(170.9) vs. Benson Henderson (171)Taylor Lapilus (135.7)
vs. Jake Hadley (136)Boris Mbarga
Atangana (184.6) vs. Jared Gooden (184.9)Marcirley Alves
(135.5) vs. Naoki Inoue (135.5)Asael Adjoudj (145.9)
vs. Keisuke Sasu (145.3)Baris Adiguzel
(136) vs. Gustavo Oliveira (135.9)Donegi Abena (205.5)
vs. Joe Schilling (204.9)Movsar Ibragimov
(139.5) vs. Shane Campbell (TBD)Khamzat Abaev (170.4)
vs. Luca Poclit (170.9)Adam Meskini (145.8)
vs. Keweny Lopes (145.3)Rustam Serbiev (169) vs.
Ashley Reece (168) Sherdog’s live
PFL Brussels coverage will begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Rustam
Serbiev (169) vs. Ashley
Reece (168)
Round 1
The UFC is off this weekend? All boxing has to offer is a strange
crossover fight at the Pyramids of Giza (seriously)? Say no more,
because PFL is in the house. The Belgian house, that is, of the ING
Arena in Brussels, home of the legendary Jean-Claude Van Damme. To
complete the second trivia question from this week, the correct
answer is clearly “All of the Above: Bloodsport” as to the greatest
film he has ever made. Plenty of Belgian fighters will litter the
lineup tonight—in fact, the first bout of the evening pits a local
athlete against a marauding “Beast” from England as “Belgian
Warrior” Serbiev (9-5, 0-0 PFL) battles Reece (9-3, 1 NC; 0-0 PFL).
The two will collide at 170 pounds, with referee Stephane Demonty
handling the rest. The fighters opt not to touch gloves, and it’s
time for some action.
Serbiev reaches out with front kicks as he establishes himself
early in the center of the cage, probing them out to find his
distance. Reece offers back a low kick and is backed to the wall
with an overhand right. They swing right hands at the same time,
and it is Serbiev who lands the cleaner of the two. Serbiev catches
Reece with another right hand, prompting Reece to rush at his man
and clinch up. While he closes in, his hand gets caught in
Serbiev’s shorts, resulting in a funny moment as they try to
disengage without exiting from the clinch. The two remain clinched
up sharing short knees, and Serbiev turns him about.
They continue to linger in the clinch until Serbiev decides to let
loose, driving a knee into the guard and swinging his fists. Reece
shells up to defend the worst of it, and he charges forward through
a head kick to tackle Reece to the mat. While coming at him, Reece
gets blasted, and his nose is badly damaged as blood flows heavily
from it. Serbiev frames off from his back and uses elbows while
keeping an open guard, and he fights back to his feet. His success
is short-lived, as Reece mat returns him in short order and holds
him down from behind with Serbiev on a knee. Serbiev defends on his
back by attempting to snare Reece in a guillotine choke, but time
elapses before anything comes of it.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Round 2
Rushing out of his corner, Serbiev slams offense into Reece while
Reece responds with a level change. With Reece on his knees,
Serbiev illegally bashes him in the face with a knee. Reece somehow
tanks it and gathers his thoughts, but he is still compromised and
bleeding so irritatingly that he keeps wiping his nose. Serbiev can
practically land at will from range when he breaks off, potshotting
and landing with low kicks, high kicks, jabs, uppercuts and
anything else he feels like pitching. Reece tries for a level
change, and he gets Serbiev to a knee and is elbowed in the back of
the head. Demonty calls him on it, but the damage is already done
and Serbiev got away with another as well. Reece works Serbiev over
from behind with short, frustrating left hands, nullifying his
opponent but not doing much damage on his own end.
Reece slowly grinds out Serbiev with pitter-patter left hands, and
Serbiev is annoyed but unable to do anything about it. Reece only
puts a bit of oomph behind his blows but they are adding up, and he
keeps chaining them together for the latter part of the round. He
remains active doing this as Serbiev starts to fade, and the
Belgian can barely get back to his corner when the round ends.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Serbiev
Round 3
Serbiev complains to his corner between rounds that he might have
sustained an arm injury, and he is also fatigued and struggled to
walk to his team and then back to the center of the cage. Reece
only needs a few seconds when the final round commences to shoot
from one side of the enclosure to the other so he can ground
Serbiev. While he cannot put Serbiev flat on the mat, he gets him
back to the same position where he spent about three minutes of the
previous frame, leaning on Serbiev who is on one knee against the
cage wall. The left hands from Reece continue to fluster the local
athlete, who is chattering to his corner or the referee or anyone
listening. Reece continues this strategy even as Demonty calls for
more activity.
