Usman Nurmagomedov remains the PFL lightweight champion after putting Alfie Davis to sleep in the main event of Saturday’s PFL Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
They engaged in a kicking battle early, and Davis found success defending the first takedown, but Nurmagomedov eventually got him down and landed punches from half guard. Nurmagomedov knocked Davis off balance with an inside leg kick in round two, and Davis missed a spinning back kick and punch by an inch.
Usman finally had a good takedown in the third and kept landing short punches but the referee brought them back to their feet due to lack of action. Nurmagomedov again connected a good right kick to the body as Davis threw a punch, securing another takedown and this time sinking in a rear-naked choke and putting Davis out cold.
“I win how I planned,” Nurmagomedov said after the third-round submission victory. “And it was simple plan. Make him tired, make him work, wrestle and grapple, and then finish him on the ground.”
The vacant PFL welterweight title was on the line in the co-main event with last Bellator titleholder Ramazan Kuramagomedov taking on 2024 PFL tournament winner Shamil Musaev, and it could be put vacant once again as Kuramagomedov came out victorious and then announced he’s likely retiring from the sport.
Kuramagomedov rocked Musaev with a flying knee in round two and had a rear-naked choke deep, but Musaev simply refused to tap. Musaev was finding momentum in the fourth with right hand but wasted the opportunity by landing an illegal knee to the head of a grounded Kuramagomedov. Referee “Big” John McCarthy deducted a point, and Musaev needed a finish for the victory. Musaev connected two head kicks and a head kick, but couldn’t come close to the stoppage.
Kuramagomedov won a unanimous decision and announced this could have been the last MMA fight of his career.
“I’m former Bellator welterweight champion, today is PFL welterweight champion, maybe this is enough,” Kuramagomedov said. “I think this was my last fight.”
“Lazy King” Abdoul Abdouraguimov scored another victory to his record in PFL, improving to 4-0 in the company with a close decision over Kendly St. Louis. Abdouraguimov had St. Louis on skates for a brief moment in the first round, and attacked with a rear-naked choke in the second, but St. Louis stayed in the fight. They exchanged wrestling positions in the final round before a wild elbow exchange in the final seconds, and Abdouraguimov left with a split-decision win.
Salamat Isbulaev made a huge statement in his PFL debut against one-time featherweight champion Jesus Pinedo. Isbulaev took Pinedo down and punched his head to apparently cause an issue to his eye. Pinedo desperately threw upkicks but couldn’t stop Isbulaev from going to crucifix position and landing elbows to force him to tap. Isbulaev, who went 29-2 as an amateur MMA fighter, now holds a pro record of 10-0 with 10 stoppages.
Pouya Rahmani opened up the main card with a dominant performance against UFC veteran Karl Williams. Rahmani took him down early and got back control but lost the position after landing a punch to the back of the head of his opponent. They exchanged takedowns in the second and Rahmani kept being the most aggressive one, landing a series of short punches to Williams’ head from crucifix position before locking an arm-triangle choke to force the tap.
Now 6-0 in the sport with six finishes, Rahmani revealed after the win that he suffered a tore hamstring during camp, as well as dealing with the heartbreak of the death of his coach and friend in Iran.
On the preliminary portion of the show, the most important match ended up being the most lackluster among violent finishes. Denise Kielholtz went from challenging PFL flyweight star Dakota Ditcheva to facing off with short-notice replacement Antonia Silvaneide in a three-round showdown, and Kielholtz won a unanimous decision.
Taylor Lapilus continued to impress in his post-UFC run, calling for a shot at the bantamweight championship after knocking out Kasum Kasumov. To close out the prelims, Amru Magomedov made short work of Kolton Englund with a 37-second stoppage.
Check the preliminary highlights below, including finishes for Luke Trainer, Khabib Nabiev and Jhony Gregory, and click here for the complete PFL Dubai results.
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