PFL kicked off its first-ever “World Tournament” on Thursday night with an action-packed card featuring numerous finishes at featherweight and welterweight.
Just two fights went the distance out of the eight matchups broadcasted from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA this week. The busy card was an explosive start to PFL’s new year-long tournament, which swaps out a unique season-to-playoffs format for the more recognizable single-elimination bracket. Eight different divisions will compete in eight-fighter tournaments this year, beginning with the bouts on Thursday.
At welterweight, a pair of Bellator vets and two up-and-comers advanced to the semi-finals. Winning fighters at 170-pounds were Jason Jackson, Logan Storley, Thad Jean, and Masayuki Kikuiri.
Featherweight saw two former PFL champs advance alongside a pair of other promising names: Jesus Pinedo, Movlid Khaybulaev, Gabriel Braga, and Kim Tae-kyun were all successful on Thursday.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything that happened:
Former Bellator Champ Jason Jackson, Undefeated Prospect Thad Jean Earn Memorable Wins In Welterweight Bracket
Second-last Bellator Welterweight Champion Jason Jackson closed out the first night of “World Tournament” action with a submission win against the highly experienced Andrey Koreshkov.
Jackson seemingly had the edge over Koreshkov early, using controlling positions on the ground to land shots on the Russian. However, the “A** Kicking Machine” found himself in some trouble during the second round after landing an illegal elbow to the back of Koreshkov’s head, opening a cut.
While the moment caused the bout to be paused for numerous minutes, the fight ended up carrying on. Jackson avoided a point deduction for the foul, but it would soon become clear that any scorecard deductions wouldn’t end up mattering in the end.
Jackson scored a takedown immediately after the fight resumed, beginning the fight’s finishing sequence. He was quick to hop on the back of Koreshkov after taking the bout to the mat, then slipped in a rear naked choke with a little over 30 seconds left in the frame to put him out cold.
The bout cut short 20-fight Bellator vet Koreshkov’s second season run as a PFL fighter. He previously appeared in the promotion’s 2024 roster but didn’t advance through to the 170-pound playoffs after winning just one of his two regular season fights.
The win bounced back Jackson after he lost his Bellator title last year against Ramazan Kuramagomedov. He had a run of eight wins before then, with his previous loss dating all the way back to 2019.
Jackson is now set to face one of the most talked about names from Thursday’s lineup, prospect Thad Jean.
Undefeated welterweight Jean won in a massive step-up challenge for him in a quarter-final fight, stopping Russian vet Mukhamed Berkhamov in the first round. Jean floored Berkhamov with a left hook in the final minute of the opening round, allowing him to land a pair of hammerfist shots before the fight was stopped.
26-year-old Jean, like many others in the tournament, was only brought into the bracket after the departure of another tournament fighter. He had previously attained eight pro wins, albeit against other fighters with similar levels of experience. Berkhamov was a much bigger test, entering after a pair of previous PFL/Bellator wins and more than a decade of pro experience.
“I do not care about the amount of fights you have in this cage,” Jean said after beating 20-fight pro Berkhamov. “I don’t care who you are, what your name is, what your record is. I don’t care if you are the main event, or if you are starting the fights off, kicking them off. When you are in the cage with Thad Jean, ‘The Silverback,’ I’m going to win. I’m going to put you out. I’m going to do what I’ve gotta do.”
Jackson, who will meet Jean in June, isn’t worried about their upcoming clash.
“He thinks he’s a silverback, but I’m a killer,” Jackson said on Thursday night. “Remember that, you know that.”
Relentless wrestling from Logan Storley allowed him to cruise past Joseph Luciano with a unanimous decision result. Former Bellator title challenger Storley leaned on his collegiate wrestling background, grinding away at Luciano for 15 minutes to sweep scorecards.
Storley had an easier first-round fight than expected for him earlier this week. He was initially slated to take on 2024 welterweight finalist Magomed Umalatov, but was instead given Luciano after the Russian talent missed weight by two-and-a-half pounds. Past Eternal MMA Champion Luciano was coming back after winning his PFL debut last year via submission.
Long-time Pancrase fighter Masayuki Kikuiri was the first welterweight to advance on Thursday night, out-working Giannis Bachar until a surprising retirement stoppage emerged. Kikuiri had the sharper striking through two rounds, proving to have solid boxing and better control in clinch positions. Then, after 10 minutes of action, either due to injury or fatigue, Bachar stepped away from the fight. Bachar was appearing for the first time since he appeared on Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” losing in the quarter-finals to Robert Valentin. Kikuiri now has three wins since he signed with Bellator in 2023.
