightened as McKee kept his
pressure on Hughes, but the Irish knockout artist managed to always
break free and throw flashy, devastating combinations. The third
round could’ve gone either way, and the victory could’ve gone to
either man, but Hughes’ big striking and impressive defensive
wrestling made McKee (22-2) look average. Following the win, Hughes
called out reigning lightweight champion Usman
Nurmagomedov to a title fight.
Raufeon
Stots proved that he’s still amongst the best bantamweights in
the world and could find himself with another crack at the Bellator
bantamweight title after his gutsy win over the dangerous Marcos
Breno. The heavy-handed Brazillian (15-4) staggered Stots early
with his right hand and looked to hand the Houston native his third
first-round knockout loss. The 35-year-old former interim champ
showed his class by weathering the storm and employing his
wrestling.
Stots, a former NCAA DII wrestling champion, grinded his way back
into the fight and neutralized Breno’s power with constant shots
and position changes. The pace took a toll on Breno, and with two
minutes left in the fight, he left his neck open in exhaustion.
Stots jumped on the opportunity and sunk in the rear-naked choke.
With the win, Stots (21-2) will look to avenge his loss to reigning
Bellator bantamweight champion Patrick
Mix, who knocked out Stots with a flying knee in their first
fight.
Makkasharip
Zaynukov came into his PFL debut and ragdolled Dedrek
Sanders en route to an easy unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26,
30-26). Sanders hoped to build off his first-round knockout over
Sergio
Cossio in August, but Zaynukov kept him scrambling for his
life. With his legs clamped, Sanders could do little with Zaynukov
battering him over the top of his guard. It was a dominating
performance from the Dagenstani wrestler, who picked up his
fifth-straight win.
A battle of unbeaten featherweights culminated in a three-round
wrestling masterclass from Dagestan’s Ibragim
Ibragimov. The 20-year-old nullified Nacho
Campos‘ (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) explosive striking and kept him
on the mat for 15 minutes. Campos found some success with his knees
in the second round, but Ibragimov’s constant pressure kept Campos
on the defensive en route to his first career loss. With the
victory, Ibragimov (8-0) won his second-straight fight in the
PFL.
Taha
Bendaoud’s undefeated record was on the chopping block midway
through his fight with fellow featherweight Tariq
Ismail. “The Atlas Lion” had spent most of the featherweight
tilt on his back and had taken heavy damage. His face was swollen
and leaking blood, but Bendaoud still saw his opening to flip the
fight on his head.
Moving in for the finish,
Ismail didn’t realize that he was falling into a trap.
He reigned down punches but didn’t see the triangle attempt that
Bendaoud threw out of desperation and with 3:51 left in the second
round it was too late. Ismail was sick to his stomach after tapping
out and chucked his mouthpiece at the fence in frustration. An easy
win had slipped his fingers, while Bendaoud (4-0) held on to his
unblemished record.