Corey Anderson’s expert level grappling was too much for Dovlet Yagshimuradov to handle, as he scored an easy decision to become the PFL light heavyweight champion in the co-main event of PFL Champions Series 3.
Yagshimuradov found success in the opening round with his striking, briefly troubling Anderson, but Anderson shifted some momentum with a late takedown. Anderson began to use that to start his pressure of Yagshimuradov, working heavy clinch work and getting the better of him all around in the grappling department.
The effect was clear, as Yagshimuradov started to gas and slow down. By the championship rounds, Anderson’s dominance was clear, as he completely overwhelmed Yagshimuradov with pressure and nearly scored a TKO on multiple occasions, easily taking the judges’ scorecards.
Corey Anderson Wins PFL Light Heavyweight Title With Decision Win Over Dovlet Yagshimuradov
Anderson’s run as a champion began when he won the then-Bellator light heavyweight championship in Dublin, Ireland, at a Bellator Champions Series event in March 2024.
Yagshimuradov, the 2024 PFL light heayvweight season champion, sees a seven-fight win streak snapped as a result of this loss.
The official weigh-ins for PFL Champions Series: Dubai are wrapped up, with all 22 fighters on the card making weight.
The MMA promotion’s marquee event is set for Friday, October 3, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ahead of fight night, Thursday morning saw the fighters step on the scales at the PFL host hotel in Dubai
In the main event, former Bellator lightweight king Usman Nurmagomedov will once again lock horns with Paul Hughes in a rematch of their thrilling clash from last year. Both fighters came in exactly at 155 pounds, making their showdown for the vacant PFL title official.
Usman Nurmagomedov: 155 pounds
Paul Hughes: 155 pounds.
The #PFL lightweight title fight rematch is official. The first one was one of the best fights of the year. Looking forward to the sequel! pic.twitter.com/Zn94ZulMhi
Meanwhile, in the co-main event of PFL Champions Series, Corey Anderson is set to fight Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov for the vacant light heavyweight title. Both contenders looked sharp on the scales, with “Overtime” weighing in at 204.6 pounds and Yagshimuradov coming in right at 205.
⚖️ PFL Dubai Weigh Ins
PFL Light Heavyweight World Title Bout 🏆 Corey Anderson: 204.6 lbs Dovlet Yagshimuradov: 205 lbs
Corey Anderson appeared to make a statement in his first heavyweight bout in years, making relatively easy work of Denis Goltsov to open up the PFL Champions Series 2 card portion of PFL Cape Town.
The fight started with both men exchanging jabs and low kicks, but it was Goltsov who initially controlled the clinch exchanges against the fence. Anderson reversed position and scored a takedown, controlling Goltsov along the cage. Despite Goltsov managing to get back to his feet multiple times, Anderson’s grappling pressure was relentless.
In round two, Anderson continued to press before scoring another takedown. This time, he was able to take advantage of Goltsov’s fatigue and get into full mount, landing ground-and-pound from there and side control until the ref stepped in.
Corey Anderson Stops Denis Goltsov At PFL Cape Town
Textbook performance from Corey Anderson. I had no idea how he'd look at heavyweight, but he dominated Denis Goltsov #pflchampionsseries
This was Anderson’s first fight since defeating Karl Moore for the Bellator light heavyweight championship last year. It was also his first heavyweight bout since competing on, and winning, season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter.
This was Goltsov’s first fight since finishing previously-unbeaten Oleg Popov to become the 2024 PFL heavyweight champion.
It isn’t currently known what will happen to the current Bellator champions after Ariel Helwani stated that the promotion is “dead” from here on out. The Bellator Champions Series, which was established by the PFL in 2024, suffered from some major issues which as a result, has led some of the top fighters on the roster voicing their criticisms of the way that they have been treated since their contracts were acquired by the PFL in 2023.
These events are set to be replaced by the PFL Champions Series which will introduce new PFL titles instead of having the belts up for grabs in the regular season format as has been the case in previous years. It now appears that the final fight that still has the Bellator name attached to it will be on January 25 where Usman Nurmagomedov defends the Bellator lightweight title against Paul Hughes in Dubai.
One of the current champions of the promotion that is set to be fazed out of the PFL brand spoke out on social media following this news. Corey Anderson claimed that rather than being contacted by someone from the PFL, he found out that the brand which he is the light heavyweight champion of will cease to exist via his wife.
“Imagine being the champion of an organization chilling on the couch and your wife walks in and tells you “did you see this? Bellator is dead now?”… and all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion…. CUZ you still haven’t heard a thing. Lol Yeaaaah, that was me.”
Imagine being the champion of an organization chilling on the couch and your wife walks in and tells you "did you see this? Bellator is dead now?"… and all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion…. CUZ you still haven't heard a thing. Lol Yeaaaah, that was me.
