MMA News

Tag: PFL Champions Series 2

  • Dakota Ditcheva Announces Re-Signing With PFL

    Dakota Ditcheva Announces Re-Signing With PFL

    It appears Dakota Ditcheva’s future will remain within the PFL.

    Perhaps the newest face of the PFL, Ditcheva confirmed her re-signing with the PFL following her victory over Sumiko Inaba in the co-main event of PFL Champions Series 2 (one of two cards that made up PFL Cape Town).

    The deal is apparently for multiple years, according to Ditcheva.

    “I have just re-signed with PFL,” Ditcheva announced in her post-fight interview. “We’ve come to a great agreement, and I’m going to look forward to the next few years together.”

    Dakota Ditcheva To Remain With PFL

    Ditcheva seems to have become perhaps the face of the PFL brand following her move to the global season from PFL Europe in 2024 — occuring around the same time that Kayla Harrison jumped from the PFL to the UFC.

    Ditcheva became the inaugural PFL Europe women’s flyweight champion in 2023 and then made her way through the likes of Jena Bishop and Taila Santos to become the PFL women’s flyweight champion in 2024.

    Ditcheva returned to the cage for the first time since her title win at PFL Cape Town, defeating Inaba. Ditcheva, however, appeared to break her hand during the contest, and the extent of time she will miss is unknown as of press time.

  • “One Of The Greatest Comeback Wins I’ve Ever Seen” – Fans React To Costello Van Steenis Pulling Off Last-Second Submission To Claim PFL Middleweight Gold At PFL Champions Series 2

    “One Of The Greatest Comeback Wins I’ve Ever Seen” – Fans React To Costello Van Steenis Pulling Off Last-Second Submission To Claim PFL Middleweight Gold At PFL Champions Series 2

    In what will surely go down as one of the greatest comebacks the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has ever seen, Costello Van Steenis’ hearty performance earned him a submission victory in the closing moments of his fight with the now previously-undefeated Johnny Eblen.

    As a result of his win over Eblen, the final Bellator middleweight champion, Van Steenis is now recognized as the new PFL middleweight champion.

    The fight headlined PFL Champions Series 2 — the second part of the PFL Cape Town card on July 19 in Africa.

    The fight started with Eblen dominating the early rounds, using his wrestling to control position, land ground-and-pound, and suffocate Van Steenis against the fence. Van Steenis showed flashes of offense, but Eblen consistently secured takedowns and threatened submissions.

    But in round four, things really began to change. Van Steenis stuffed shots, landed kicks and combinations, and even wobbled Eblen with a head kick at one point. Still, Eblen did enough to stop Van Steenis where need be, putting him in a huge must-finish situation.

    Eblen looked to ride the fifth round out with his grappling. But Van Steenis fought with fire, staying composed and reversing position. With mere seconds to go in the fifth, Van Steenis took the back and sank in a rear-naked choke. Eblen was unable to survive, going unconscious with 10 seconds remaining to give Van Steenis a Hollywood ending.

    Costello Van Steenis Wins PFL Middleweight Title, Ends Johnny Eblen’s Undefeated Record At PFL Cape Town

    Eblen captured the Bellator middleweight title with a win over Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 and retained the belt against Anatoly Tokov and Fabian Edwards (the latter twice).

    Van Steenis earned this match with a pair of victories last year against Gregory Babene and Joรฃo Vitor Dantas.

  • “Could Beat All The Girls In The UFC” – Fans React As Dakota Ditcheva Puts On Savage Beating Of Sumiko Inaba At PFL Champions Series 2

    “Could Beat All The Girls In The UFC” – Fans React As Dakota Ditcheva Puts On Savage Beating Of Sumiko Inaba At PFL Champions Series 2

    Dakota Ditcheva put on a dominant display over Sumiko Inaba, having a striking clinic in a one-sided decision victory in the co-main event of PFL Champions Series 2 — as part of PFL Cape Town.

    Ditcheva’s striking was on display from the opening minute, using clinch control and sharp knees to repeatedly halt the consistent pressure of Inaba. Inaba had success with flurries and body shots, but Ditcheva’s elbows and knees were the key to success here.

