By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL 6 and UFC 303 were this past weekend and featured some exciting
fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL 6
GOOD- Musaev and Larkin get finishes, others win decisions in Men’s
Featherweight and Welterweight action
Lorenz Larkin (26-8, 2 No Contests) beat Alan Dominguez (11-7) by TKO
in Round 1.
Shamil Musaev (16-0-1) beat Murad Ramazanov (12-1, 1 No Contest) by
TKO in Round 2.
Kai Kamaka III (14-5-1) beat Pedro Carvalho (13-10) by Decision.
Andrey Koreshkov (28-5) beat Goiti Yamauchi (29-7) by Decision.
Timur Khizriev (16-0) beat Enrique Barzola (20-9-2) by Decision.
Neiman Gracie (13-5) beat Don Madge (11-5-1) by Decision.
Tyler Diamond (14-3) beat Brett Johns (20-5) by Decision.
BAD- Gabriel Alves Braga stops Bubba Jenkins
Jenkins uses some early leg kicks to help him get a takedown but Braga
is quickly back up before being put back down. Jenkins clings to Braga
for the rest of the first round, to the crowd’s displeasure. The
second round begins with the fighters exchanging strikes until Jenkins
shoots in for a takedown and hurts himself and the referee calls an
end to the fight not quite two minutes into the second round. Adding
to the bleh feeling of this fight is the fact that Braga came in 4.6
pounds over the featherweight weight limit. Braga improves to 14-1
while Jenkins drops to 21-9 and has lost 3 straight fights. Moving on.
GOOD- Magomed Umalatov submits Brennan Ward
They exchange strikes until Umalatov gets a takedown. Ward gets back
up but Umalatov drags him back down. They scramble and Umalatov locks
in a tight Anaconda Choke that forces the tap a bit over three and a
half minutes into the first round. Umalatov improves to a perfect 16-0
while Ward drops to 17-9 and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for
Umalatov.
Ward announced his retirement after this loss. I wish him well in his
life after fighting.
GOOD- Logan Storley vs. Luca Poclit
Storley gets an early takedown and they grapple for the rest of the
first round, both men having success there. The second round begins
with Storley getting another early takedown. Poclit is making things
difficult for Storley, who’s only able to partially employ his
ground-and-pound. It’s enough to do some damage but this is a close
fight. The third round starts with Poclit nailing Storley with some
hard kicks before grabbing a choke. Storley escapes and starts
clubbing Poclit with some powerful strikes until the fight ends. We go
to the judges to render their verdict. Storley wins the decision to
improve to 16-3 while Poclit drops to 10-2 and has his 10 fight
winning streak snapped. Good win for Storley.
GOOD- Brendan Loughnane stops Justin Gonzales
They exchange some strikes throughout the first round but it’s a
tentative fight so far, with neither man getting a real advantage. The
second round begins with Loughnane dropping Gonzales with a strong leg
kick. They fight on the fence for a moment before another striking
exchange. Loughnane presses his advantage and nails Gonzales with a
knee strike that opens a huge cut on Gonzales’ forehead. Holy hell,
that’s a nasty cut. Gonzales literally looks like he’s been chopped
with an axe. It looked almost three inches long and an inch wide. The
cageside doctor rightly calls an end to the fight just over three and
a half minutes into the second round. Loughnane improves to 29-5 while
Gonzales drops to 14-5 and has lost 4 straight fights. Good win for
Loughnane.
The 2024 PFL Playoffs are officially set on the Men’s Featherweight and
Welterweight sides.
To recap for those who may not know. PFL scoring is as follows.
Win: 3 points
Loss: 0 points
Failure to make weight: -1 points
Bonus points for Finish by KO or Sub
Round 1: 3 points
Round 2: 2 points
Round 3: 1 point
So a maximum of 6 points can be earned in one fight.
The Final Four Men’s Featherweight matchups will be
#1 Seed Brendan Loughnane (29-5) 11 points on 2 wins
vs.
#4 Seed Kai Kamaka III (14-5-1) 6 points on 2 wins
#2 Seed Gabriel Alves Braga (14-1) 10 points on 2 wins
vs.
#3 Seed Timur Khizriev (16-0) 6 points on 2 wins
The Final Four Men’s Welterweight matchups will be
#1 Seed Shamil Musaev (16-0-1) 10 points on 2 wins
vs.
#4 Seed Murad Ramazanov (12-1, 1 No Contest) 6 points on 1 win
#2 Seed Magomed Umalatov (16-0) 9 points on 2 wins
vs.
#3 Seed Don Madge (11-5-1) 6 points on 1 win
The 2024 PFL Playoffs will take place in August.
*************
UFC 303
GOOD- Michelle Waterson-Gomez retires
Waterson-Gomez lost a three-round decision to Gillian Robertson (14-8)
on the prelims and announced her retirement after the fight.
