Alfie
Davis silenced his doubters and pulled off one of the biggest
upsets of the year by dethroning the incumbent
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Gadzhi
Rabadanov by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the
2025 PFL World Tournament 9: Finals main event on Friday at the
Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.
Davis (20-5-1, 3-1 PFL) flustered Rabadanov with lateral movement,
flying knees and spinning elbows. Rabadanov (24-7-1, 6-1 PFL)
entered the fight riding the momentum of a 12-fight win streak and
had stopped his last four opponents, but the fans saw none of that
aggression against Davis. Rabadanov respected Davis’
unpredictability and was frozen in place by Davis’s feints and
quick feet. The champion’s best rounds were two and four, where he
opted to wrestle, but even in those positions, he seemed lethargic.
As the fight wore on, Davis’ confidence grew, and he taunted
Rabadanov as he danced around him. He fought a thoughtful and
cautious fight, and it paid off in the form of a championship belt
and $500,000 grand prize.
Carmouche Adds to Hall of Fame Résumé
Liz
Carmouche has been a standard-bearer for women’s mixed martial
arts for over 15 years, but it’s not just her skills that have kept
her at the top; it’s her heart.
Carmouche had all she could handle in former International
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world champion Jena Bishop
in the opening rounds of their women’s flyweight final. Bishop was
pushing her around in the clinch and nearly submitted “Girl-Rilla”
with an armbar in the second period. Midway through the fight,
Carmouche looked frustrated, but not flustered. Carmouche came out
for the third, looking to throw her dukes and
caught Bishop with a devastating left hook that put her foe out on
the mat (2:56). Carmouche (25-8, 5-1 PFL) exploded in
jubilation while Bishop (9-3, 3-3 PFL) laid on the canvas in awe of
what went wrong.
For 10 minutes, she beat Carmouche at her own game, but the
veteran’s experience proved to be too much to handle with it all on
the line.
From Alternate to Champion
The PFL bantamweight tournament final was an instant classic.
Marcirley
Alves threw everything he had at Justin
Wetzell, but the Denver native just kept charging forward.
Round after round, Alves dominated and cracked Wetzell with
overhand lefts and debilitating calf kicks, but Wetzell grew
stronger as the fight wore on. With one round to go, Wetzell (12-3,
2-1 PFL) dug deep and nearly put Alves to sleep with a flush flying
knee. Alves should’ve been out cold, but the Brazilian put his
heart on the table as well.
With the belt on the line, Alves survived to the final bell and
claimed the championship by a thrilling decision win (49-46, 48-47,
48-47). With the victory, Alves (15-4, 3-0 PFL) capped off his run
from late tournament alternate to world champion.
Watley Goes Mad on Burnell
Robert
Watley picked up the biggest win of his 11-year career with a
third-round comeback TKO win (2:43) over experienced veteran
Mads
Burnell.
Burnell (20-9, 2-3) bullied Watley in the clinch and forced him to
fight with his back pinned to the cage. Watley started to turn the
tide a bit in the second round with several flush body kicks, but
Burnell’s pressure arguably stole that frame as well. With the
scorecards potentially against him, Watley wasted no more time and
took the fight to Burnell in the third, hurting the Dane with a
flush kick upstairs.
Burnell hoped to take the fight to the mat, but Watley scrambled
and took top position. Watley maintained his control while dropping
elbows and punches from above.
Exhausted, Burnell eventually shelled up from the
punishment and accepted Blake Grice
stepping in to stop the fight. With the win, Watley (16-3, 2-2)
secured his fifth straight victory.
Velasquez Evens the Score
Juliana
Velasquez exacted her revenge on Ekaterina
Shakalova in their anticipated rematch, cruising to a unanimous
decision win (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Shakalova crushed Velasquez’s tournament hopes with a first-round
submission in April, but Velasquez (14-4, 2-2 PFL) kept the fight
on the feet this time around. Using her superior reach, Velasquez
nullified Shakalova with peppering shots that left her eyes
bruised. Shakalova (9-4, 1-2 PFL) struggled to find her range and
was a step behind the fleet-footed former Bellator champion. With
the win, Velasquez evened the score in the rivalry.
