Bruce Suoto became the first fighter to secure a PFL contract through their “Challenger Series” show on Friday night. He was awarded a contract with the promotion after securing a flying knee finish win against Bellator alum Travis Davis.
The contract will allow Suoto to compete in the promotion’s 2022 Regular Season, which includes two fights and a potential to compete in their playoffs later in the year.
The outcome saw him beat other victorious names on the show, those being Josh Silveira, Taylor Johnson and Karl Williams, for a contract.
The contract was decided by a combination of fan voting and celebrity judges that were present at the event.
Suoto Stops Davis With Flying Knee
Bruce Suoto had the first flashy win of the series in the second fight, stopping Travis Davis late in the first round with a flying knee.
Suoto stunned Davis with a flying knee in the final minute of a round. Capitalizing on this moment, Suoto followed up with punches that dropped Davis and finished the fight.
The victory for Suoto continued a winning streak that is now nine fights in total.
Davis is now on a two-fight losing streak. His previous appearance was on a Bellator card last year, where he was beaten by undefeated prospect Johnny Eblen.
Silveira Battles Through Fouls, Submits Juma
Two-division LFA Champion Josh Silveira scored a submission win in the main event of the card, finishing Mohamed Juma in the final round with a rear naked choke attempt.
The fight, which was an impressive win for Silveira, was clouded by a controversial moment from Juma.
Juma was deducted a point in the second round after doing a “fishhook” – a move where his thumb went into the mouth of Silveira and stretched his cheek. Coincidentally, this was something he was disqualified for in his previous fight, per online database Tapology.
Silveira was angry after the fight, getting in the face of Guma after the submission result. He later calmed down and apologized to Juma for this incident.
Silveira now has an undefeated pro record of eight wins. His two previous fights were title bouts in LFA, where he became a champion at middleweight and light heavyweight.
Bellator Alum Johnson Earns Decision Win
In the closest fight on the card, Taylor Johnson fought to a unanimous decision victory against Alexander Poppeck.
The back-and-forth battle saw Johnson utilize his ground skills to defeat Poppeck. The four-time Bellator vet was able to get Johnson down numerous times in the battle, then used those positions to land strikes.
Poppeck succeeded at other times when battling on the feet against Johnson.
The fight on Friday put Johnson back into the win column after losing a bout to Fabio Aguiar on a Bellator card last year.
Poppeck had a three-fight winning streak broken in the fight.
Williams Uses Ground and Pound For Decision Win
Karl Williams had a dominant win to open the evening, using his wrestling skills to take all three rounds of a fight against Miles Amos.
Williams was dominant in every round, taking Amos down and holding top control while landing with ground and pound. While he wasn’t able to secure a stoppage, he took all rounds on scorecards by the end.
The fight put Amos back into the win column after taking his first pro loss late last year. He now has a record of four wins and one loss.
Quick Results:
Bout 4: Josh Silveira def. Mohamed Juma via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 1:52)
Bout 3: Taylor Johnson def. Alexander Poppeck via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Bruce Suoto def. Travis Davis via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:43)
Bout 1: Karl Williams def. Miles Amos via Decision, Unanimous
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