The opening two bouts of PFL vs Bellator have already been covered by Arabs MMA. But what else transpired on this massive cross-promotional card in Saudi Arabia?
The eleven-bout event featured several fights for the newly minted PFL-Bellator super belt. The PFL Smart Cage had big names from a variety of combat sports take part in the fistic fireworks. In the headliner, 2023 PFL heavyweight titleholder Renan Ferreira halted Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader with strikes at the 21-second mark. Ferreira was presented his super belt by boxing icon Mike Tyson and will now fight Francis Ngannou who will make his PFL debut in that outing.
PFL takes home the Main Event win!#PFLvsBellator pic.twitter.com/LseKR2WOCu
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
In the co-main event, 2023 PFL light heavyweight titleholder Impa Kasanganay tested his skills with unbeaten Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. This was a highly competitive affair whereby Eblen won via split decision to keep his record unblemished.
JOHNNY EBLEN!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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???? https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/YhoyvNG7tv— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
PFL vs Bellator
The fourth fight of the pay-per-view main card saw two-time PFL Welterweight Champion Ray Cooper III battle Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson. In the catchweight bout, Jackson defeated Cooper III via second-round TKO. ‘The Ass Kicking Machine’ opened up his 2024 campaign with a strong win on a big show.
Congratulations Jason Jackson! pic.twitter.com/iuancD1SOO
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
The 2021 PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza clashed with former Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov. Fedor’s protege elected to vacate the 205-pound belt to move up in weight and these two warriors went toe-to-toe in a heavyweight bout. Nemkov secured Cappelozza in an arm-triangle submission, putting Cappelozza to sleep in the second stanza. This saw the Russian native claim the first super belt of the evening in an impressive foray moving up in weight to compete.
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Thiago Santos and Yoel Romero faced off in quite the curious light heavyweight contest. Over three rounds, Romero’s game plan strongly focused on leg kicks to negate Santos’ use of the range. The former UFC middleweight title challenger garnered the nod on all three of the judges’ scorecards for a unanimous decision victory.
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The main PFL vs Bellator action began with a lightweight affair. PFL Lightweight tournament finalist Clay Collard, and former Bellator featherweight titleholder AJ McKee clashed. McKee owns the longest winning streak in Bellator history and showed why in the Smart Cage. He used his submission skill to elicit the tap from Collard seventy seconds into the opening frame of the fight.
AJ MCKEE GETS IT DONE QUICKLY OVER COLLARD!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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????https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/8D83IE9HcB— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
PFL Saudia Arabia
Henry Corrales and Aaron Pico threw down in a lightweight rematch which resulted in another big finish. Corrales was halted by Pico with a torrent of elbows to the grounded martial artist. Pico won his third straight contest by way of a first-round TKO here.
Aaron Pico unloads elbows to get the stoppage in the 1st round!!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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????https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/bDV9v1rZhn— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
Biaggio Ali Walsh is the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and made his pro-MMA debut. He entered the PFL Smart Cage against Argentina’s Emmanuel Palacio. The descendant of the boxing legend actually dictated the pace with his grappling acumen and notched a UD victory.
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Also, two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing, Claressa Shields returned to the world of mixed martial arts. She faced a lot of adversities in the grappling department against Kelsey De Santis. Shields showcased her grit and resolve throughout and rallied to a tight split decision win.
Claressa Shields picks up the first-ever WMMA victory in Saudi Arabia!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
???????? ESPNEWS & ESPN+
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????https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/nKYvrCxDlK— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 24, 2024