Ali Walsh Rebounds
Biaggio
Ali Walsh bounced back into the winner’s column with a
third-round TKO (3:23) over Adryan
Grundy in lightweight action.
For Ali Walsh (2-1, 2-1 PFL), the win was an emotional one after
suffering his first defeat two months prior. The grandson of
legendary boxer
Muhammad
Ali carries immense pressure to dominate every time he steps in
the cage, but it’s clear that he’s still finding his stride.
Grundy (3-2, 0-1 PFL) got off to a strong start, and it would take
gritty, persistent pressure from Ali-Walsh to break him down. With
his body work starting to take effect, Ali-Walsh
walked down Grundy in the third round and dropped him along the
fence before referee Blake Grice
was forced to step in.
De Sousa Impresses in SmartCage Debut
Sabrina de
Sousa could be the PFL’s latest can’t-miss women’s flyweight
prospect, but she’d have to prove her mettle against an experienced
foe like Saray
Orozco first.
In only her fourth professional fight, de Sousa cruised past her
toughest test, dominating Orozco en route to a unanimous decision
win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Orozco (8-8, 0-3 PFL) struggled to
maintain de Sousa’s (4-0, 1-0 PFL) pressure in the clinch and
piston-like jab. With Orozco looking to land a big shot, de Sousa
showcased solid defense and a strong foundation en route to the
most impressive victory of her career. With the PFL’s top women’s
flyweights aging, and reigning champion Dakota
Ditcheva in a league of her own, de Sousa’s opportunities for
advancement could come very quickly.
Khavalov Folds Ndregjoni
If you had to rewind to see Renat
Khavalov’s fight-ending knee on Vilson
Ndregjoni, we don’t blame you. The undefeated Dagestani
bantamweight improved to 10-0, 2-0 PFL with a first-round TKO off a
shot that few saw.
With Khavalov pressed against the cage, Ndregjoni (11-5, 0-1 PFL)
looked to level-change and score a takedown, but he
dropped right into Khavalov’s rising knee at the same
time. The Albanian hit the mat and shelled up from
more punishment until referee Joseph Hawes was forced to intervene
2:49 into the first round.
Mixan Picks Up Controversial Win
Ukrainian welterweight prospect Chris Mixan
exploded into the SmartCage with a dominant but controversial first
round TKO (4:36) over Kendly St.
Louis in his promotion debut.
Mixan (7-2, 1-0 PFL) stormed out and staggered St. Louis with a
right hand before dropping the Florida native with his pressure.
St. Louis (11-5, 2-1 PFL) showed his class and fought to regain his
composure, but Mixan’s pressure was mounting. With referee Shaun
Woods watching closely, St. Louis threw up a hail Mary triangle
attempt off his back while Mixan tried to force punches through his
guard. St. Louis wasn’t answering Mixan’s punches, but there was
little damage and as previously mentioned,
he was fighting back with a submission attempt.
St. Louis’ camp had every right to be frustrated with Woods’
decision to stop the fight with 24 seconds remaining in the
round.
Nelson Edges Diggs
The judges had a difficult decision to make in Friday’s opening
bout. Undefeated featherweight prospect Isaiah
Diggs maintained non-stop forward pressure on Damion
Nelson and forced the Jamaican to fight off the fence for most
of the fight. Nelson, however, was able to cut Diggs and land
eye-catching counters in between the shorter man’s shots.
In the age-old debate of volume vs. damage, the judges went with
the latter, giving Nelson a razor thin split decision victory
(29-28, 28-29, 29-28). With the win, Nelson (9-4, 1-0 PFL) secured
his fifth-straight victory, while Diggs (5-1, 0-1 PFL) dropped his
first bout as a professional.