The Olivier
Aubin-Mercier riddle remains unsolved in the
Professional Fighters League.
Aubin-Mercier (18-5, 7-0 PFL) opened the defense of his 2022
lightweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Shane
Burgos in their
PFL 3 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels
in Las Vegas. All three members of the cageside judiciary struck
30-27 scorecards for the Canadian.
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Burgos (15-4, 0-1 PFL) did not enjoy his organizational debut.
Aubin-Mercier outstruck him in the first round, then turned to
other means. He stymied Burgos with clinches across the final 10
minutes, climbed to the back with standing body triangles on two
occasions and stole valuable time from an increasingly frustrated
opponent. Not until the final 20 seconds of the fight did Burgos
break free with knees and punches, but by then, the die had been
cast.
Meanwhile, multi-punch volleys to the body and head paired with
airtight submission defense and unbreakable resolve carried
ex-Showdown Fights titleholder Clay
Collard to a unanimous decision over Yamato
Nishikawa in the three-round lightweight co-main event. All
three cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Collard (22-10, 4-2 PFL),
who posted his sixth win in eight outings. Nishikawa (21-4-6, 0-1 PFL) was game. He tore into Collard’s legs
with repeated kicks in an effort to blow up the boxer’s base and
nearly succeeded. Hobbled but undeterred, the Team Bonafide product
engaged Nishikawa at close range, firing away with savage punching
bursts, many of them to the body. Collard assumed top position in
Round 3 after his adversary slipped, dodged a series of attempted
triangle chokes and piled up points with effective
ground-and-pound.
The setback was the 20-year-old Nishikawa’s first since Dec. 9,
2018 and halted his 14-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder Denis
Goltsov shredded “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 1 winner
Cezar
Ferreira with
punches in the first round of their heavyweight
attraction. A short-notice substitution for Patrick
Brady, Ferreira (14-11, 1-3 PFL) checked out 2:07 into Round
1.
The 32-year-old Goltsov (30-7, 8-2 PFL) controlled the center of
the cage and answered the undersized Brazilian’s speed with a
combination of brute force and textbook technique. He lured
Ferreira into the clinch, pushed him toward the fence and executed
a trip takedown. From there, he postured up in half guard and
uncorked punches with increasing intensity until Ferreira lay
unconscious.
Goltsov has rattled off three consecutive victories.
Further down the card, Thai Brasil standout Carlos
Leal Miranda won for the 12th time in 13 appearances, as he
buried David
Zawada with
punches in the first round of their welterweight
showcase. Zawada (18-8, 0-1 PFL) succumbed to blows
2:25 into Round 1.
Everything went according to plan for Miranda (18-4, 2-1 PFL). The
onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance grand prix winner crowded the
German with stinging leg kicks and accurate power punches. Zawada
attempted to return fire, only to walk into a trap. Miranda wobbled
him with a chopping overhand right on the counter, gave chase with
punches and pinned the UFD Gym rep to the cage. One final right
hand from the Brazilian dropped Zawada where he stood and forced
referee Kerry Hatley to intervene.
The 32-year-old Zawada has lost three of his last four fights.
Finally, Eagles MMA export Magomed
Umalatov kept his perfect professional record intact and did so
in style, as he cut down Dilano
Taylor with
punches in the first round of their welterweight
feature. Umalatov (13-0, 4-0 PFL) brought it to a
close 1:31 into Round 1.
Taylor (10-4, 2-3 PFL) tested the waters with his jab but failed to
manage distance properly. Umalatov stepped into a crushing counter
right hand, followed his dazed adversary across the cage and
unleashed a pair of surgical shots to the head—a sweeping left hook
and another right—that sealed the deal.
It was the ninth first-round finish of Umalatov’s career.
In other action, Natan
Schulte (24-5-1, 13-2-1 PFL) took a unanimous decision from
Steven
Ray (25-12, 2-3 PFL) in a three-round lightweight tilt, drawing
30-27 scores from all three judges; Sadibou Sy
(14-6-2, 8-4-2 UFC) wiped out Jarrah
Al-Silawi (18-5, 1-2 PFL) with
a knee to the body and follow-up punches 1:14 into the second round
of their welterweight contest; Magomed
Magomedkerimov (31-6, 13-1 PFL) brought down Ben Egli (14-5,
0-2 PFL) with
a head kick 1:03 into the first round of their welterweight
clash; Raush
Manfio (17-4, 6-1 PFL) was awarded a unanimous verdict—29-28,
29-28, 30-27—over Alex
Martinez (10-4, 3-4 PFL) in a three-round lightweight
confrontation; Bruno
Miranda (15-3, 1-0 PFL) notched a unanimous decision over
Ahmed
Amir (12-4-1, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round lightweight pairing,
earning 30-27 scores from all three members of the cageside
judiciary; Nayib
Lopez Miranda (16-0, 1-0 PFL) grinded his way to a unanimous
decision over Shane
Mitchell (13-5, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round welterweight
encounter, netting 29-27 scores across the board; and Zach
Juusola (14-9, 1-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous verdict over
Brandon
Jenkins (16-10, 1-1 PFL) in a three-round welterweight scrap,
sweeping the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 marks from the
judges.