Hadley took on Matheus Mattos and claimed a highlight-reel submission finish in the third round, courtesy of a rarely-seen twister, to punch his ticket to the tournament semi-finals.
He’ll face Brazilian newcomer Marcirley Alves, who stepped in on one day’s notice and defeated former Bellator veteran Leandro Higo via split decision to earn a shock win and book his place in the bantamweight final four.
The other bantamweight semi-final will be contested between American Justin Wetzell and Mexico’s Mando Gutierrez, who both picked up victories in their main card matchups on Friday night.
Wetzell submitted Italy’s Francesco Nuzzi via first-round rear-naked choke, while Gutierrez outpointed Kasum Kasumov.
The women’s flyweight division was also in the spotlight, and longtime Bellator champion Liz Carmouche booked her place in the 125-pound semi-finals with a first-round TKO finish of Ilara Joanne in the co-main event.
“Girl-rilla” will move on to take on unbeaten Elora Dana, who moved to 8-0 with a first-round neck-crank finish of Diana Avsaragova.
The other confirmed women’s flyweight semi-final will see Jena Bishop take on Ekaterina Shakalova. Bishop outworked Japan’s Kana Watanabe to earn a unanimous decision victory, while Shakalova shocked Juliana Velasquez with a first-round rear-naked choke to progress to the final four at 125 pounds.
PFL World Tournament: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Marcirley Alves def. Leandro Higo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Liz Carmouche def. Ilara Joanne via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:25
- Mando Gutierrez def. Francesco Nuzzi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:13
- Justin Wetzell def. Kasum Kasumov via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
EARLY CARD
- Ekaterina Shakalova def. Juliana Velasquez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:05
- Jake Hadley def. Matheus Mattos via submission (twister) – Round 3, 2:16
- Jena Bishop def. Kana Watanabe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Elora Dana def. Diana Avsaragova via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 4:48