Reece redoubles his effort to fully ground his opponent, and
Serbiev posts off his right arm but is ginger on it. Reece grinds
him out until Demonty calls time when a punch from the Brit bangs
into Serbiev’s cup. Serbiev takes plenty of time to get his wind
back even though the foul did not appear to be overly damaging,
only the fighter knows how compromised he is from the blow. They
restart on the feet, and after a couple Serbiev low kicks and an
uppercut, Reece crashes the pocket to muscle him to a knee. Serbiev
defends with elbows and short punches when backed to the wire, with
Reece hanging on like a cheap suit. With 25 seconds left, Serbiev
is able to explode to his feet, drive a knee to the chest and back
off Reece with a left hand. Reece walks him down for the remainder
of the match, blocking a high kick as the horn sounds.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reece (29-28
Serbiev)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Reece (29-28 Serbiev)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Reece (29-28 Serbiev)
The Official Result
Ashley Reece def. Rustam Serbiev via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
Adam
Meskini (145.8) vs. Keweny
Lopes (145.3)
Round 1
Wasting no time at all, we move right to the next matchup of a
featherweight collision between a Frenchman and a representative of
Brazil. Meskini (10-3, 2-1 PFL), out of Old School Academy in
Villacresnes, comes to blows with “Leao” Lopes (12-4-1, 0-1 PFL) of
Nova Uniao fame. The two will throw down with referee Stephane
Demonty back in again taking charge of the cage around them. They
elect not to touch ‘em up to get going.
The two are jittery and respect the other’s power right out of the
gate, motioning to one another and trying to force the other to
make a mistake. This leads to a stalemate for the first 43 seconds
until Lopes lets loose a hefty low kick. They go back to
shadowboxing again other than a couple low kicks from the fighters.
Lopes slowly works his way in, chambering and firing a big right
hand that he uses to disrupt Meskini’s balance and bowl him over to
the floor. Meskini bounces back up, and Lopes hurls him back to his
seat again and holds him down with his elbow on the Frenchman’s
face. Meskini sits up, and Lopes leaps after a kneebar and cranks
the limb straight as hard as he can.
Meskini turns to his side to get out of danger, and he grabs the
fence and pulls himself on it to get some leverage. Lopes
transitions to a back take in a hurry, and he starts fishing for a
rear-naked choke. He goes palm-to-palm with a modified version of
the RNC to try to muscle Meskini out, but he abandons it to try to
set up an arm-triangle choke as he holds down Meskini in an
awkward, dangerous position. Lopes climbs into full mount and
abandons the choke, thumping Meskini in the face with a few
shoulders until Meskini bucks him off. Meskini tries to turn the
tables and pursue his own takedown, and Lopes sprawls well and
backs off to put his back to the fence. Meskini leans on his foe
while jamming him up with short left hands, and the bell rings
before he can do anything with it.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lopes
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Lopes
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Lopes
Round 2
Lopes introduces himself with a low kick, and Meskini offers back a
pair of body kicks. On the second, Lopes times it with a beautiful
right hand and blasts Meskini in the face with a left hand that
sends him crashing to the mat. Meskini somehow blinks it out and
bursts back to his feet, where Lopes bullies him to the wall.
Meskini turns him about and tries for his own level change, but
this stalls out and draws a warning from Demonty. Meskini scoops
the Brazilian up in the air and deposits him to the mat, where he
lands with one leg intertwined betwixt Lopes’ to keep him trapped
on his seat.
Lopes stands up, but not without taking a knee to the solar plexus.
Meskini goes after a mat return, and it is Lopes who clasps his
hands around Meskini’s shoulders in an effort to reverse him. Lopes
cannot hold this sheer power position for long, and he gives up on
it and settles to close his guard. Meskini initiates some
ground-and-pound from above, but few strikes get through thanks to
Lopes wrapping up the Frenchman’s arms. Meskini postures up to
drill Lopes with a few flush elbows, and he ends the round with his
fists.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Meskini
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Meskini
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Meskini
Round 3
Lopes sprints out of his corner to attack, and he flashes a smile
when Meskini tries to counter him like Bald Bull of “Punch Out”
fame and peels back. Lopes drops to a hand and twirls with a
Capoeira-inspired kick, but he is feet out of range as Meskini just
watches it fly by. When Lopes resettles, Meskini kicks him in the
ribs. Lopes ducks and darts his way in, but all he gets for it is a
calf kick. Meskini smacks the front leg again when Lopes is just
fishing, and he connects with a few more before rushing forward to
pursue a takedown. Lopes snatches him and they twirl around in the
body lock position trying to leverage the other to the floor.
Meskini drops to his knees to take the fight down, and going after
a double-leg takedown while Lopes spreads his legs out to sprawl
with his right shoulder pinned to the fencing. Lopes uses
underhooks to stave off the effort, elbowing Meskini in the ribs
with gusto. Meskini lifts Lopes up and drops him to his knees, and
appears to knee Lopes in the face with an illegal knee. Demonty,
like the previous fight, does not call it even though he is looking
right at them. Rules are only rules if they are enforced. If you
ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’. Lopes shrugs it off and leaps
back to his feet to turn Meskini to the fence, and they jockey for
position until Meskini disengages with 30 seconds to go. Both
featherweights loose big punches, and Meskini dances out of the way
when he sees the telegraphed power shots coming at him. Meskini
drills Lopes in the jaw, Lopes spits and throws back with fire.
