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Brett Okamoto
British lightweight Alfie Davis won the 2025 PFL lightweight World Tournament with a massive upset of Gadzhi Rabadanov on Friday and then immediately called for a shot at the PFL’s lightweight championship.
Davis (20-5-1) defeated Rabadanov (26-5-2) by decision, via unanimous scores of 48-47. The 155-pound matchup headlined the PFL World Tournament event at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. In his postfight interview, the 22-year-old Davis said he wants to fight the winner of October’s PFL lightweight title fight between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes.
“I want the winner of Hughes and Nurmagomedov, and then I want to put that belt in the [2026 World Tournament] next year,” Davis said.
The PFL’s current format separates its World Tournament from its lightweight championship, meaning Davis won the tournament and its $500,000 grand prize but is not considered the promotion’s champ and isn’t guaranteed a title shot. Davis said he wants not only to fight for the belt but to take it into the tournament, because the current structure is “confusing.”
Whether he gets his wish or not, it was a breakout performance on Friday, as Rabadanov was a heavy favorite to win. Davis defended Rabadanov’s takedowns well enough to keep the fight standing in crucial spots. He also did well to deny the Russian from scoring damage in top position any time he was able to get him down.
In the co-main event, 41-year-old women’s flyweight Liz Carmouche (25-8) won her first PFL title by knocking out Jena Bishop (9-3) with a left hook in the third round. Carmouche is a former Bellator MMA champion who advanced to the playoffs of the PFL’s 2024 season but lost to Taila Santos.
Carmouche is the most marquee name on PFL’s 125-pound roster who has not yet fought breakout star Dakota Ditcheva (15-0). Ditcheva won the 2024 PFL tournament and is 1-0 this year with a victory over Sumiko Inaba in July. The 27-year-old signed a multifight extension with the PFL prior to her win over Inaba, and Carmouche used her postfight opportunity to call for a fight between them next. Ditcheva is currently recovering from a hand injury suffered in her last bout.
In a third PFL World Tournament finals matchup, bantamweight Marcirley Alves (15-4) defeated Justin Wetzell (12-3) via unanimous decision.