    Ditcheva picked up the pace more in the second round, rocking Inaba with a knee and overwhelming her with clinch work and combinations, controlling every aspect of the fight. Ditcheva’s full control stretched into the third, sweeping the scorecards for a strong victory.

    Dakota Ditcheva Takes One-Sided Win Over Sumiko Inaba At PFL Cape Town

    https://twitter.com/LouisMBowen/status/1946666261879931197

    Ditcheva won the inaugural PFL Europe women’s flyweight title in 2023 before running through Lisa Mauldin, Chelsea Hackett, Jena Bishop and Taila Santos to become the PFL women’s flyweight title in 2024. This was her first fight since winning the global season title.

    Inaba entered tonight with two straight wins and an 8-1 record. Coming over to PFL from its purchase of Bellator, Inaba scored a split decision over Saray Orozco and a finish of Mackenzie Stiller last year.

  • “145 Is Definitely His Home” – Fans React To A.J. McKee Outgrappling And Outworking Akhmed Magomedov At PFL Champions Series 2

    “145 Is Definitely His Home” – Fans React To A.J. McKee Outgrappling And Outworking Akhmed Magomedov At PFL Champions Series 2

    A.J. McKee has made a statement in his return to featherweight, defeating Akhmed Magomedov via decision in the PFL Champions Series 2 portion of PFL Cape Town.

    Round one saw both men trading strikes early, with Magomedov landing cleaner on the body and scoring a takedown. McKee, however, threatened submissions off his back and reversed position. McKee also turned up his striking pace late in the round.

    Magomedov scored an early takedown in round two, but McKee quickly reversed and took the back with a body triangle. He hunted for a choke and struck Magomedov while maintaining control. McKee’s pressure was key for him in the second round.

    Another grappling-heavy exchange in the final round saw Magomedov land a takedown, only to be swept and caught in a triangle attempt. McKee continued to threaten, taking Magomedov’s back again and landing strong ground-and-pound.

    McKee scored a unanimous decision for the win.

    A.J. McKee Successful In Featherweight Return, Defeats Akhmed Magomedov At PFL Cape Town

    McKee had won four straight between Bellator and PFL since moving up to lightweight but came up short against Paul Hughes in a close split decision at PFL Battle of the Giants in October.

    Magomedov has now lost two of his last three. He defeated Nathan Kelly in January — his first fight in over two years after losing to Henry Corrales.

  • “Khabib’s Gym Continues To Dominate!” – Fans React As MMA Legend Leads Artur Zaynukov To Win Over Takeshi Izumi At PFL Champions Series 2

    “Khabib’s Gym Continues To Dominate!” – Fans React As MMA Legend Leads Artur Zaynukov To Win Over Takeshi Izumi At PFL Champions Series 2

    With the crowd heavily behind him thanks to coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, Artur Zaynukov was able to come away with a dominant decision over Takeshi Izumi during the PFL Champions Series 2 portion of PFL Cape Town.

    Izumi looked to assert pressure, but Zaynukov’s wrestling led to several takedowns and plenty of control time. Izumi scrambled well, but Zaynukov had the edge in terms of grappling exchanges.

    Both men landed cleanly in round two, with Zaynukov’s power and timing beginning to shine. A key momentum shift came when Zaynukov reversed and Izumi takedown and dominated positionally, nearly taking the back and landing plenty of ground strikes.

    Izumi threatened positional advances during the third round, but Zaynukov’s defense shut him down, adding in another takedown before the end of the round to cap off the decision win.

    Artur Zaynukov Scores Decision Over Takeshi Izumi At PFL Cape Town

    Zaynukov is now 2-0 in the PFL, having defeated Dedrek Sanders at the PFL Battle of the Giants card in October.

    Izumi, a DEEP veteran, falls to 6-4. He came into this bout off a win over Spike Carlyle in RIZIN earlier this year.

  • “Textbook Performance” – Fans React To Corey Anderson In Complete Control Of Denis Goltsov In Heavyweight Return At PFL Champions Series 2

    “Textbook Performance” – Fans React To Corey Anderson In Complete Control Of Denis Goltsov In Heavyweight Return At PFL Champions Series 2

    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

    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.