They swing it out to the bell.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Meskini (29-28
Meskini)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Meskini (29-28 Meskini)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Meskini (29-28 Meskini)
The Official Result
Adam Meskini def. Keweny Lopes via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
Khamzat
Abaev (170.4) vs. Luca Poclit
(170.9)
Round 1
So amped up to punch one another in the face, the PFL has had to
keep them restrained for multiple parts of the week because Abaev
(5-1, 0-1 PFL) and Poclit (10-2, 0-1 PFL) keep throwing hands any
time they meet up. The weigh-ins were so dramatic, it was actually
a question as to whether this fight could stay together given that
there was an all-out brawl on the stage yesterday. Luckily, they
finally get their chance to duke it out in a paid, sanctioned
manner. Let’s do this thing. Referee Axel Vankimmenade clocks in
the welterweights, who have absolutely no interest in touching
gloves.
Abaev rushes out of his corner to swing a huge calf kick at his
opponent, and one strike in, Poclit is considering a stance switch.
Abaev hurls another, and Poclit hurries out of the way to not get
hit by the second one. Abaev chases Poclit down and kicks him
again, and Poclit is circling on the outer edge of the cage unable
to do anything on his own side. Abaev digs a left to the body and
slips away from a counter, and he hammers the other leg with a
kick. Poclit has yet to throw anything of merit or anywhere close
in the first 90 seconds. Abaev zings an overhand right to knock
Poclit to the floor, and he just misses what would have been an
extremely illegal soccer kick to Poclit’s face. Poclit explodes
back to his feet and takes another right hand for his effort. Abaev
loads up on his way in, cocking his right back to unload.
Poclit tries to jab, but he stumbles as he is moving. Abaev jabs
him back, but it is his crushing calf kick that Poclit has to lift
all the way across his body to take the sting out of it. Brimming
with confidence, the Belgian stalks Poclit down and jacks him in
the jaw with a ferocious left hand that puts Poclit down for the
count.
When Abaev lands, Poclit skims him with a left as everyone goes
flying, including Abaev himself. He has to bounce back in with
Poclit turned over and slumped to his stomach, but Poclit is done
so he only has to batter him with a few finalizing punches until
Vankimmenade steps in to call it a day. Poclit is down for a
while, but he manages to recover as he is told what happened. When
he gets back to his feet, the two completely squash their beef and
shake hands. Abaev goes on to apologize to commentator Dan Hardy
for kicking him, while applauding Hardy for his takedown defense
during the brawl the day before.
The Official Result
Khamzat Abaev def. Luca Poclit R1 2:56 via KO (Punches)
Movsar
Ibragimov (139.5) vs. Shane
Campbell (146)
Round 1
Ibragimov (7-1, 1-1 PFL) was expecting this whole time to face
Ivory Coast-based athlete Youssouf Binate, but that was not meant
to be when Binate failed to notify the powers that be that he would
reportedly be in court on fight week and not available for the
particulars. Therefore, Britain’s Campbell (5-4, 0-0 PFL)—not the
same as “Sugar” Shane Campbell of UFC fame—hopped on a train to
head to Brussels on Friday to join up in the lineup. While
initially booked as a bantamweight match, Campbell needed it bumped
to featherweight to proceed on short notice. Handling the rest of
the details will be referee Axel Vankimmenade. They choose not to
touch gloves.
Ibragimov strikes first after about 20 seconds with a calf kick.
Campbell blitzes him with a shovel uppercut and a right hand to
follow. Campbell scores a body kick with his left leg and a calf
kick with his right. He lands another kick to the calf, and drills
the Belgian with an overhand right. Campbell chases after
Ibragimov, who is still searching for his range, and they trade
hard low kicks. Campbell jabs in behind a step-in knee, and
Ibragimov snatches it in mid-air to take him to the floor.
Ibragimov drives home some ground strikes when establishing himself
on top, but the frantic bucking of Campbell allows the Brit to
surge back to his feet.
Ibragimov times a circling Campbell with a wheel kick, and he keeps
flowing and nails “Super Shane” with a left hand at the same time
that Campbell is diving after a leg. Ibragimov considers bombing on
him from above, but he
engages his grappling and gets into mount before swirling around at
the right moment to take the late replacement’s back. The
rear-naked choke setup is textbook, and the finish is academic
given that the limb is under the neck and they are both fairly dry
and still competing at full power. Campbell promptly
surrenders, knowing that there is nothing left for him to do today.
