By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL Champions Series 1 was this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL Champions Series 1
GOOD- Renat Khavalov vs. Cleiver Fernandes
They trade strikes all throughout the first round until Fernandes gets
a takedown before the first round ends. The second round begins with
more of the same, as they trade strikes for the majority of the round until Fernandes tries everything he can to get the fight to mat before the second round ends. The third round starts with more striking.
Khavalov is definitely ahead on the scorecards. They trade knees to
the body but both men are too tough to finish so the fight ends. We go
to the judges to render their verdict.
Khavalov wins the decision to improve to a perfect 9-0 while Fernandes drops to 9-2 and has his 8 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Khavalov.
GOOD- Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Kenny Mokhonoana
Ibragimov gets a quick takedown and starts working his
ground-and-pound. Mokhonoana gets up toward the end of the first round. The second round begins with another quick Ibragimov takedown.
It’s a repeat of the first round, complete with Mokhonoana briefly getting back to his feet before being dragged back down. The third round starts with another Ibragimov takedown, though Mokhonoana is
able to stand much sooner this time. They’re up and down a few times
before the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Ibragimov wins the decision to improve to a perfect 9-0 while
Mokhonoana drops to 5-2. Cool win for Ibragimov.
GOOD- Akhmed Magomedov submits Natahn Kelly
They trade kicks early before Magomedov gets a takedown. Kelly is right back up, though. Kelly hurts Magomedov with an elbow before a
Magomedov takedown attempt results in a low blow that halts the action. Magomedov gets a takedown before the first round ends. The second round begins with another quick Magomedov takedown. They
grapple for quite a while before Magomedov locks in a tight rear-naked
choke that forces the tap almost four and a half minutes into the second round.
Magomedov improves to 10-1, with 1 No Contest, while Kelly drops to 11-3 and has his 11 fight winning streak snapped. Easy win for Magomedov.
GOOD- Vadim Nemkov submits Timothy Johnson
Nemkov lands some powerful kicks early before getting a takedown.
They’re up and down over and over until Nemkov locks in a rear-naked
choke that ends the fight a little over three minutes into the first round.
Nemkov improves to 18-2, with 1 No Contest, and has won 4 straight fights while Johnson drops to 18-11. Nice win for Nemkov.
GOOD- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes
Nurmagomedov was looking to defend his Bellator Lightweight Championship for the third time. They trade strikes all throughout the
first round, with Nurmagomedov landing the more damaging strikes as Hughes struggles to get going. The second round begins with more of
the same striking, though Hughes has much more success in this round.
The third round starts with some good striking from Nurmagomedov,
though Hughes keeps denying his takedown attempts. A Nurmagomedov kick
strays low but we quickly restart. Another low blow leads to a point deduction for Nurmagomedov. I like seeing decisive refereeing like this, though I am surprised, sadly. Nurmagomedov gets a takedown after
the restart and they’re up down repeatedly before trading more strikes
before the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with both fighters trading strikes. Hughes is doing well but they clash heads and he ends up bleeding near his hairline. Nurmagomedov gets a takedown before the fourth round ends.
The fifth round begins with more striking exchanges before
Nurmagomedov gets a brief takedown but Hughes is quickly back to his
feet and they trade strikes until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Nurmagomedov wins the Majority Decision to successfully defend his PFL
Lightweight Championship and improve to 19-0, with 1 No Contest, while
Hughes drops to 13-2 and has his 7 fight winning streak snapped. Great win for Nurmagomedov.
*************
An organization called Global Fight League that’s scheduled to have their inaugural event in April 2025 held their draft last week. The basis of the league is that it’s a team-based league with six teams of 20+ fighters each, many of whom are long-time veterans that you would
likely recognize.
There’s names in here like Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, Rashad Evans,
Tony Ferguson, Patricky Pitbull, Chad Mendes, Urijah Faber, Iilima-Lei Macfarlane, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Alexander Gustafsson,
Gegard Mousasi, Benson Henderson, Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Ovince Saint Preux, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Tyron Woodley, Arlene Blencowe,
Marlon Moraes, Renan Barao, and many others.
It’s like a Senior’s Tour, which I’m fine with as long as everyone
gets cleared medically. Some of these names have taken a lot of punishment over the years.
The weight classes are also different from traditional MMA weight classes.
Women’s Atomweight (110 lbs)
Women’s Strawweight (120 lbs)
Women’s Flyweight (130 lbs)
Women’s Bantamweight (140 lbs)
Men’s Bantamweight (145 lbs)
Men’s Featherweight (155 lbs)
Men’s Lightweight (165 lbs)
Men’s Welterweight (180 lbs)
Men’s Middleweight (200 lbs)
Men’s Light Heavyweight (225 lbs)
Men’s Heavyweight (265 lbs)
However, some fighters who were drafted by the GFL have spoken out and
said they had no say in any of this.
Timur Valiev, who was drafted to the Dubai team posted on social media
that he’s fighting for a different organization and told the GFL to stop posting that he was drafted.
Rashad Evans, who’s scheduled to box Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in
April 2025, put out a statement saying that he specifically told the GFL not to include him in the draft because of his upcoming boxing match. Some wires got crossed, apparently, and he was included.
I don’t know what’s going to happen but it doesn’t look promising when
this kind of stuff is happening a few months before you’re even scheduled to begin. We’ll see, though, maybe things will turn around for them?
*************
Clay Guida (38-25) has posted a Thank You message on his Instagram
page, where he thanked a large number of people involved in helping him on his sports journey. This strongly hints at him retiring after a lengthy and successful career.
Guida holds wins over Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, Anthony Pettis,
and B.J. Penn, among others.
Guida is a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and earned ten post-fight bonuses in his career.
I wish Guida a happy retirement and hope he has a great life after fighting.
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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