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Tag: PFL 10

  • “Head Shot. Dead.” – Fans React As Fabian Edwards Mirrors His Brother In Knocking Out Dalton Rosta To Claim Middleweight PFL World Tournament Title

    “Head Shot. Dead.” – Fans React As Fabian Edwards Mirrors His Brother In Knocking Out Dalton Rosta To Claim Middleweight PFL World Tournament Title

    Almost exactly three years ago, on August 20, 2022, Leon Edwards shook the MMA world up with a head kick that dropped Kamaru Usman out cold, making him the new UFC welterweight champion. Now, his brother, Fabian Edwards has his own championship head-kick knockout moment.

    The younger Edwards brother knocked out Dalton Rosta in the third round to win the PFL Middleweight World Tournament in the main event of the card in Hollywood, Florida.

    Rosta started strong, being speedy with his kicks and using his wrestling and pressure to control Edwards, threatening submissions at a couple of points. Rosta also hurt Edwards with a flurry during the second round, but Edwards showed resilience.

    By the third round, Edwards had found a groove with landing his kicks on Rosta. And just as he continued to land a couple of low kicks, Edwards went high on one, connecting on the head and dropping Rosta out cold, becoming the first man to finish Rosta.

    Fabian Edwards Knocks Out Dalton Rosta For PFL Middleweight World Tournament Title

    Edwards made his way into the final bout through victories over Impa Kasaganay and Josh Silveira.

    Rosta advanced with victories over Sabidou Sy and Aaron Jeffrey.

  • “May We Never Have To Witness That Fight Ever Again” – Fans Left In Foul Mood As Oleg Popov Outlasts Alexandr Romanov In Clinch-Filled Battle To Win Heavyweight PFL World Tournament

    “May We Never Have To Witness That Fight Ever Again” – Fans Left In Foul Mood As Oleg Popov Outlasts Alexandr Romanov In Clinch-Filled Battle To Win Heavyweight PFL World Tournament

    After coming up short in last year’s PFL heavyweight season, a loss to Denis Goltsov that snapped a long winning streak, Oleg Popov has avenged himself and become 2025 heavyweight PFL World Tournament champion with a split decision win over Alexandr Romanov in Hollywood, Florida.

    Popov focused on low kicks and right hands, while Romanov answered with pressure, landing knees and short punches on the inside. Both men had their moments early on, trading strikes and battling for control in tight clinch battles.

    Though Popov did more work in the first three rounds, Romanov surged late in round four with a furious flurry. Popov weathered the storm, however, and came back with strong strikes in the fifth.

    One judge scored the bout for Romanov 48-47, while the other two scored the bout for Popov 48-47 and 49-46 to give the Fedor Emelianenko protegee the heavyweight title.

    Oleg Popov Captures World Tournament Title With Split Decision Win Over Alexandr Romanov

    Popov made it to the finals with victories over Karl Williams and Rodrigo Nascimento.

    Romanov, a UFC veteran who started his career 16-0, advanced to the final with a win over Tim Johnson and a no contest with former Bellator interim champion Valentin Moldavsky (Romanov advanced through a judges’ decision)

  • “Shoeface Absolutely Wrecked Cauley” – Fans React As Antonio Carlos Junior Wins Violent Battle With Sullivan Cauley To Claim Light Heavyweight PFL World Tournament Title

    “Shoeface Absolutely Wrecked Cauley” – Fans React As Antonio Carlos Junior Wins Violent Battle With Sullivan Cauley To Claim Light Heavyweight PFL World Tournament Title

    Already a PFL champion from its season-and-playoffs format, Antonio Carlos Junior now is also a World Tournament champion, putting away Sullivan Cauley to win the light heavyweight World Tournament title in Hollywood, Florida.

    The two went toe-to-toe early, with each man scoring knockdowns in a wild opening round. Carlos Junior repeatedly landed heavy right hands and front kicks, while Cauley fired back with strong boxing to keep things even.

    In round two, after a brief clash of heads, Carlos Junior stunned Cauley with straights and a head kick before taking the fight to the ground. From there, he secured back control and locked in a rear-naked choke to secure the tapout championship victory.

    Antonio Carlos Junior Bests Sullivan Cauley For PFL World Tournament Title In Brawl

    Carlos Junior reached tonight’s final through victories over Karl Moore and Simeon Powell.

    Cauley reached the final after picking up wins over Alex Polizzi and Phil Davis.

  • “Pergande Is A Problem” – Fans React To Alexei Pergande Pulling Off Quick Submission Of Ethan Goss At PFL World Tournament

    “Pergande Is A Problem” – Fans React To Alexei Pergande Pulling Off Quick Submission Of Ethan Goss At PFL World Tournament

    Alexei Pergande continues to show himself to be perhaps one of PFL’s fastest rising stars, as he pulled off a first-round finish of Ethan Goss at the PFL World Tournament event in Hollywood, Florida.

    Pergande and Goss traded early strikes, with Goss landing body kicks as Pergande came forward with combinations and pressure. As Pergande landed more, he began to control more of the action.

    About midway through the first, Pergande blasted Goss with a perfectly-timed knee that busted him open. He’d jump on a choke right away, scoring the submission.

    Alexei Pergande Submits Ethan Goss At PFL World Tournament

    Pergande now moves to 7-0 this year, having fought exclusively for the PFL. He fought two months ago in Nashville, scoring a decision over Mike Bardsley.