The victor is extremely grateful that he was able to compete
tonight in front of a home crowd, and performs a mighty back flip
off the top of the cage a la Justin Gaethje.
The Official Result
Movsar Ibragimov def. Shane Campbell R1 3:28 via Submission
(Rear-Naked Choke)
Donegi
Abena (205.5) vs. Joe
Schilling (204.9)
Round 1
This one comes as a bit of a surprise pairing. Kickboxing champion
Abena (0-0, 0-0 PFL) wants to try his luck in the MMA cage, and his
professional debut comes against a fellow kickfighter in Schilling
(4-6, 0-0 PFL). The latter has been away from MMA for a while, and
it remains to be seen if he engages what might be a grappling
advantage given his training at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. The two
205ers bump fists before throwing down, with referee Mike Beltran
all that stands between them and total annihilation.
Schilling runs right at Abena and lets him have it with a flurry of
fists. Abena takes a few on the chin and reels, and he has to back
off and reset. Schilling stalks after him and connects with a few
punches and kicks before they clash together, and shockingly, Abena
tackles him to the floor. When Abena lands on top, he headbutts
Schilling blatantly. Beltran is enraged and calls time while
Schilling pushes Abena off of him, and Schilling screams at Abena
and says the fight is over because of the foul. Beltran takes one
fight from Abena, and Schilling walks off shouting that the fight
is done. Beltran tells him that if he stops the fight, Schilling
will lose. Schilling takes time to think about it, and elects to
put himself on his back to reset. Schilling is still incensed, mad
about the position where Beltran replaced them, and he is not
interested in fighting anymore. Schilling kicks off and stands back
up before the fight is restarted. With no choice left, Beltran
waves the fight off—this will likely end up as a TKO (Retirement)
victory for Abena due to this bizarro situation—and Schilling goes
over to confront Abena and is about to throw hands with him even as
the fight is over. Security and officials get between them, and
Schilling is held back but is cursing and raging the whole time. As
he is stopped from throwing any more hands today, Schilling bails
and leaves the cage. Abena is awarded the win after all, and we all
will try to put this embarrassing ordeal behind us.
The Official Result
Donegi Abena def. Joe Schilling R1 0:36 via TKO (Retirement)
Baris
Adiguzel (136) vs. Gustavo
Oliveira (135.9)
Round 1
We move on to the bantamweight division, a weight class the
promotion is committed to build up now with burgeoning talents like
Mitch McKee and Marcirley Alves on the rise on its ranks. Adiguzel
(10-1, 2-0 PFL) will come in with a head full of steam and plenty
of momentum behind him, having knocked out his last five foes all
in the first round. Oliveira (12-2, 2-0 PFL) can only say he has
earned knockouts in his previous four pairings, but this all spells
delight or disaster depending on the perspective. The third man in
the cage will be referee Mike Bell, who bears witness to a glove
touch.
Adiguzel bounces in and out of range, flirting with calf kicks but
trying to not get checked. Oliveira stands firm and advances behind
a right hand and a left body kick. Adiguzel springs away from an
oblique kicks and is too distant for Oliveira to commit to a spin.
Adiguzel wings a right hand when Oliveira advances, and Oliveira
spins but does not swing behind it. Oliveira slowly works his way
in, keeping his back hand high to block a potential kick but not
high enough to block a right hand. Adiguzel splits the guard with
two fists, and they proceed to nail one another with fast punches.
Oliveira backs off, possibly stunned, and he has to gather his
thoughts before offering out a front kick. Oliveira’s spin once
more is not accompanied by anything, likely setting something up
for later. Adiguzel kicks from both legs, and a calf kick is
checked as he stumbles back. Adiguzel goes back in for attack, but
he is met with a spinning kick to the leg a la Andy Hug.
Adiguzel flashes his jab and looks for a left after it, but it is
his body work that gets Oliveira’s attention. Oliveira lashes out
with a barrage of punches, stinging the French fighter and putting
him to the fencing. Adiguzel turns the tables by trying to take the
Brazilian to the mat, but Oliveira defends with nasty elbows to the
side of the dome that drop Adiguzel to his knees and put him down
to the ground. Oliveira looks to finish the job with strikes, but
he cannot get it, so he jumps guard for a guillotine choke.
Adiguzel keeps twisting and turning to get out of it, so “Heart”
transitions to an anaconda choke and hits a gator roll to complete
it. Adiguzel’s neck is torqued at a horrible angle, but somehow,
“The Sniper” survives it. Oliveira jumps guard for another
guillotine, and it is not nearly as tight. Adiguzel grits his teeth
through it and bowls Oliveira over to mash him in mount. Adiguzel
flattens Oliveira out and tries for a brute force rear-naked choke,
but he cannot complete it as time expires on what turned into a
wild round.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Oliveira
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Oliveira
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Oliveira
Round 2
It remains to be seen who burned more gas in the first frenetic
round, but they are good to go in Round 2 and bump fists to open it
up. Adiguzel marches down the Brazilian and busts him in the gut
with a kick that slides down to nick the top of the cup. Bell asks
if Oliveira is good, and Oliveira waves him off and spams two
jumping high kicks at Adiguzel’s face. The French fighter defends
them well and shoots for a takedown, but he is met with a crisp
knee on the jaw.
