Savannah Marshall stops Vargas in the first quarter! 👀
Savannah stopped Mirella Vargas at the end of the first round after being taken down multiple times! 😳#PFLNewcastle
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— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope)
June 8, 2024
Former super middleweight boxing champion Savannah Marshall took her first step into the world of mixed martial arts and the Professional Fighters League with a first-round stoppage victory over Brazil’s Mirella Vargas (0:32) in the main event of the PFL Europe 2 2024 regular season at Utrita Arena in Newcastle, England.
Marshall has a 13-1 record in professional boxing with 10 knockouts, and his power was on full display in the Smart Cage. Vargas started the exchange of blows, catching Marshall with an overhand right. Marshall dodged it and continued to apply the pressure until the bout was eventually stopped. With the win, Marshall (1-0) will face three-division world boxing champion Claressa Shields in an MMA bout. Marshall had beaten Shields as an amateur, but Shields tied the score. After the bout, Shields confronted Marshall, and both fighters were open to a rematch inside the cage.
Dylan Tooke (8-4) was comprehensively defeated by veteran lightweight Kane Musa (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Musa stayed on Tooke’s back in a slow-paced bout as the Dublin native took rounds with his grappling.
Jack Grant took on Charlie Leary like it was personal. Grant took his fellow British welterweight to the canvas and then down in just 41 seconds. A stunned and confused Leary was helpless as Grant’s fist flew to his head. The win earned Grant a spot in the 2024 PFL Europe Playoffs Welterweight Semifinals.
Lewis McGrillen-Evans bounced back from his first defeat with a dogged and spirited performance against Latvia’s Matis Zakharovs (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Zakharovs started the bout strong, attacking McGrillen as he tried to close the distance. However, McGrillen wasn’t about to let minor strikes stop his momentum. In the second and third rounds, “McGrillen” pushed forward and walked towards his opponent. Zakharovs was ready to counter, but his punches lacked power. McGrillen broke through the guard and got behind the opponent, shaking the referee. With this victory, the Manchester Top Team representative redeemed himself after a lackluster loss to Wesley Myre in last year’s PFL Europe Final.
Chanel Dyer earned knockout of the year votes on Saturday after stalling out Mariam Torchinava with a quick, subtle and sensational head kick at 3:53 of the first round. Dyer (5-0) has earned a reputation as one of the best female strikers in Europe, and she quickly demonstrated that reputation. With a flick of her right foot, Torchinava’s (8-3) five-fight winning streak was history. Dyer will face Valentina Scattizzi in the semifinals of the 2024 PFL Europe Playoffs.
It took just 50 seconds for Ibragim Ibragimov to finish off his most experienced opponent. “The Mauler” took down Cage Warriors veteran Josh Reed (13-9) with an ineffectual arm triangle in the first round. Reed had little to no answer for the Dagestan wrestler, as Ibragimov improved to 7-0 and recorded his fourth straight win.
Dominic Wooding was probably three punches away from halting his two-fight losing streak, but replacement Julian Lopez had other plans. Early in their bantamweight bout, Wooding dropped Lopez with a perfectly timed rear uppercut. Wooding looked to finish him off, but Lopez’s closed guard gave him precious seconds to recover. When Lopez (7-3-1) got the bout back on its feet, he quickly fought back, taking Wooding down with an overhand shot and putting him to sleep with a guillotine at 3:10 of the first period.
Karolina Wojcik advanced to the semifinals after defeating fellow flyweight Lizzy Gevers by a close unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Wojcik and Gevers gave it their all in the cage, battling it out until the end. In the end, both fighters were deemed deserving of the win, and the PFL broadcast was mixed, but all three judges favored the stockier Wojcik. With the win, Wojcik will face fellow Pole Paulina Wisniewska in the semifinals on September 28 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Claudio Pacella earned the biggest win of his career when he defeated previously unbeaten Mark Yuen in a lightweight bout. Yuen (5-1) tried to attack Pacella on the outside, but Pacella repeatedly hurt him with overhand shots. Yuen was forced to fight back and was soon in a fistfight. Pacella’s heavy punches paid off, with Yuen taking the biggest hits. After three action-packed rounds, Pacella (4-2) was victorious via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Last year’s PFL European bantamweight champion, Khurshed Kakhorov (13-1), won the title with fight-ending power, and he may be on track to win back-to-back titles after dropping Tuomas Gronvall with a dynamite right hand in the third round (1:11). Gronvall (12-7-1) pressured Kakhorov and kept him on the back foot for much of the bout. Kakhorov adjusted, then took Gronvall down and out with a short right hand that put him flat on his back.
Scattizzi lost to Dakota Dycheba in last year’s PFL Europe finals but bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Marie Loiseau (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Scattizzi did her best in the clinch, forcing the skinny Loiseau against the fence. Loiseau had success in the center of the cage where she could use her reach, but Scattizzi’s pressure negated her offense for much of the fight.
Two-time K-1 kickboxing champion Ben Uhlis (4-0) added another to his list of victims when he knocked out Nikola Ivanovic (0-8) in the first round (4:02). Ivanovic had only been called up a week ago and fought bravely in the first few minutes, but Uhlis was unfazed by Ivanovic’s power. He backed his opponent against the fence and took him down with a brutal left hook to the body followed by a breathtaking knee to the solar plexus.
Alperen Karabulut took Alexander Luster to the mat early in their bantamweight bout, but the decision came at a great cost to him. Luster immediately attacked Karabulut’s knees, then transitioned into a heel hook and finally finished the bout via rear-naked choke 1 minute, 59 seconds into the first round. Luster (8-1) has won three straight bouts, all of which have come before the final bell.
Wisniewska out-fought Dee Begley (4-6) in the second round (3:08) to improve to 3-0. Begley was six pounds over the 125-pound limit, but it made little difference. Wisniewska used her reach to pin Begley on the end of a right cross for a knockdown early in the first round. Wisniewska nearly ended the bout with a rear-naked choke in the first round, but Begley kept her on her back and survived for more than two minutes. The Polish puncher returned to her signature punching style in the second stanza, taking Begley down again with a snapping right to earn her a knockout and a spot in the 2024 PFL Europe Playoffs.
