The
Professional Fighters League welcomed a promising new talent
into the fold on
Week 1 of the PFL Challenger Series: Thad
Jean.
Fast-twitch punches, well-disguised kicks and opportunistic
ground-and-pound carried the unbeaten 24-year-old prospect to a
unanimous decision over current Cage Fury Fighting Championships
titleholder Eric
Alequin in their three-round welterweight showcase on Friday at
Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Jean (5-0, 1-0 PFL) swept
the scorecards with identical 30-27 marks from the cageside
judiciary.
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Alequin (7-1, 0-1 PFL) connected with a few kicks to the lead leg
and body but was otherwise ineffective. Jean decked him with a
right hand at the end of the first round and flurried with punches
for a potential finish until the bell sounded. With that, the tone
was set. Jean dropped the Kill Cliff Fight Club representative with
another right in Round 2, then picked his spots in the third.
There, he controlled the center of the cage, countered effectively
and delivered a heavy body kick that forced Alequin to retreat to
his back.
Meanwhile, Itso
Babulaidze kept his perfect professional record intact and
spoiled the return of Lucas
Barbosa, as he took a unanimous decision from the multiple-time
Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion in their three-round
welterweight clash. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27—all for
Babulaidze (3-0, 2-0 PFL). In his first mixed martial arts appearance since Aug. 11, 2012,
Barbosa (2-2, 0-1 PFL) had his moments but lacked the weaponry
necessary to counteract his opponent’s advantages in the standup
exchanges. Down on the scorecards, he made a significant move in
the latter half of Round 3. After being taken down, a noticeably
winded Barbosa swept into top position, progressed to full mount
and cut loose with ground-and-pound when the arm-triangle choke he
sought failed to materialize. Babulaidze, however, withstood the
assault and procured the decision.
Kendly St.
Louis submitted Team Link’s Nick Alley
with
a rear-naked choke in the second round of their catchweight clash
at 175 pounds. Alley (7-6, 0-1 PFL) bowed out 2:17
into Round 2, as he suffered his third consecutive defeat.
St. Louis (8-4, 1-0 PFL), who replaced Mostafa
Rashed Neda on short notice, established his superiority with
an early takedown and sustained top control. Alley answered with a
takedown of his own in the final minute of the first round but
failed to make any substantial gains. St. Louis peppered his
counterpart with jabs and combinations in the middle stanza,
throwing two, three and sometimes four punches at a time. He then
struck for a takedown, progressed to full mount and forced Alley to
surrender his back under duress. Soon after, the fight-ending choke
was in place.
The 32-year-old St. Louis has won five fights in a row.
Finally, Xtreme Couture export Zach
Juusola sprang the upset and laid claim to a unanimous decision
over Jozef
Wittner in their three-round welterweight tilt. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Juusola (13-9, 1-0
PFL), who won for just the second time in eight outings.
Wittner (16-3, 0-1 PFL) started a slow fade midway through the
first round and never seemed to get his bearings. Juusola kept him
off-balance with a steady jab, forward pressure and timely
takedowns. Once the action spilled onto the floor, the visibly
fatigued and discouraged Wittner was a non-factor. Juusola
maintained dominant positions, applied his ground-and-pound and
bled time off the clock.
The setback was Wittner’s first since Oct. 25, 2019 and closed the
book on his four-fight winning streak.