Adiguzel still commits for the level change, and Oliveira pulls
guard once more to lock down a guillotine while Adiguzel appears
shaken up. He locks his legs around Adiguzel’s waist, and turns to
his side to put hellacious crank on the choke. To finish the job,
the Brazilian places his arm on the back of Adiguzel’s neck to
change it to a ninja choke from a strange angle, and the choke is
vice-like and not about to go anywhere. The third time is the
charm, and Adiguzel has to call it a day lest he get put
unconscious. A hushed silence falls over the crowd as their
local athlete was stopped in this regard, but they end up giving it
up for Oliveira’s solid performance as one to definitely watch
going forward.
The Official Result
Gustavo Oliveira def. Baris Adiguzel R2 1:10 via Submission (Ninja
Choke)
Asael
Adjoudj (145.9) vs. Keisuke
Sasu (145.3)
Round 1
It’s time for some main card action. The first of two Japanese
athletes walks to the cage next, as “Sasuke” Sasu (14-4-1, 0-0 PFL)
takes on SBG Ireland-trained Adjoudj (10-1, 2-0 PFL). Sparks will
fly between the featherweights, but before they do, referee Mike
Bell clocks them in. They sportingly touch gloves.
Adjoudj moves directly to the center of the cage, while Sasu is on
the outer edge strafing while firing off a calf kick. Adjoudj steps
in with a stern side kick to the solar plexus. Adjoudj uses his
unorthodox bladed stance to giving Sasu less of a target to attack,
and he lets his feet fly. Sasu grabs the head kick as it is landing
to rip the French fighter to the floor. Adjoudj stands back up, and
he narrowly avoids a spinning strike on the way out of a clinch.
Adjoudj times a head kick while Sasu is ducking down, and Sasu
tanks it without batting an eye. Adjoudj kicks him in the guard
again, but his front kick to the midsection is far more
effective.
Adjoudj hammers his high kick off the raised guard, and Sasu grunts
when absorbing it and kicks his foe back. Adjoudj chains a hook
kick behind a first kick, and Sasu takes him off his feet with a
trip. Adjoudj stands back up and puts himself against the fence,
and Sasu tries to ground him again but fails to do so. Adjoudj
bashes Sasu with elbows from up close as he turns Sasu about, and
he keeps using them effectively to lump up the face of the fighter
from Japan. Sasu breaks off with seconds to spare, and he drills
Adjoudj with a spinning back elbow when Adjoudj is flying at him
with a kick. The round ends.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj
Round 2
The fighters touch gloves again before handling their business, and
in an early exchange, Sasu lands a solid left hand and staggers
Adjoudj momentarily. Adjoudj takes a quick count of his teeth and
drives a left hand to the sternum. From a safe distance, Sasu
measures with calf kicks. Adjoudj coils and releases a body kick
that lands with an audible thud, and a side kick that follows gives
Sasu some pause. Adjoudj fakes a kick, switches stances and offers
one from the other side. Sasu tries to hurl a big overhand right,
but he is out of range. All he can land is a calf kick, and Adjoudj
returns fire immediately before pressuring him with a left hand. As
it turns out, the Frenchman was just setting up his head kick the
entire fight, working the body and lead leg to force Sasu to drop
his guard. He tricks Sasu into lowering his hands, who expects a
kick is about to be aimed at his ribs.
Instead, Adjoudj wraps his shin around the dome, and Sasu goes down
in a heap. Arms splayed lifelessly by his side as the back of his
head clatters off the floor, Sasu is out cold. Adjoudj gets to
his downed opponent before Bell can reach him, smashing the already
unconscious Sasu with two brutal and totally unnecessary
hammerfists as Bell pulls him off and calls the fight. The crowd
goes wild, as “The Sultan” walks off to enjoy his handiwork with
his team. He can now officially celebrate a clean knockout on his
ledger, with Sasu’s lights off for a prolonged stretch until he is
revived by the medical staff.
The Official Result
Asael Adjoudj def. Keisuke Sasu R2 2:22 via KO (Head Kick and
Punches)
Marcirley
Alves (135.5) vs. Naoki Inoue
(135.5)
Round 1
The final PFL tourney champion at 135 pounds in Alves (15-4, 3-0
PFL) will move into showcase matchups with no divisional champ
official yet. He welcomes ex-Rizin beltholder Inoue (20-5, 0-0 PFL)
to the organization in what should be a blast of a bantamweight
battle. Referee Mike Beltran presiding. Fists are bumped before
they are traded.
