PFL 3 results and standings: Light heavyweights and heavyweights
The last of three Professional Fighters League events at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum took place Thursday night. This event showcases the PFL’s heavyweights and light heavyweights.
PFL 3 results: Light heavyweight
Bozigit Ataev def. Dan Spohn via knockout, round 1, 3:25
Ataev connected with a right uppercut after a knee from Spohn missed that dropped Spohn and led to the knockdown and ground-and-pound finishing sequence. Ataev connected on 24 of 26 strikes, including 10 of 12 on the ground.
Maxim Grishin def. Jordan Johnson via unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
The decision win for Grishin was met with some disdain from the Coliseum crowd. Grishin scored a quick knockdown (Johnson stood right back up) in the final minute of the third round that helped him win the third round, and the fight, on all three scorecards.
Rashid Yusupov def. Mikhail Mokhnatkin via unanimous decision, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27
Yusupov connected with a strong left punch that dropped Mokhnatkin late in the third round to put an exclamation point on the decisive win.
Ronny Markes def. Sigi Pesaleli via TKO, second round, 3:44
Pesaleli had his moments throughout the fight, but in the second round, Markes was able to get Pesaleli down, flatten him out on his stomach and land enough strikes for referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the bout. Markes receives zero points for the win, however, because he missed weight on Wednesday, coming in 211.8 pounds for the 206-pound light heavyweight limit.
Viktor Nemkov def. Rakim Cleveland via unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Cleveland survived some hectic striking exchanges in the first two rounds and nearly secured a choke in the final minute, but put together just 12 total strikes while Nemkov landed with ease throughout the fight to earn the decision victory. A groin shot suffered by Cleveland in the beginning of the third round slowed the pace ht, and the American Top Team fighter was unable to find a groove as Nemkov racked up the strikes on his way to three points in the light heavyweight standings.
Emiliano Sordi def. Vinny Magalhaes via TKO, second round, 2:45
Sordi had no problem landing strikes on Magalhaes early, picking him apart with precision boxing and keeping the Brazilian planted against the cage for much of the first bout. Magelhaes wanted to grapple, but Sordi wouldn’t follow him to the mat. Sordi continued to work with ease, and midway through the second, the official had seen enough, stepping in as Magalhaes ate more and more punches against the cage.
PFL light heavyweight standings
Bozigit Ataev 6
Emiliano Sordi 5
Sigi Pesaleli* 3
Maxim Grishin 3
Rashid Yusupov 3
Viktor Nemkov 3
Vinny Magalhaes 0
Rakim Cleveland 0
Jordan Johnson 0
Mikhail Mokhnatkin 0
Dan Spohn 0
Ronny Markes* 0
* Markes missed weight, so per PFL rules, he receives zero points and his opponent, Pesaleli automatically is awarded three points for the walkover, regardless of the fight's outcome.
PFL 3 results: Heavyweight
Ante Delija def. Carl Seumanutafa via unanimous decision, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27
Delija did most of his damage in the first round as he got Seumanutafa down the floor in the first part of the round and kept him there for the remainder of the round, landing a significant amount of ground strikes. He used his takedowns and ground game to secure the win.
Francimar Barroso def. Alex Nicholson by split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Nicholson seemed to have landed the heavier and flashier strikes, but Barroso had the advantage on the ground. He kept top control on Nicholson for a good portion of the fight.
Ali Isaev def. Valdrin Istrefi via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27
Istrefi landed only a handful of strikes as Isaev spent nearly the entirety of the bout on top after easily securing takedowns in each round. The third round started the same as the first two, but they were stood up after a minute, which was followed by an Istrefi groin shot. After a short break, they were back on the mat with Isaev riding out the victory.
Denis Goltsov def. Jared Rosholt via knockout, round 1, 2:03.
Goltsov landed a big left that dropped Rosholt, and he followed up with three more strikes before Miragliotta stopped the bout.
Satoshi Ishii def. Zeke Tuinei-Wily via split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Ishii ate plenty of strikes while looking for takedowns and throws as Tuinei-Wily was determined to keep the Olympic judo gold medalist on his feet in the first round. Ishii tried to trade on the feet in the second, and kept it a bit closer. In the third, Ishii finally got Tuinei-Wily to the floor and kept him there, doing enought to secure victory.
Kelvin Tiller def. Muhammed Dereese via submission by kimura, round 1, 3:22
Dereese took down Tiller early in the first round, but Tiller was able to isolate the arm and go for submission. Dereese fought it off for as long as he could, but as he rolled to try to get out of it, Tiller held on for the submission. Tiller threw a total of three strikes in the fight, according to the PFL stats.
PFL heavyweight standings
Kelvin Tiller 6
Denis Goltsov 6
Ante Delija 3
Francimar Barroso 3
Ali Isaev 3
Satoshi Ishii 3
Zeke Tuinei-Wily 0
Valdrin Istrefi 0
Alex Nicholson 0
Carl Seumanutafa 0
Muhammed Dereese 0
Jared Rosholt 0
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
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