THE AXE MAN DID IT BY UNANIMOUS DECISION 😱 WHAT A NIGHT FOR ALFIE DAVIS!
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Davis, who defeated Clay Collard and Brent Primus en route to the tournament final, went into Friday night’s final against Rabadanov as a huge underdog. But the Londoner fought to his strengths against an opponent who was clearly extremely wary of his striking, as Davis took advantage of Rabadanov’s hesitance by landing eye-catching shots from range, using his full arsenal of spectacular strikes.
Rabadanov did succeed in getting Davis to the mat a couple of times during the fight, but was unable to mount too much offence, despite the positional advantage. And while Rabadanov was able to win the two rounds where he spent long periods on the mat, in the other rounds, it was Davis who was connecting with the more impactful, damaging strikes.
As the bout entered the final round, it felt like the result was hanging in the balance, with the score likely to be two rounds apiece. And in the final frame, Davis produced a superb performance of striking off his back foot as he continually scored with strikes as Rabadanov tried to close the distance to land a takedown. That takedown did eventually come, but only with 90 seconds left in the round, and Davis was able to tie up the Russian on the mat to avoid any fight-altering damage in the final moments.
After a nervous wait, an emotional Davis was declared the victor, with all three judges scoring the bout 48-47 to the Englishman, who claimed the biggest win of his 12-year professional MMA career.
The co-main event saw the evergreen Liz Carmouche add another title to her resumé as she finished Jena Bishop in the third round to capture the women’s bantamweight tournament crown.
Carmouche fought patiently through the opening round, and in the second found herself on her back in big danger as BJJ ace Bishop looked to lock up an armbar. “Girl-Rilla” managed to survive as she weathered the storm, and made it through Bishop’s most dangerous spell of the fight.
In the third round, Carmouche looked to keep the fight standing, and it paid off when she dropped Bishop with a big hook, then finished the fight with some follow-up ground strikes to claim a huge TKO finish and capture the tournament crown.
In the night’s bantamweight tournament final, Marcirley Alves survived a late rally from Justin Wetzell to earn a unanimous decision victory to claim the tournament crown and the $500,000 bonus.
Both Alves and Wetzell entered the tournament as alternates, and after taking their respective opportunities with both hands, they made it all the way to the final. But only one fighter could emerge with the belt, and Alves took the victory with scores of 49-46, 48-47, 48-47.
Earlier in the night, we saw the PFL debut of former IMMAF world champion Sabrina De Sousa, who was made to work hard for her victory over Saray Orozco, who took her all the way to the scorecards.
There was also a bounceback win for Biaggio Ali Walsh, who found the finish mid-way through the third round of his bout with Adryan Grundy, and women’s flyweight contender and former Bellator champion Juliana Velasquez outpointed Ekaterina Shakalova in their 125-pound matchup.
PFL World Tournament: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Alfie Davis def. Gadzhi Rabadanov via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) – lightweight tournament final
- Liz Carmouche def. Jena Bishop via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:56 – women’s flyweight tournament final
- Marcirley Alves def. Justin Wetzell via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) – bantamweight tournament final
- Robert Watley def. Mads Burnell via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 3, 2:43
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Juliana Velasquez def. Ekaterina Shakalova via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Adryan Grundy knockout – Round 3, 3:23
- Sabrina De Sousa def. Saray Orozco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Renat Khavalov def. Vilson Ndregjoniv via TKO (knee and ground strikes) – Round 1, 2:49
- Chris Mixan def. Kendly St. Louis via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 4:36
- Damion Nelson def. Isiah Diggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