After a feeling-out process, Inoue revs up his engine with a number
of low kicks. Alves responds with his own kicks, but he is out of
range for most of them. Inoue chips at him without turning his hips
into the blows, allowing him to dart away from the charging Alves a
few times. Alves gets off his own harder calf kick, but Inoue pays
it no mind and keeps his tactic of picking and poking. Alves times
a kick coming his way to knock Inoue to his seat with an overhand
left, but it is more of an off-balance blow than a clean knockdown.
Inoue gets right back to his feet and probes out his jab, opening
up a small cut on the bridge of the Brazilian’s nose. Inoue stays
light on his feet, zipping in and out of range while Alves sits
down on power awaiting big counters. Inoue’s low kicks are starting
to have an impact as Alves turns away from them.
Alves rips a kick to the side, and it is one-and-done as Inoue
dances away and keeps chewing up his front leg with kicks. They
trade body kicks, and Inoue goers to the calf and allows a spin
kick to whiz past his face. Alves tries to swing behind it, but
Inoue is lighter on his feet. Inoue puts three punches together,
the third getting through the guard, and he zooms to another space
on the cage floor so that Alves cannot hit him back. Alves does get
in another body kick, but his fists are finding themselves hitting
little more than air. Inoue’s jab is effective as can be, and he
sets up a solid right hook behind it. Alves stalks down Inoue, but
he walks into a short but effective salvo of punches. He tries to
push through them and throw caution to the wind, and Inoue’s
elusiveness gets the better of him in that exchange. He clips Alves
when Alves is throwing a kick, and Alves has to blink it out before
rushing forward. Inoue intercepts him with a sharp check hook, and
he snipes the Brazilian with a couple more fists before the round
concludes.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Inoue
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Inoue
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Inoue
Round 2
A quick fist bump leads to the two picking up right where the left
off. Alves marches after Inoue, who is slipping punches and being a
nuisance to him. Alves catches Inoue at the end of a third left
hand, hurling them in rapid succession as he chases after the
Japanese athlete. Inoue blocks a body kick, and he sticks Alves
with a few jabs and sways to dodge counters. Alves jabs to the body
and head as well to lesser effect, but his overhand right that
follows lands cleaner. Inoue scores an uppercut as Alves is coming
towards him, and Alves takes it on the chin and kicks him in the
side. Alves’ big swings have busted open Inoue’s nose, and he nails
the Rizin champ with a few more heavy punches as Inoue goes down to
the floor. Inoue bounces back up and is tagged with a few more
fists, but he steels himself and gives Alves back kicks and punches
to think about. Alves drives him back with a clubbing right hand,
his power finally starting to make Inoue question himself. Alves
slips back from an uppercut to deliver a clean right hand over the
top, and Inoue staggers back and re-engages.
Alves is in hunting mode as he methodically approaches his
opponent, changing stances to present different targets and offer
additional weapons. He chains a kick into a right hand and left
hook, and Inoue’s eyes are wide and his nose starts leaking more.
Inoue’s low kick turns into a head kick as keeps busy, but it is
Alves who totally has his attention with his power punches. Inoue
tries to back him off with a big left hand, but Alves leans to the
side and responds with his own left that Inoue does not like. Inoue
jabs to disrupt further attacks from Alves, but he can only hold
back the marauding Brazilian for so long until Alves charges him
again. Alves lands a low kick and ignores a left hand coming back
at him, taking a knee on the chin as well so he can offer up a
crushing body kick. The horn sounds—yes, we know that PFL is using
a bell today, but it is a term of art we use to state that the
round has wrapped up, because there are only so ways to say “the
round ends” and we wish to be anything but monotonous here.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Alves
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Alves
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Alves
Round 3
A modest high-five is shared as the two meander towards one another
to engage, both showing some damage on their beaks. Alves is revved
up and ready to throw fire, but it results in single-strike
offerings while Inoue still wants to touch and prod with his
offense. Alves is putting everything behind his hurled hands, and
he tries to corner Inoue but cannot trap him because Inoue is still
quite evasive. Alves times a body kick as he is moving, and he
avoids a right hand down the pipe while keeping the pressure on
max. Inoue offers up a head kick, and Alves tackles him to the
floor in response with a double. Inoue wall-walks to stand back up,
and he gains space and circles away.
