Brendan Loughnane defeated Kai Kamaka by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) in the semi-finals to secure a spot in 2024.
#PFLWorldChampionship#PFLPlayoffs
#PFLDC pic.twitter.com/xzRppzUtIo
— PFL (@PFLMMA)
August 24, 2024
The Professional Fighters League determined the welterweight and featherweight finals during the PFL DC card.
The nine-bout main event saw 2022 featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane take on Kai Kamaka III in an attempt to reach his second PFL final. Loughnane (29-5) made his presence known right away, knocking down Kamaka (14-6-1) late in the first round with pinpoint punches and a well-placed knee. However, “The Fighting Hawaiian” lived up to his nickname, not only surviving the onslaught, but also finding plenty of success in the second round. In the final round, Loughnane outscored his opponent on points to earn a split decision victory with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 30-27.
Roughnane will face Timur Khizliev in the featherweight final for a shot at another $1 million.
Umalatov beats Gracie
Magomed Umaratov defeated Neiman Gracie to advance to the welterweight final. It took just a few seconds for fans to realize that Gracie (13-6) was outclassed in the stand-up. Umaratov (17-0) controlled the distance with his powerful jab and landed hard right punches that made it hard for the Brazilian over three rounds. The Russian knocked Gracie down in the final round but had to settle for a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
The welterweight final will be a battle of undefeated fighters pitting Umalatov against Shamil Musaev.
Khizriyev remains unbeaten
In the first featherweight semi-final, Khizriyev remained unbeaten by winning his toughest matchup to date against Gabriel Bulaga.
Khizliev (17-0) controlled the distance and outmaneuvered his Brazilian opponent early on, as Bulaga (14-2) struggled to get inside, getting hit with repeated jabs and straight punches in the first two rounds. In the third round, Bulaga finally landed some big punches to make it a close fight, but it was too late.
After 15 minutes, Khizriyev won by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-28).
Musaev’s second win
The main card opened with a rematch between Shamil Musaev and Murad Ramazanov for a spot in the welterweight final.
In the opening round, Ramazanov (12-2) came out eager and aggressive, looking to take down Musaev (17-0-1) and get revenge, but Ramazanov was unable to take down “The Silent Assassin” and he ended up exhausted. Musaev easily dominated the rest of the bout, beating his Russian compatriot in the stands and knocking him down.
Musaev won by unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, to improve to 2-0 against Ramazanov.
PFL 9 2024 Preliminary Results:
In the prelims, welterweight Muhammad Belkhamov (16-1) outsmarted Ray Cooper III (25-11-1) to win a puzzling split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Enrique Barzola (21-9-2) landed a game-changing uppercut to beat featherweight Tyler Diamond (14-4) 29-28 three times. Jose Perez (9-1) proved himself a fighter to watch at featherweight, dominating Jesse Stern (16-7) for over 15 minutes to win by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). Maxwell Jantu Nana (6-1) handed fellow heavyweight Kent Mapileo (6-2) his second defeat by brutal knockout at 4:50 of the second round, and in the first bout of the night, welterweight Sid Borris (9-1) overpowered Tyler Hill (13-11) with punches at 3:31 of the first round to earn a TKO victory.
Source link