Waterson-Gomez retires with a final record of 18-13 and is a former
Invicta FC Atomweight Champion with a successful title defense to her
record as well. It would have been great if she could have fought at
her natural weight instead of having to move up a weight class and
two. She’s also been a stuntwoman in several high-profile movies and
television shows. I wish her well in her life after fighting.
GOOD/BAD- Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page
There’s a lot of feinting early before Garry catches a kick from Page
and gets him to the ground. Garry advances position and ends up
locking in a tight choke. MVP fights it off and eventually peels the
hands away before the first round ends. The second round begins with
MVP staggering Garry with a big right hand. There’s a whole lot of
feinting and would-be striking going on but not actually a lot of
action. Garry does get a takedown but MVP is quickly back up before
the second round ends. The third round starts with not a lot going on
and things somehow get slower. Garry tries to get a takedown but can’t
complete it so he stays on MVP’s back until the fight ends. We go to
the judges to render their verdict. Garry wins the decision to improve
to a perfect 15-0 while Page drops to 22-3. Not a great fight but
neither man wanted to be on the highlight reel of the other. It’s a
win for Garry.
GOOD- Macy Chiasson stops Mayra Bueno Silva
Bueno Silva lands some good punches as Chiasson returns fire with some
leg kicks. They clinch on the fence for a while and exchange strikes.
This continues for the rest of the first round. The second round
begins with Chiasson getting a takedown and landing a huge elbow that
opens a massive cut on Bueno Silva’s forehead, above her right eye.
That is a nasty cut. It’s another one where the person looks like
they’ve been chopped with an axe. Holy hell. The cageside doctor
examines it and asks the referee to stop the fight so this is over
just under two minutes into the second round. Chiasson improves to
10-3 while Bueno Silva drops to 10-4-1 with 1 No Contest. Good win for
Chiasson.
GOOD- Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze
Dolidze lands some strong kicks early and Smith fires back with some
of his own. They exchange some more strikes and the first round ends.
The second round begins with more leg kicks until Dolidze gets a
takedown. Dolidze works his ground-and-pound until Smith can finally
stand up just before the second round ends. The third round is a
complete nothing round. Smith is exhausted and can’t do anything while
Dolidze dances for a bit and tires himself out. I know this was a
short notice fight so I’m not going to complain but that third round
stunk. Anyway, we go to the judges to render their verdict. Dolidze
wins the decision to improve to 13-3 while Smith drops to 38-20. Good
win for Dolidze.
GOOD- Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes
This isn’t a short notice, it was a no notice fight. Ige was scheduled
to face Joanderson Brito (17-3-1) in three weeks but jumped at the
opportunity to replace Brian Ortega (16-3, 1 No Contest) after Ortega
wasn’t medically cleared hours before this fight. This is also a
catchweight fight at 165lbs. With all that said, this fight starts
with a lot of striking exchanges. They continue to exchange fire until
Ige goes for a takedown that Lopes fights off with a good guillotine
to a D’Arce choke but the first round ends. The second round begins
with Lopes landing some hard kicks. Ige fires back with a head kick
but overextends and goes to the mat. Lopes is all over him and is
trying to wrap up a choke but Ige fights him off for a long time and
the second round ends. The third round starts with more striking
exchanges. Ige is heating up and landing some hard strikes. Lopes is
fighting back but he had to cut weight to featherweight just a day
prior so he’s gassing out and Ige is taking advantage. Ige starts
smashing Lopes but Lopes survives until the third round ends and this
fight is over. We go to the judges to render their verdict. Lopes wins
the decision to improve to 25-6 and has won 4 straight fights while
Ige drops to 18-8. Good win for Lopes and a great showing for both.
Ige wasn’t scheduled to fight for three more weeks and Lopes is
fighting 20 pounds above his weight class.
GOOD- Alex Pereira stops Jiri Prochazka
Pereira successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
for the second time here. Early on, Prochazka comes in close a few
times but pays for it, as Pereira nails him with strong left hands
each time as he exits. They clinch for a bit before Pereira blasts
Prochazka and puts him out just as the buzzer sounds for the end of
the round. The second round begins with a huge head kick from Pereira
that drops Prochazka again. Pereira follows up and forces the referee
to jump in to stop the fight 13 seconds into the second round. Holy
hell. Prochazka is extremely wobbly as he’s helped up to his feet.
Leave him on the mat. Pereira with another huge highlight reel finish.
And against a fighter the caliber of Prochazka makes it even more
impressive. Pereira improves to 11-2 and has won 4 straight fights
while Prochazka drops to 30-5-1. Big win for Pereira.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias
returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately
seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and
Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new
ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action,
magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop
game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other
places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you
would check it out and support me. Also, here’s the link to my
Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium Thank you
very much, have a good day.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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