Alves continues to march down his opponent, unafraid of what is
coming back at him as he puts mustard into his punches. Alves
stings Inoue as the two trade leather, and Inoue catches him
mid-exchange and puts him down. Alves, angry with himself, pushes
himself off the ground and practically sprints at Inoue to lob
bombs at him. Inoue sees most of them coming and is able to roll
with them, avoid them altogether or use them to his advantage. His
problem comes when Alves does not stop throwing fire, as the two
trade vicious hands. Alves takes advantage of Inoue turning to drag
him to the floor from behind, but he does not hold him down for
long and releases him to swing it out to the bell. This is going to
be a close one.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Inoue (29-28
Inoue)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Inoue (29-28 Inoue)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Inoue (29-28 Inoue)
The Official Result
Naoki Inoue def. Marcirley Alves via Split Decision (27-30, 29-28,
29-28)
Boris
Mbarga Atangana (184.6) vs. Jared
Gooden (184.9)
Round 1
In the “featured fight of the night” slot, the promotion places a
local destroyer in the form of Atangana (8-0, 3-0 PFL) in the cage
in who betting lines consider an overwhelming favorite. With eight
stoppages across his eight wins, his next test comes in Gooden
(23-11, 0-0 PFL), who saw his second UFC stint end less than two
years ago. The middleweight contest will be governed by referee
Mike Beltran, who steps back as the athletes clap hands.
Fans have loudly chosen a side, and it is “Modern Gladiator.”
Gooden drinks all the boos in and hopes to ruin their evening with
a surprise triumph, but he will have his hands full. The longer
Gooden uses his jab early, and Atangana jabs him back as Gooden
nods that it was effective. Gooden plants a kick on the lead leg,
and Atangana responds with a head kick that rocks “Nite Train.”
Atangana walks the wounded Gooden down and starts to lay into him
with punches. Alternating ferocious lefts and rights, Atangana does
not spam them as much as he sees every individual opening and takes
full advantage of it.
Absolutely butchering Gooden with devastating fists, Atangana
knocks Gooden to the wall and busts open at least one nasty cut on
the cheek. Blood sprays from side to side as Atangana tees off on
his fading adversary, and he bends Gooden over with a particularly
destructive right hand and may have Gooden out on his feet.
Atangana keeps right on swinging until Beltran pulls him off.
When Atangana walks off and jumps over the fence and into the crowd
to celebrate, Beltran catches Gooden as he slumps down to the mat,
totally wrecked. The ING Arena practically explodes in support of
the Belgian victor, who has just procured another knockout and
likely got the job done just over a minute. When Gooden comes to,
he is not upset and gives it up to the victorious local who has the
building practically in the palm of his hand. Atangana calls out
anyone at 170 pounds, 185 pounds or light heavyweight, confident as
all get out that he will win a title for his home country one
day.
The Official Result
Boris Mgarba Atangana def. Jared Gooden R1 1:05 via KO
(Punches)
Taylor
Lapilus (135.7) vs. Jake Hadley
(136)
Round 1
Fresh off one of the biggest wins of his career, Lapilus (24-4, 3-0
PFL) has clearly found a new lease on life since departing the
confines of the UFC’s Octagon for the second time to compete
overseas instead. The Frenchman has flourished so far, notching his
first knockout in year when he dispatched Kasum Kasumov in
February. He now draws a fellow UFC ex-pat Hadley (12-5, 1-1 PFL),
whose twister submission of Matheus Mattos last year clocked in as
one the year’s best. Referee Mike Bell will handle everything else
going forward for the bantamweights, who do not bump fists.
They reach at one another early to figure out the striking
distance, with Lapilus offering kicks while Hadley prefers to learn
the reach of his jab in this encounter. Hadley goes to the body
with a one-two, and Lapilus responds with a knee to the middle.
Lapilus chases after Hadley but does not engage full blast, instead
allowing Hadley to push out jabs so he can find a way to advance
and counter simultaneously. Hadley goes to the body, and Lapilus
does as well. It is a tit-for-tat striking match as they go one
after the other, not putting bad intentions behind every swing but
they heat up a bit when hooks start to get involved. Hadley tries
to draw Lapilus onto one of his big lefts, and Lapilus does not
bite and drives “White Kong” back with his own left hand.
Lapilus shoves Hadley to the floor when Hadley considers a level
change, and he walks on top into half guard. Hadley returns him to
the closed guard and hangs on. Hadley uses a rubber guard to
threaten off his back, prompting Lapilus to back off and stand.
Lapilus lords over the Brit, kicking his front leg and offering up
an axe kick that does not get through. Bell has Hadley stand up,
and Lapilus walks him down and jacks him in the jaw with three
punches. The third puts Hadley down, but he pops back up as his
nose shines red. Lapilus hurls a head kick at him, and he ends the
round aiming knees to the torso of his opponent.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Round 2
Lapilus sprints out of his corner and soars in the air to attack
Hadley with a flying side kick to start things off. The Brit’s eyes
go wide as he strafes to the side to avoid it in the nick of time,
and he gets behind his jab. Hadley dives after a single-leg entry,
and Lapilus laughs it off and sprawls it. Hadley starts to
establish his boxing, and Lapilus responds with sharp jabs of his
own that shred open a cut on the corner of the eye. Hadley
initiates his grappling again by pursuing a level change, and he
succeeds in pushing Lapilus to the fence but little more. Lapilus
defends effectively and keeps himself on his feet.
