By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL: van Steenis vs. Edwards and UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy were both this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL: van Steenis vs. Edwards
GOOD- Vassell stops Jose Augusto Azevedo
Vassell starts by hammering home a lot of kicks. When Augusto starts defending those Vassell attacks upstairs. However, he’s staggered by a big uppercut. Vassell continues to use his kicks to chip away for the rest of the first round. The second round begins with Vassell landing some punches before getting a takedown. Vassell works his ground-and-pound until the referee waves off the fight not quite three minutes into the second round.
Vassell improves to 26-10 with 1 No Contest while Augusto drops to 11-6 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Vassell.
GOOD- Jacinta Austin stops Benita van Rooij
They trade strikes for a while until Austin drops van Rooij with a big right hand that drops her. Austin pounces and pounds on her until the referee jumps in to stop the fight a little over halfway through the first round.
Austin improves to 9-2 and has won 4 straight fights while van Rooij drops to 7-2. Good win for Austin.
GOOD/BAD- Franco Tenaglia beats Yassin Najid by TKO Injury
They go to the mat quickly and are fiercely grappling. Both men are very aggressive but Najid seems to be doing better. The second round begins with Najid landing some explosive strikes, forcing Tenaglia to take him down. They grapple back and forth for the rest of the second round. Najid has dislocated his shoulder and the fight is waved off after the second round. That’s unfortunate. Injuries always suck.
Tenaglia wins by TKO to improve to 6-2 and has won 4 straight fights while Najid drops to 9-7 with 1 No Contest and has lost 3 straight fights. It’s a win for Tenaglia.
GOOD- A.J. McKee vs. Adam Borics
The fight starts off fast right out of the gate, with both men swinging away. Kicks and punches are flying from every direction. McKee is throwing a lot of kicks here. Toughness is the only thing stopping a knockout here. The second round begins with more quick action, despite McKee telling his corner that he dislocated his toe in the first round. The speed on display here is incredible. They’re going back and forth with their strikes. McKee seems to be getting the better of things but it’s close. The third round starts with the action having slowed compared to the earlier frenetic pace. McKee gets another takedown but Borics works his way back to his feet eventually. The fight ends with the two slugging it out. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
McKee wins the decision to improve to 24-2 while Borics drops to 20-4. Good win for McKee.
GOOD- Costello van Steenis stops Fabian Edwards
van Steenis was defending his PFL Middleweight Championship for the first time here. Edwards is the winner of the 2025 PFL Middleweight Tournament.
They’re trading a lot of kicks early. Things slow down as they clinch on the fence. Eventually they split up and Edwards shoots in for a double-leg takedown a few times but each time he does, van Steenis grabs a choke and threatens Edwards. The second round begins with some striking before they go to the ground. They grapple for a while before getting up and trading strikes until the second round ends. The third round starts with the fighters trading some strikes before Edwards goes for a single-leg takedown that van Steenis fights off with a guillotine. Edwards escapes and this time goes for a double-leg takedown but van Steenis responds with a barrage of heavy elbows to the side of Edwards’ head that knock him unconscious and the referee jumps in to stop the fight not quite two minutes into the third round.
van Steenis improves to 18-3 and has won 4 straight fights while Edwards drops to 16-5 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for van Steenis.
UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy
GOOD- Danny Silva stops Kurtis Campbell
They trade strikes for a while until Campbell gets a takedown. They grapple for a bit before standing. Then they go back to striking some before the first round ends. The second round begins with Silva dropping Campbell with a big right hand. Silva jumps on him but Campbell is able to stand. However, Silva drops him again and the referee jumps in to stop the fight about thirty seconds into the second round.
Silva improves to 11-2 while Campbell gets his first loss and drops to 8-1. Good win for Silva.
GOOD- Roman Dolidze vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
They strike for a bit before grappling against the fence for the rest of the first round. The second round begins with some striking exchanges until Dolidze grabs him and they grind on the cage for a while then resume striking for the rest of the second round. The third round starts with more striking exchanges until Dolidze gets a takedown and starts going to work. He’s able to control Duncan but he can’t finish him so the fight ends and we go to the judges to render their verdict. Not the most exciting fight ever.
Duncan wins the decision to improve to 14-2 and has won 4 straight fights while Dolidze drops to 15-5. Good win for Duncan.
GOOD/BAD- Iwo Baraniewski stops Austen Lane
Baraniewski comes in firing and drops Lane with a 1-2 and follows up with punches that force the referee to jump in to stop the fight just under thirty seconds into the first round. Wow.
Baraniewski improves to a perfect 8-0 while Lane drops to 13-8 with 1 No Contest and has lost 3 straight fights. Good win for Baraniewski.
BAD- Michael “Venom” Page vs. Sam Patterson
There’s not a lot of action in the first round. Patterson lands a few more strikes. The second round begins with more of the same in terms of the lack of action but this time Page lands more strikes. The third round is just a repeat of what’s come before so we go to the judges to render their verdict of this lackluster fight.
Page wins the decision to improve to 25-3 and has won 3 straight fights while Patterson drops to 14-3-1 and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. It’s a win for Page.
GOOD- Luke Riley vs. Michael Aswell
They trade strikes early and often in the first round, with both fighters landing well. The second round begins with more of the same type of striking exchanges. Again, both fighters are landing well but Riley is more effective and crisp with his striking. The third round starts with more crisp striking. Riley continues pressuring with strikes from all angles but Aswell is too tough to finish so the fight ends and we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Riley wins the decision to improve to a perfect 13-0 while Aswell drops to 11-4. Good win for Riley.
GOOD- Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy
This was a UFC Featherweight Championship Title Eliminator fight.
A lot of kicks early, especially from Evloev. All striking so far. The second round begins with more of the same. Again, Evloev uses his striking only. Murphy has more success in this round, though. The third round starts with a quick striking exchange then Evloev gets his first takedown. Murphy is right back up and they resume trading strikes. Evloev hits Murphy below the belt. They trade strikes for the rest of this close round.
The fourth round opens with Evloev kicking Murphy below the belt. A point is taken from Evloev. Wait, what? I’m so stunned by that I miss the good striking exchanges the fighters are having until Evloev gets a takedown. They’re up and down but Murphy works his way free eventually and they strike for the rest of the fourth round. The fifth round commences with some striking before Evloev gets a takedown. They’re up and down a few times until Murphy frees himself and they strike for the rest of the fight. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Evloev wins the Majority Decision (48-46, 48-46, and 47-47) to improve to a perfect 20-0 while Murphy drops to 17-1-1. Good win for Evloev.
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