Anderson has been particularly vocal in recent times due to the booking and subsequent cancelation of his matchup with Vadim Nemkov which was booked for the first “Road to Dubai” event on January 25. Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen also took to social media to raise the question of what this news means for his current status.
Since bellator is dead does that mean I’m still a world champ?
Corey Anderson has faced Vadim Nemkov twice, but he’s increasingly skeptical that their trilogy bout will materialize.
The two fighters first met in April 2022 at Bellator 277 during the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Final for the championship. Their clash ended in a no contest due to an accidental headbutt.
The rematch took place at Bellator 288, with Nemkov earning a decision victory to defend the Bellator light heavyweight belt. Since then, Anderson has rebounded with decision wins over Phil Davis and Karl Moore, with Anderson’s last win seeing him capture the vacant light heavyweight title.
Anderson was eager to secure a third fight with Nemkov, and it appeared the trilogy was set for heavyweight at the PFL Road to Dubai: Champions Series event on on Jan. 25. However, the fight fell apart, leaving Anderson frustrated and convinced that Nemkov is avoiding him.
“I told you a while ago before he moved to heavyweight, I believed he was scared of me,” he said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “Now I know for a fact. He doesn’t want to fight me. He got scared. It was time to go to the altar, and he got cold feet and ran.”
Anderson expressed disappointment about how the situation unfolded, especially with rumors swirling that Nemkov is on the final fight of his current PFL contract.
“I feel like after this, he’ll probably never take the opportunity to fight me again,” Anderson continued. “One, he knew I wanted the fight — that’s on him. He’ll finish his contract on a high note, and we’ll never do the trilogy. Two, if it keeps coming, he’s going to find another way out of it.”
Anderson is ready to move on and remains confident in his ability and eager to get back to fighting, even if the Nemkov trilogy never comes to fruition.
Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 16, 2024, we’re taking a look at:
Sonnen believes Jones’ misdemeanor charges could be less serious than they appear to be
Sterling books grappling match on Karate Combat
Romero announces plans for his next fight
Chael Sonnen Questions Whether Jon Jones’ Case Has Been Over Exaggerated
Jon Jones is dealing with another controversial police charge following an interaction at his house with a drug-testing agent.
The UFC heavyweight champion has been charged with two misdemeanors where, if proven guilty, he could face fines or even jail time.
His former rival, Chael Sonnen, has some issues with the way that this process has been carried out following the initial reports from April.
During a recent YouTube video on his channel, Sonnen questioned both why the decision has taken so long based on the evidence they have and whether the case has been exaggerated with the misdemeanor charges.
“The agents came and did what they did but there is a significant difference guys, in being a jerk and being a criminal. There’s a significant difference in being rude and committing a crime and it’s annoying for me to have to read this about Jon and read that he’s got to deal with this. It’s annoying for me even if not the municipality that I live in…
“it’s annoying to me that on a double hit misdemeanor where there are not witnesses because – there’s a witness there but they’re not supporting the claim. There isn’t video cameras of everything but there is video surveillance and it doesn’t support the claim. It seems like a tough one and it still took those guys four, five, six [months], however long this is to make a decision even in this case.”
Aljamain Sterling Set To Compete on Karate Combat’s Pit Submission Series On July 25
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is set to make his Karate Combat debut on the Pit Submission Series.
The striking-focused promotion recently started opening up their events with several grappling bouts to kick off the show.
Sterling is set to compete on July 25 in Nashville at Karate Combat 48, where he faces Jay Jay Wilson.
“Funkmaster” has competed in several grappling matches in recent times with this being his first since he made his successful move up to featherweight with a win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.
The event is set to be headlined by the heavyweight title rematch between Sam Alvey and Antônio Arroyo.
Yoel Romero Says He’s Fighting Corey Anderson For The Bellator Light Heavyweight Title On October 19
Despite rumours of him making the jump to BKFC, former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero appears to be gearing up for his Bellator return.
“Soldier of God” has been inactive since his decision win over Thiago Santos in February at PFL vs Bellator and according to him, he’s now set up for a title shot.
Romero recently spoke in an interview on the Overdogs Espanol podcast where he claimed that he will be fighting Corey Anderson for the light heavyweight title on October 19 in Saudi Arabia.
The Bellator Champions Series is currently set to host events in Chicago on October 12 and Paris on November 16. While there is no event announced as of yet for Saudi Arabia, the PFL is expected to stage another pay-per-view in Riyadh this fall, with names like Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg expected to take part.
Perhaps Romero has leaked the date for that major show…
Yoel Romero anuncia que su próxima pelea será el 19 de octubre en Arabia Saudita contra Corey Anderson por el cinturón del peso semipesado de Bellator
