Eight athletes booked their ticket to the PFL Europe finals later this year with a successful performance this weekend at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Fighters at flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight and welterweight competed in semi-final bouts on Saturday, with the successful competitors securing a spot at a December 14th grand finals card in Lyon, France.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything that happened:
McGrillen and Luster Score Highlight-Reel Finishes In Bantamweight Bracket
Bantamweight tournament alternate Lewis McGrillen stole the show with an impressive semi-final performance, lining him up for a grand final bout later this year against Alexander Luster.
McGrillen had a chaotic and at-times back-and-forth fight against tough vet Dean Garnett, using his striking to earn a finish in the final round. The left hook of McGrillen knocked Garnett down numerous times throughout the fight, but Garnett kept surviving scares on the feet and continuing to fight. In fact, Garnett was able to keep the bout competitive at times despite suffering knockdowns, stunning McGrillen briefly with a shot of his own.
The contest eventually came to an end after a left hand from McGrillen sent Garnett crashing face-first onto the canvas in the third round.
“There’s only so many shots you can take … How many licks did it take to knock him out?” McGrillen asked. “I think I dropped him eight times.”
McGrillen entered the tournament on short notice after 2023 champ Khurshed Kakhorov withdrew from his semi-final fight. The 23-year-old English prospect is now just one win away from capturing PFL’s 135-pound European title.
Germany’s Luster also had a notable victory, winning in only 75 seconds.
Luster overcame an aggressive Julian Lopez early, catching the advancing French fighter with a clean overhand right. The shot floored Lopez and allowed Luster to get on his back, applying a rear naked choke for a tap-out submission in the second minute.
Zendeli, Miceli Advance With Upset Wins At Welterweight
A pair of underdogs in the welterweight bracket’s semi-finals had impressive performances to earn a spot in the division’s championship fight. Florim Zendeli and Daniele Miceli both walked away with wins on Saturday night, sending them to the final PFL Europe event in France later this year.
Zendeli had a comeback performance against veteran talent Jack Grant, rallying back in a split decision result after a tough opening round. Zendeli survived a hard right hook knockdown in the first round, a shot that significantly damaged his nose.
The Albanian talent leaned on his wrestling skills later in the fight to earn rounds. He had a stellar second round, using ground and pound to bloody Grant up. He later prevailed in a tight final frame, clinching and grappling his way to a scorecard nod.
Miceli put away -1000 favorite Ibrahima Mane with a first-round knockdown. A pair of right hooks from Miceli dropped Mane in just the second minute, allowing him to close out the fight with ground and pound shots.
Defending Champ Kaszuba To Face Hughes In Lightweight Finals
2023 PFL Europe Lightweight Champion Jakub Kaszuba will try to go back-to-back later this year when he faces Connor Hughes in the division’s finals.
Kaszuba was given a scorecard nod after a competitive three-round clash against Bellator vet Daniele Scatizzi. The Polish fighter proved to be the more effective striker in clinch positions, where a large portion of the fight took place.
A win for Kaszuba in December would mark a six-fight winning streak since joining PFL Europe last year and would make him the first-ever two-time champ in the spinoff brand.
Hughes had a close battle against Spain’s Ignacio Capella, walking away with a unanimous decision win following solid work early in the fight. The Englishman had the sharper striking in the first and second rounds, although the fight became much closer on scorecards after Capella had an aggressive and successful final round.
Dyer, Wisniewska To Battle For Flyweight Title
A pair of undefeated prospects will collide in the PFL Europe flyweight finals later this year, as Poland’s Paulina Wisniewska will take on England’s Shanelle Dyer.
Dyer had a hard-fought tournament victory on Saturday night, getting past 2023 finalist Valentina Scatizzi in a split decision result. While Dyer had a strong opening round, she had to fight off her backfoot later as Scatizzi started to charge forward with her own strikes and takedown attempts. Dyer succeeded on the counter, doing enough to snag two rounds on a pair of scorecards and move her record to five wins.
Wisniewska kept her flawless record alive in a fight against former Invicta FC title challenger Karolina Wojcik, utilizing clinch positions to control the fight for a large part of the second and third rounds.
The fight was a big win for Wisniewska, taking out the most experienced name in the flyweight bracket with a decisive performance.
Quick Results
Main Card (12:00PM EDT / 5:00PM BST)
Bout 14: Stevie Ray def. Lewis Long via Submission, Modified Twister (RD 1, 4:24)
Bout 13: Robert Whiteford def. Roger Huerta via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Mark Ewen def. Yassin Chtatou via Submission, D’Arce Choke (RD 1, 2:30)
Bout 11: Lewis McGrillen def. Dean Garnett via TKO, Strikes (RD 3,
Bout 10: Alexander Luster def. Julien Lopez via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:15) (Bantamweight Semi-Final)
Bout 9: Florim Zendeli def. Jack Grant via Decision, Split (Welterweight Semi-Final)
Bout 8: Daniele Miceli def. Ibrahima Mane via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:26) (Welterweight Semi-Final)
Bout 7: Jakub Kaszuba def. Daniele Scatizzi via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 6: Connor Hughes def. Ignacio Capella via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 5: Shanelle Dyer def. Valentina Scatizzi via Decision, Split (Flyweight Semi-Final)
Bout 4: Paulina Wisniewska def. Karolina Wojcik via Decision, Unanimous (Flyweight Semi-Final)
Bout 3: Lorenzo Parente def. Stefano Catacoli via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 1:45)
Bout 2: Matiss Zaharovs def. Brian Hyslop via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:18)
Bout 1: Gemma Auld def. Weronika Pietruszka via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:50)
Knockdown News 