Two-thirds of PFL’s 2024 championship bouts were confirmed by Friday evening, as light heavyweight and lightweight talents worked past the semi-final portion of their playoff brackets from the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, USA.
At light heavyweight, a former champ set up a potential back-to-back title year with a victory in the main event. And in the lightweight bracket, Bellator talents shined in a division where a first-time champ will be crowned.
Here’s what went down:
Defending Champ Kasanganay Set To Face Yagshimuradov In Final
2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Impa Kasanganay will try to go back-to-back when he meets Dovlet Yagshimuradov in the 205-pound grand finals later this year.
Kasanganay overcame rival Josh Silveira in the headlining fight of the night, out-landing Silveira to win via unanimous decision.
Kasanganay landed the better shots in the fight, often charging forward with quick combinations of punches. But Silveira kept the fight close by connecting with his own blows as well, making the defending champ work hard for his win. The more effective strikes from Kasanganay gave him the edge in a close fight, earning him at least two rounds on all scorecards.
Friday’s headlining fight provided a chance for Silveira to avenge one of the few losses on his record. The American Top Team contender notably came up short against Kasanganay in the 2023 light heavyweight finals, not being favored after a five-round contest last year.
Kasanganay came into the playoffs as the top seed, getting into the semi-finals following finish wins over Alex Polizzi and Jakob Nedoh.
Yagshimuradov got past former PFL champ Rob Wilkinson in the co-main event, landing the more impactful shots in a highly competitive fight to walk away with a unanimous decision win.
The back-and-forth clash saw Yagshimuradov and Wilkinson come off incredibly statistically close, with Wilkinson just slightly out-landing the Turkmenistan-based fighter. However, judges saw the Yagshimuradov connect with the more impactful and damaging shots, with scorecards reflecting that he won all three rounds.
The win moved Yagshimuradov to a six-fight winning streak, including regular season victories earlier this year against Simon Biyong and Jakob Nedoh.
The result also marked an end to Wilkinson’s attempt at becoming a two-time light heavyweight PFL champ. The 2022 titleholder made it into the playoffs with a pair of regular season wins, beating Josh Silveira on scorecards and overcoming Tom Breese in just 70 seconds.
Rabadanov Scores Slick Finish, Primus Wrestles To Earn Grand Final Spots
A pair of former Bellator talents will battle it out to become the PFL Lightweight Champion later this year. Veteran talent Brent Primus is expected to collide against rising Russian talent Gadzhi Rabadanov after both fighters scored semi-final wins on Friday night.
Rabadanov earned the sole finish win in Friday’s playoff fights, delivering a hard left hook to stop Michael Dufort in the second round.
A close stand-up battle between the lightweights came to a sudden end after a left hand floored Dufort. Rabadanov followed Dufort to the canvas following the flush shot, connecting with a few ground and pound strikes before the referee officially ended the bout.
Rabadanov joined the PFL roster this year following a five-fight stretch of wins in Bellator. His winning streak only continued during the 2024 PFL regular season, getting past Solomon Renfro and ending the undefeated run of Elvin Espinoza.
Dufort, who entered this weekend as a large underdog, made it into the playoffs following a submission victory over Mads Burnell in April.
Primus used his stellar wrestling and grappling skills to smother PFL veteran Clay Collard for three rounds, earning him a one-sided unanimous decision victory. Primus used grappling positions to control Collard throughout the fight. He spent a large portion of the bout on the back of Collard, to the displeasure of the live audience.
“I’m sorry for making it a kind of boring fight, but man I needed to win this,” Primus said during his post-fight interview.
Primus, a former Bellator Lightweight Champion, has yet to lose since joining the PFL roster this year. He had a strong regular season, getting into the playoffs with back-to-back submission wins against Solomon Renfro and Bruno Miranda.
The fight put an end to Collard’s fourth PFL season without a title. Friday was his third playoff appearance, and his return season after losing in the 2023 grand finals to Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Along with the four playoff fights, numerous prospects were showcased in Florida this weekend. Here are the quick results from PFL’s latest card:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 10: Impa Kasanganay def. Josh Silveira via Decision, Unanimous (Light Heavyweight Semi-Final)
Bout 9: Dovlet Yagshimuradov def. Rob Wilkinson via Decision, Unanimous (Light Heavyweight Semi-Final)
Bout 8: Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Michael Dufort via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:51) (Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 7: Brent Primus def. Clay Collard via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 6: Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Brian Stapleton via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:55)
Preliminary Card (5:30PM EDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 5: Danny Sabatello vs. Lazaro Dayron via Draw, Majority Decision
Bout 4: Mads Burnell def. Elvin Espinoza via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Reserve)
Bout 3: Thad Jean def. Chris Brown via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Jordan Oliver def. Braydon Akeo via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Michelle Montague def. Marilia Morais via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:44)
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