  • PFL Cape Town: PFL Champions Series 2: Johnny Eblen vs. Costello Van Steenis & PFL Africa 1 Results & Highlights

    PFL Cape Town: PFL Champions Series 2: Johnny Eblen vs. Costello Van Steenis & PFL Africa 1 Results & Highlights

    PFL Cape Town presents a historic night for the PFL and Africa, as global MMA action has touched down in the continent with both the second edition of the PFL Champions Series and the first-ever PFL Africa event — and MMA News has you covered with all the action.

    A card in Africa has been a longtime coming for the PFL since its signing of Francis Ngannou in 2023 — with Ngannou being named a part-owner and chairman of PFL Africa. PFL Africa is the latest region-specific venture of the PFL’s, following its launch of PFL Europe in 2023 and PFL MENA in 2024.

    This evening will simultaneously mark the second edition of PFL Champions Series — developed as part of the slew of changes made by PFL for 2025 that included the elimination of the Bellator brand.

    Those championships will carry on, however, as seen in the main event of PFL Champions Series 2, as now-PFL middleweight champion Johnny Eblen defends the title against Costello Van Steenis.

    Eblen won the then-Bellator middleweight title by defeating Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282, retaining the belt against Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 290 and Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299. Since the PFL’s purchase of Bellator, Eblen scored a split decision win over Impa Kasaganay at PFL vs. Bellator Champions and retained against Edwards again at PFL Battle of the Giants last October.

    Van Steenis comes into this title shot off two straight wins, submitting Gregory Babene at the Bellator Champions Series event in Paris in May 2024 before a 48-second head kick knockout of Joรฃo Vitor Dantas at the PFL World Championships last fall.

    Dakota Ditcheva, the 2024 PFL women’s flyweight champion and 2023 PFL Europe women’s flyweight champion, returns to action tonight against Sumiko Inaba, who defeated Saray Orozco and Mackenzie Stiller last year.

    The PFL Africa 1 portion of the evening will see the African-focused promotion’s tournaments kick off with first-round heavyweight and bantamweight action.

    PFL Cape Town begins with PFL Africa 1 action at 10am ET/7am PT on the PFL App, while PFL Champions Series 2 starts at 2pm ET/11 am PT on ESPN+. If you can’t watch the action, MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights below.

    PFL Cape Town: PFL Champions Series 2: Johnny Eblen vs. Costello Van Steenis & PFL Africa 1 Results & Highlights

    PFL Champions Series 2:

    • Middleweight Championship: Costello Van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen via submission (rear-naked choke) (R5, 4:51)
    • Women’s Flyweight: Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
    • Featherweight: A.J. McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
    • Lightweight: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Takeshi Izumi via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
    • Heavyweight: Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov via TKO (R2, 3:28)

    PFL Africa 1:

    • Bantamweight: Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (R1, 4:50)
    • Heavyweight: Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickaรซl Groguhe via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
    • Bantamweight: Boule Godogo def. Shannon van Tonder via split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27)
    • Heavyweight: Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa via TKO (corner stoppage) (R1, 5:00)
    • Bantamweight: Karim Henniene def. Asiashu Tshitamba via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
    • Heavyweight: Joffie Houlton def. Abdoullah Kane via DQ (illegal strikes) (R1, 0:40)
    • Bantamweight: Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo via unanimous decision (30-26 x2, 30-25)
    • Heavyweight: Abraham Bably def. Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze via KO (R1, 4:59)
    • Women’s Strawweight Showcase: Juliet Ukah def. Ceileigh Niedermayr via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

    Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr

    Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze vs. Abraham Bably

    Frans Mlambo vs. Simbarashe Hokonya

    Abdoullah Kane vs. Joffie Houlton

    Asiashu Tshitamba vs. Karim Henniene

    Jashell Ticha Awa vs. Justin Clarke

    Shannon van Tonder vs. Boule Godogo

    Maxwell Djantou Nana vs. Mickaรซl Groguhe

    Nkosi Ndebele vs. Mahmoud Atef

    Corey Anderson vs. Denis Goltsov

    Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Takeshi Izumi

    A.J. McKee vs. Akhmed Magomedov

    Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba

    Johnny Eblen vs. Costello Van Steenis