Former PFL Champs Jesus Pinedo & Movlid Khaybulaev Advance Past First Round
2023 PFL Featherweight Champion Jesus Pinedo proved that he’s one of the most dangerous fighters in the 145-pound bracket this year, putting together an impressive one-round performance against Adam Borics in Thursday’s co-main event.
Pinedo stunned Borics with a right hand during a quick flurry of punches, then continued to connect with blows until a knockdown occurred. Borics was practically out of the fight by then, causing Pinedo to not need many ground and pound shots before the bout was stopped.
Pinedo spent 2024 out of the spotlight, as his two bookings that year both fell through. But the 28-year-old Peruvian is back with a solid opening round win and is now a pair of victories away from becoming a two-time champ in the PFL.
“As you guys all saw, I came in sharp and ready for this fight, and ready for this tournament,” Pinedo said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview.
11-fight Bellator vet Borics entered his first PFL bracket this year. He was coming off a 2024 win over highly experienced ex-UFC fighter Enrique Barzola.
Movlid Khaybulaev, arguably the favorite to win the featherweight tournament, ran up against shockingly tough opposition on Thursday night in Jeremy Kennedy, causing him to settle with a split decision result after three hard rounds of scrapping. The 22-fight undefeated Russian had to endure a damaging opening round that saw him get hurt numerous times from the fast and accurate striking of Kennedy.
But the fight’s momentum shifted significantly to the -700 favorite Khaybulaev by the second round, as he started to piece up Kennedy with his own boxing and kept control with control in wrestling positions. The third round was a close battle mainly in clinch positions, a round in which two of the three judges saw Khaybulaev take.
Khaybulaev returned this year with the goal of earning his second PFL title, coming back after winning the 2021 170-pound bracket. While he’s still en route to repeating that same level of success, he had to work much harder for his first win than expected. Former UFC talent Kennedy has now lost three straight bouts, albeit against some of the division’s best (he previously fought Gabriel Braga and Patricio Pitbull as well).
2023 PFL Featherweight finalist Gabriel Braga had a successful start to his third-ever tournament run with the promotion, submitting Frederik Dupras in a first-round bout. While Dupras showed immediately that he was a submission specialist—getting Braga down early and threatening him with a deep guillotine choke—Braga escaped and took over the fight a few minutes later.
The 26-year-old Brazilian took the back of Dupras after escaping the submission, beginning to search for a rear naked choke and continuing with the attempt until a tap emerged in the final minute of the round.
Braga made it to the semi-finals of PFL’s 145-pound bracket last year but was eliminated by Timur Khizriev. He has now picked up two wins since then, when including last night’s performance. Dupras was getting the PFL call-up following a series of submission wins on the Canadian regionals, including a title win in Samourai MMA against UFC alum Jesse Arnett. He was moved into the featherweight bracket after the card lost Yves Landu.
Kim Tae-kyun opened the night with an impressive one-round performance against Irish prospect Nathan Kelly. After dropping Kelly to the mat with a clean overhand left, Kim searched for a rear naked choke before an attempt finally got under the chin and caused a stoppage. Korea’s Kim was making his PFL debut, heading over after a career in MENA-based promotions Brave CF and UAE Warriors.
Semi-Final Matchups – Expected to take place on June 12th
Welterweight
Jason Jackson vs. Thad Jean
Masayuki Kikuiri vs. Logan Storley
Featherweight
Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga
Kim Tae-kyun vs. Movlid Khaybulaev
Main Card (10:00PM EDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Jason Jackson def. Andrey Koreshkov via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:21)(Welterweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 7: Jesus Pinedo def. Adam Borics via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:43) (Featherweight Quarter-Final
Bout 6: Logan Storley def. Joseph Luciano via Decision, Unanimous (Welterweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 5: Movlid Khaybulaev def. Jeremy Kennedy via Decision, Split (Featherweight Quarter-Final
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 4: Thad Jean def. Mukhamed Berkhamov via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:25) (Welterweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 3: Gabriel Braga def. Frederik Dupras via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:37) (Featherweight Quarter-Final
Bout 2: Masayuki Kikuiri def. Giannis Bachar via TKO, Retirement (RD 2, 5:00) (Welterweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 1: Kim Tae-kyun def. Nathan Kelly via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:53) (Featherweight Quarter-Final)
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