The Professional Fighters League had the second night of their 2019 playoffs on Thursday, Oct 17 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
This was the second of three nights for the PFL Playoffs. On Thursday, the men’s Featherweight division (145lbs) and the men’s Lightweight division (155lbs) had their Quarterfinals and their Semifinals rounds
Each division started the night off with eight fighters. After the Quarterfinals, that number was decreased to four, then to the final two fighters after the Semifinals fights.
The Featherweight division kicked off the night with a matchup between the defending champion and #1 seed Lance Palmer and the #9 seed Alexandre Almeida. The original matchup was supposed to Palmer against Gadzhi Rabadanov, however, Rabadanov was unable to make wait. Due to the missed weight, Almeida stepped in. Palmer got off to a quick start and stayed in control for the entire fight. He was able to land 94/100 total strikes compared to just 2/7 total strikes landed by Almeida. Palmer got the win by Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-17) and advanced to the Semifinals.
The next Featherweight Quarterfinals matchup featured the #4 seed Alex Gilpin against the #5 seed Andre Harrison. Harrison was able to take control of the fight quickly in the first round. The tides started to turn in the second round. Gilpin was able to get a takedown against Harrison. After reversing each other’s moves, Gilpin was able to lock in a guillotine choke on Harrison for the win in the second round to advance to the Semifinals against Lance Palmer.
The third Featherweight Quarterfinals featured a matchup between the #2 seed Movlid Khaybulaev and the #7 seed Daniel Pineda. Khaybulaev came into the fight with an undefeated professional record. Pineda was looking to put an end to that. Pineda came out of the gate swinging and connected quickly on Khaybulaev. Pineda was able to knock him down with a right hook and the ref called a stoppage to the fight just 29 seconds in. Pineda was able to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far to advance to the Featherweight Semifinals.
The final Featherweight division Quarterfinals matchup featured the #3 seed Luis Rafael Laurentino and the #6 seed Jeremy Kennedy. Kennedy started strong and fast and wouldn’t let up. He connected with 15/25 of his total strikes in the first round, compared to just 2/3 for Laurentino. After being successful on his lone takedown attempt in the second round, Kennedy was able to finish off Laurentino with a fury of punches to win the fight by TKO (Technical Knockout) and advance to the Featherweight Semifinals.
After these fights, the Semifinals were set. The first fight would be between #1 Lance Palmer and #4 Alex Glipin. The second fight would be between #6 Jeremy Kennedy and #7 Daniel Pineda. But first, it was time for the men’s Lightweight division Quarterfinals round.
The first Lightweight fight featured the #1 seed Natan Schulte against the #8 seed Ramsey Nijem. Nijem, coming into the tournament as the lowest seed, wanted to come out and make a statement by upsetting the #1 seed. Once the ref gave his word and the fight started, Nijem was swinging for the fences. He was able to connect and knock down Schulte. However, after some rolling around on the mat and reversing moves, Schulte was able to get into a dominant position. He was able to surprise Nijem and lock in a rear naked chokehold to secure the win in the first round.
The second Lightweight fight featured the #4 seed Akhmed Aliev and the #5 seed Rashid Magomedov. Magomedov was non-stop attacking throughout the fight. He was able to out-strike Aliev at a rate of 2-1. Even with the high strike attempts by Magomedov, the judges decided that Aliev’s takedowns in the first round and his accuracy in the second round (14/15 total strikes landed) were enough for the win. Aliev won via Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) and advance to the Lightweight Semifinals against Natan Schulte
The third Lightweight fight featured the #2 seed Islam Mamedov and the #7 seed Loik Radzhabov. This fight didn’t have much action. The fighters wrestled on the mat for the majority of the match. They combined to land just 12/24 total strike attempts. The judges chose Loik to advance to the Semifinals after the match ended in a Majority Draw.
In the final Lightweight Quarterfinals matchup, it was the #3 seed Chris Wade against the #6 seed Nate Andrews. Wade came out strong, connecting with 10 of his 12 strike attempts in the first round. The tides would turn in the second round, as Andrews would land with 12 of his 27 strike attempts. Each fighter was able to complete both of their takedown attempts during the fight. Wade was able to win the fight via Majority Decision (19-19, 20-18, 20-18) and advanced to the Lightweight Semifinals against Loik Radzhabov.
The Lightweight Semifinals were set. The first fight would be between #1 Natan Schulte and #4 Akhmed Aliev. The second fight would be between #3 Chris Wade and #7 Loik Radzhabov.
In the first Featherweight Semifinal, it was the #1 seed Lance Palmer against the #4 seed Alex Gilpin. Palmer was able to control the fight from bell to bell. He was able to complete 3 of his 4 takedown attempts while landing 81/118 total strike attempts. In the third round, he made it a point to leave no doubt in peoples’ minds. In this round alone, he landed 42/54 strike attempts. Palmer was able to get the win by Unanimous Decision (30-27,30-27, 30-27) and advances to the men’s Featherweight Division Championship fight for the second year in a row.
In the second Featherweight Semifinal, it was the #6 seed Jeremy Kennedy against the #7 seed Daniel Pineda. Kennedy came into this fight with something specific in mind, and that was to get the fight to the ground. He attempted four takedown attempts in the first round, while only attempting one total strike. After spending the majority of the first round wrestling on the mat, Pineda was able to get the dominant position for a submission attempt. He locked in a guillotine choke with 1:00 left in the first round to secure the win and advance to the men’s Featherweight Division Championship fight against Palmer.
In the first Lightweight Semifinal, it was the #1 seed Natan Schulte against the #4 seed Akhmed Aliev. Aliev wanted to come out fast and hard, in hopes of upsetting the defending champ. He looked strong, landing 35/44 total strike attempts and completing both of his takedown attempts in the first round. However, Schulte was able to withstand the fury and overcome Aliev’s attack. After getting a takedown in the second round, Schulte caught Aliev in an awkward position while they wrestled on the mat. He was able to lock in an arm triangle for the submission to advance to the men’s Lightweight Division Championship fight for the second year in a row.
In the final fight of the night, it was the Lightweight Semifinal. The #3 seed Chris Wade was going up against the #7 seed Loik Radzhabov. Radzhabov came into the fight looking to keep his underdog story going. The first round was back and forth with both fighters landing 10 strike attempts and each completing their lone takedown attempts. However, as the fight went on, stamina quickly became an issue for Wade. He would only land a total of 17 strike attempts over the last two rounds, compared to the 47 strike attempts landed by Radzhabov in those rounds. Near the end of the third round, Radzhabov raised his arms in celebration, knowing that he was about to win the fight and advance to championship night. He went on to get the win by Unanimous Decision (30-27,30-27, 30-27) and advanced to the men’s Lightweight Division Championship fight against Natan Schulte.
There you have it. The participants for two championship fights are scheduled. It’s going to be #1 Lance Palmer against #7 Daniel Pineda for the men’s Featherweight Championship and it’ll be #1 Natan Schulte against #7 Loik Radzhabov in the Lightweight Championship fight. Both Schulte and Palmer are looking to defend their championship wins from last year. These fights, along with the rest of the championship fights, will take place on Dec 31 in New York City.
The winners of each weight class will get $1 million and a championship belt. The final night of the PFL Playoffs will be on Thursday, Oct 31 at the Mandalay Bay arena. That night will feature Quarterfinals and Semifinals for the men’s Light Heavyweight (205lbs) and Heavyweight (265lbs) divisions.
Comment
Comments