MMA News

Tag: PFL 5

  • ‘Thad Jean By Robbery’ – Fans & Fighters Debate Thad Jean’s Narrow, Controversial Split Decision Win Over Jason Jackson In PFL World Tournament Semifinal

    ‘Thad Jean By Robbery’ – Fans & Fighters Debate Thad Jean’s Narrow, Controversial Split Decision Win Over Jason Jackson In PFL World Tournament Semifinal

    The rise of the “Silverback” continues, as Thad Jean edged out former Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson in a split decision in the main event of the PFL World Tournament semifinals event in Nashville.

    As a result of his win, Jean will now meet former interim Bellator welterweight champion Logan Storley in the PFL welterweight World Tournament finals.

    It was a back-and-forth encounter, with Jackson relying on his wrestling and clinch control. He landed multiple takedowns throughout the fight, pressing Jean against the fence. Jean, however, responded with some crisp striking, including a knockdown from a jab in the opening seconds of the fight.

    Jean also made use of sharp counterstriking and did damage to the body in the later frames of the fight. While both men had their moments, it was Jean’s cleaner shots and timely reversals that most likely helped him earn the nod.

    One judge each scored the bout 29-28 for a fighter, while the third had Jean winning all three rounds to seal the split decision in his favor.

    Thad Jean Edges Out Jason Jackson To Earn Final Spot In Welterweight PFL World Tournament

    https://twitter.com/BenTheBear69/status/1933393007455158427

    Jean, an alumnus of the PFL Challenger Series from 2023, is now 10-0 in MMA, including a now 5-0 PFL record with three finishes in the PFL cage.

    Jackson has now lost two of his last three. His April first-round win over Andrey Koreshkov had been a rebound after dropping his welterweight title last year to Ramazan Kuramagomedov.

  • ‘One Of The Top 10 Featherweights On The Planet’ – Fans React To Jesus Pinedo Quickly KOing Gabriel Braga To Move On To Featherweight PFL World Tournament Final

    ‘One Of The Top 10 Featherweights On The Planet’ – Fans React To Jesus Pinedo Quickly KOing Gabriel Braga To Move On To Featherweight PFL World Tournament Final

    After each man scored a win over the other, Jesus Pinedo and Gabriel Braga met in a trilogy bout that also served as a semifinal in the 2025 PFL World Tournament at featherweight.

    And just like in their second encounter, which saw Pinedo win the 2023 PFL featherweight title, Pinedo knocked out Braga to claim the spot in the tournament final.

    After a brief couple of exchanges, Pinedo landed a sharp counter right hook that stunned Braga, followed by another hook that dropped Braga. Pinedo landed ground-and-pound briefly to put the fight, and rivalry, away for good.

    Jesus Pinedo Delivers Stunning Fast KO Of Gabriel Braga In Trilogy Bout, Moves On To Featherweight Final

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  • ‘Super NyQuil’ – Fans Critical Of Logan Storley’s Performance As He Moves On To PFL World Tournament Finals

    ‘Super NyQuil’ – Fans Critical Of Logan Storley’s Performance As He Moves On To PFL World Tournament Finals

    Logan Storley’s wrestling was on full display as he took a decision win over Masayuki Kikuiri at the PFL World Tournament event in Nashville to clinch a spot in the welterweight final.

    From the opening bell, Storley imposed his gameplan with relentless wrestling and pressure, delivering on early takedown attempts and suffocating top control and ground-and-pound. Kikuiri showed some resilience with the pressure, and he appeared to do some damage with his striking during the second round.

    Storley, however, repeatedly grounded him and maintained control with clinch knees and mat returns. Storley continued his grind in the third round, delivering more on takedowns and pressure against the fence, leaving Kikuiri little room to do much damage, as the former Bellator interim champion cruised to a decision win.

    Logan Storley Earns Welterweight Final Spot In PFL World Tournament With Win Over Masayuki Kikuiri

    https://twitter.com/MmaRicky/status/1933373659227279406

    Storley has now won four of his last five, showing some rebounding after losing his welterweight title shot against Yaroslav Amosov in February 2023 and missing the playoffs in the 2024 PFL season.

    Kikuiri now sees a five-fight win streak snapped, which included three straight finishes between Bellator and PFL performances.

  • ‘Dominant And Drained Him’ – Fans React To Movlid Khaybulaev Putting On Grappling Master Class To Lock Up Featherweight PFL World Tournament Final Spot

    ‘Dominant And Drained Him’ – Fans React To Movlid Khaybulaev Putting On Grappling Master Class To Lock Up Featherweight PFL World Tournament Final Spot

    Movlid Khaybulaev put on a dominant display of takedowns and grappling pressure, as he took a clear decision over Taekyun Kim at the PFL World Tournament semifinal event in Nashville to lock up a spot in the 145-pound final fight.

    From the opening round, Khaybulaev repeatedly grounded Kim with takedowns, neutralizing his offense and constantly wearing him down with clinch control, top pressure, and knees to the legs. Kim showed heart in trying to escape Khaybulaev’s relentless grappling offense, especially in the later moments of the fight, but it all was for naught.

    Khaybulaev’s takedowns, top control, and consistent damage proved to be too much over the course of 15 minutes, totaling nine takedowns in that timeframe. The last takedown came in the closing seconds to seal a dominant win, with Khaybulaev sweeping the scorecards.

    Movlid Khaybulaev Clinches Finals Spot With Win Over Taekyun Kim In PFL World Tournament

    https://twitter.com/strongandjacket/status/1933365566443532769

    Khaybulaev, the 2021 PFL featherweight champion, remains unbeaten and now advances to the finals, where he will meet the winner of the trilogy fight between Jesus Pinedo and Gabriel Braga.

    Kim, a veteran of Brave CF and UAE Warriors, suffers just the second loss of his professional MMA career.

  • VIDEO: Magomed Umalatov Delivers Faceplant, Walk-Off KO To Bounce Back From First Defeat, Weight Miss

    VIDEO: Magomed Umalatov Delivers Faceplant, Walk-Off KO To Bounce Back From First Defeat, Weight Miss

    After the last half-year proved to be one to forget for him, Magomed Umalatov is back in a big way, scoring a first-round knockout of Anthony Ivy during the early card of the PFL World Tournament semifinals event in Nashville, Tennessee.

    Umalatov stuffed an early takedown attempt from Ivy and appeared to do damage with a knee to the body. He then got the better of Ivy on the ground, showing off effective pressure and ground-and-pound.

    Ivy made his way back to his feet, but as he tried to push forward, Umalatov cracked him with a quick left hand. Another one from Umalatov immediately after then sent him crashing to the mat face-first, as Umalatov immediately celebrated before the referee officially stepped in to wave off the bout.

    Umalatov finished as the runner-up in the 2024 PFL welterweight tournament, falling short against fellow countryman Shamil Musaev. It was the first loss of Umalatov’s MMA career, and he fell just short again of a PFL title.

    Umalatov then was scheduled to compete in the welterweight portion of the PFL World Tournament this year before missing weight and medical issues forced him off his originally scheduled bout with Logan Storley in April.

    Ivy, who missed weight for this bout, was riding a seven-fight win streak, coming into this bout off a submission of Jaleel Willis in a showcase bout during last year’s PFL Playoffs.