Lapilus lands some short strikes on the inside, and Bell calls for
the two to separate. Lapilus stalks down the Brit and drills him
the face with a right hand, and Hadley appears to pull guard.
Lapilus backs off and stomps him in the leg, and Bell reminds him
that stomps to grounded fighters are fouls. Lapilus asks for a
standup, and Hadley climbs back to his feet. Lapilus digs a left
hand to the liver and dances away from a takedown shot, with Hadley
way off with his approaches. As Lapilus is getting in with his
offense and tags Hadley with an elbow, he takes an eye poke as Bell
calls time. After about 15 seconds, they get back to it, with
Lapilus in the driver’s seat pushing Hadley back with his power.
Hadley’s takedown is easily shut down, and when he stands up,
Lapilus knees him in the dome. The round ends.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus
Round 3
Hadley comes out of his corner fired up but does not throw more
than some jabs. He is met by the precise offense of the Frenchman,
who counters him and is fully prepared to stop the takedown of
“White Kong” in its tracks. Lapilus puts his back to the wall and
spreads his legs apart to defend against the level change, stopping
Hadley from grounding him in a variety of ways. Hadley clasps his
hands around one of Lapilus’ legs to transition to a single, and he
gets elbows in the side of the head a few times before they break
up. Lapilus jabs, and Hadley shoots unsuccessfully and crumbles to
his back. Lapilus pushes Hadley down and slams his fists into
Hadley’s body. The Brit’s expression briefly displays one of pain
as the body shots score, but Lapilus does not take advantage of
that and instead stands back up the moment Hadley is about to get
offensive with his guard.
Lapilus tries to land an axe kick from above, and Hadley snatches
up his leg in search of a submission. Lapilus pulls himself out of
it, backs off and makes Hadley follow. Hadley doggedly pursues
another takedown, and Lapilus rearranges his guts with a knee and
pushes him to the wall. Lapilus defends the attempt, and Hadley
flops to his back in hopes of luring Lapilus down. Lapilus does not
want to play, so he forces another standup and jabs Hadley up.
Hadley flops to his back again when a takedown attempt of his fails
miserably, and fans are not amused by his performance. Lapilus
knees Hadley twice when Hadley is going after one more, and the
second appeared to be a bit illegal as Hadley went down to his
knee. He steels himself and stands back up, and Lapilus is in full
control on the feet in his element. Hadley shoots for a solid
takedown and is just about to turn the corner to put the Frenchman
on his seat, but Lapilus’ defense holds up as the grueling contest
ends with boos lazily floating throughout the air.
Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus (30-27
Lapilus)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus (30-27 Lapilus)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Lapilus (30-27 Lapilus)
The Official Result
Taylor Lapilus def. Jake Hadley via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
Patrick
Habirora (170.9) vs. Benson
Henderson (171)
Round 1
This is the main event of PFL Brussels. Unbeaten welterweight
finisher Habirora (8-0, 4-0 PFL), with the crowd entirely on his
side, will close as an obscene betting favorite with astronomical
odds around -2000. The significantly smaller man while also about
17 years the elder, Henderson (30-12, 0-0 PFL) has defied the odds
before, but he will certainly have his hands full in this
three-round 170-pound scrap. Referee Mike Beltran brings the
athletes to the center of the cage to issues final instructions,
and the two share ample respect for one another and gladly touch
‘em up. It’s on with the show.
Henderson goes right after the youngster, pressuring him but not
throwing. Habirora strikes first with an overhand right, and
Henderson comes back at him with a body kick.
The Belgian swipes out with a sharp step-in left hand, and
Henderson is already rattled and absorbs a short uppercut that
collapses him to his stomach. Habirora drives down a couple of
ruthless, finalizing right hands while Henderson is flattened out
to make it official, and Beltran is already sprinting in to stop
the fight about 20 seconds in. The triumphant “Belgian Bomber”
explodes from the cage to take in all the love and admiration from
his home country fans, and he dons the straw hat of Luffy from “One
Piece.” The fight game is historically unkind to the elderly, and
the 42-year-old is no exception with far more grey in his hair than
any past matchup. That makes it 9-0 for the 25-year-old from Namur,
who posts eight knockouts thus far but none officially quicker than
that one. Habirora expresses in his post-fight interview that he
plans on sharing a drink with Henderson tonight, saying that there
is no animosity between the two in a world full of strife like this
one. Of all the welterweights on the planet, “The Belgian Bomber”
calls out Mike Perry, who just carved up Nate Diaz last week like a
Thanksgiving turkey. If that battle comes together, you best
believe we will be here for it. We hope you are too.
The Official Result
Patrick Habirora def. Benson Henderson R1 0:21 via KO
(Punches)