    Goss, who made his PFL debut tonight, falls to 12-8 in his pro MMA career.

  • VIDEO: Impa Kasaganay Scores Come-From-Behind Finish In Final 30 Seconds Of Fight With Andrew Sanchez At PFL World Tournament

    VIDEO: Impa Kasaganay Scores Come-From-Behind Finish In Final 30 Seconds Of Fight With Andrew Sanchez At PFL World Tournament

    On the verge of potentially having a three-fight losing skid, Impa Kasaganay pulled off a highlight finish of Andrew Sanchez to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat during the preliminary card of the PFL World Tournament event in Hollywood, Florida.

    Sanchez controlled most of the early portion of the fight, thanks to his takedown efforts. Sanchez followed this up in the second round by continuing to push the pace, landing counters and mixing in grappling exchanges.

    Kasaganay did find more rhythm with his combinations in the second round, but it wasn’t enough to halt off Sanchez’s grappling efforts. But in the bout’s final minute, a right hand cracked Sanchez, causing him to faceplant. Kasaganay stayed on him, pouring punches on until the referee stopped the fight to solidify the comeback victory.

    Impa Kasaganay Scores Comeback TKO Of Andrew Sanchez

    Kasaganay, who won the 2023 PFL light heavyweight season, rebounds from his loss to Dovlet Yagshimuradov in the 2024 light heavyweight finals and his loss to Fabian Edwards in the 2025 PFL middleweight World Tournament first round.

    This is Sanchez’s second straight loss, following his loss to Sadibou Sy last year.

  • PFL World Tournament Week 10 Results & Highlights

    PFL World Tournament Week 10 Results & Highlights

    The final of three events to mark the conclusion of the PFL’s 2025 World Tournaments goes down in Hollywood, Florida tonight — and MMA News has you covered with all the action.

    The World Tournament is the spiritual successor to the season-and-the-playoffs has had since its inaugural season in 2018. As part of the changes in format to the PFL upon the official folding of the Bellator brand earlier this year, the PFL changed its global season to a single-elimination tournament format, adding more weight classes, eight fighters per weight class.

    First-round action took place in April and May, with June — previously hosting the second leg of the regular season — hosting semifinal action. This month will see the conclusion of these tournaments, with eight winners receiving PFL World Tournament title belts and $100,000.

    This evening will be headlined by the middleweight tournament final between former Bellator title challenger Fabian Edwards and Dalton Rosta. Edwards, the younger brother of former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, reached tonight’s final through a finish of 2023 light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay and a decision over Josh Silveira. Rosta has won three straight since suffering the sole loss of his career, including victories over former 2022 welterweight champion Sabidou Sy and Aaron Jeffrey (the one man to beat him) to reach tonight’s final.

    The co-main event will be the heavyweight tournament final featuring Oleg Popov and Alexandr Romanov. After Popov fell short to Denis Goltsov in last year’s final, snapping a long winning streak for Popov, he reaches tonight’s final through decision wins over Karl Williams and Rodrigo Nascimento. Romanov submitted Tim Johnson in the first round of the tournament before a no contest with Valentin Moldavsky in the semifinals. Romanov, however, advanced to the final based on a judges’ decision from what went down in the fight with Moldavsky up to that point.

    Also featured will be the light heavyweight tournament final featuring Sullivan Cauley and Antonio Carlos Jr. Cauley advanced to the final through victories over Alex Polizzi and former Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis. “Shoeface,” who won PFL light heavyweight gold in 2021, reached the finals through wins over Karl Moore and Simeon Powell.

    2025 PFL World Tournament Week 10 Results & Highlights

    Main Card:

    • Middleweight Final: Fabian Edwards def. Dalton Rosta via KO (R3, 1:28)
    • Heavyweight Final: Oleg Popov def. Alexandr Romanov via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47)
    • Light Heavyweight Final: Antonio Carlos Junior def. Sullivan Cauley via submission (rear-naked choke) (R2, 3:44)

    Preliminary Card:

    • Featherweight: Alexei Pergande def. Ethan Gross via submission (anaconda choke) (R1, 3:52)
    • Bantamweight: Lazaro Dayron def. Bryce Meredith via TKO (R3, 4:06)
    • Middleweight: Impa Kasanganay def. Andrew Sanchez via TKO (R3, 4:31)
    • Light Heavyweight: Rasul Magomedov def. Guilherme Viana via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
    • Heavyweight: Sergey Bilostenniy def. Karl Williams via TKO (R2, 4:11)
    • Middleweight: Josh Silveira def. Murad Ramazanov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
    • Catchweight (175 lbs): Jean-Pierre Saint Louis def. Tyler Ray via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

    Jean-Pierre Saint Louis vs. Tyler Ray

    Josh Silveira vs. Murad Ramazanov

    Sergey Bilostenniy vs. Karl Williams

    Rasul Magomedov vs. Guilherme Viana

    Impa Kasanganay vs. Andrew Sanchez

    Bryce Meredith vs. Lazaro Dayron

    Alexei Pergande vs. Ethan Gross

    Sullivan Cauley vs. Antonio Carlos Junior

    Oleg Popov vs. Alexandr Romanov

    Fabian Edwards vs. Dalton Rosta