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Lopes (12-4-1, 0-1 PFL) threw everything in his arsenal at Ayoub, but “Fierceness” lived up to his moniker with punishing counters and submission attempts. Ayoub (24-6-1, 1-0 PFL) nearly finished Lopes in the first round with a standing guillotine, but Lopes proved that he was more than just an opponent by slugging it out.
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Lopes kept his foot on the gas but slowed rapidly as Ayoub picked up the pressure in the later rounds. With two minutes left in the match, Lopes was out on his feet as the crowd roared for the hometown hero to push for the finish. Ayoub gave the fans what they wanted, punishing Lopes against the fence and prompting referee Rich Mitchell to stop the bout 3:19 into the final stanza.
Atangana Impresses Again
Boris Mbarga Atangana is a light heavyweight slugger with welterweight-caliber speed, who put the division on full notice with a first-round TKO of Jhony Gregory at the 2:17 mark.
Atangana (7-0, 2-0 PFL) quickly took control of the center of the cage and kept control of the distance before sending the Brazilian’s mouthpiece flying with a counter left hook. Gregory (10-5, 0-1 PFL) hit the canvas and tried to survive, but the Belgian’s bombs were too much, prompting referee Lloyd Pora to call the bout.
Adiguzel Smokes Lopez
Baris Adiguzel only needed 36 seconds to beat the brakes off of Julien Lopez and lock down a spot in the bantamweight finals.
Adiguzel (9-1, 1-0 PFL) countered Lopez (7-6-1, 1-3 PFL) with a rear hook and cracked him with an uppercut, flooring him. Adiguezel would unload his arsenal before taunting his future opponent, Dean Garnett, cageside. Their battle will be a classic striker vs. wrestler matchup with $100,000 on the line.
Hughes Head Kick Wrecks van Steenis
Connor Hughes stole the show on Friday with a brutal first-round knockout (2:56) over Gino van Steenis to secure his spot in the lightweight finals.
Hughes (12-2, 5-2 PFL) backed the Spaniard (6-3, 1-1 PFL) against the cage with fast flurries and feints before putting him to sleep with a swift left lead kick straight to the jaw. With the win, Hughes advanced to the PFL Europe finale for the second straight year, where he’ll face Aleksandrs Chizovs.
Garnett Shocks Cieplowski
At 37 years old, Dean Garnett notched the biggest win of his career and earned a berth in the PFL Europe bantamweight final by handing Jan Cieplowski his first loss via a third-round submission (guillotine).
Garnett (14-3, 2-1 PFL) outgrappled and outhustled Cieplowski (9-1, 1-1 PFL) throughout and countered the skilled striker with well-timed takedowns. Down two rounds on the scorecards, Cieplowski tried to will himself back into the fight, but only fell into a brutally-tight guillotine that ended his title hopes 38 seconds into the final round.
Chizovs Bests Game Pacella
Aleksandrs Chizovs punched his ticket to the PFL Europe lightweight final with a hard-fought split decision win over Claudio Pacella (29-28, 28-29, 28-29). Chizov (12-3, 2-0 PFL) used his superior length to control the cage and pepper Pacella with jabs and straights, but the Italian slugger stayed in the fight by whipping overhand rights off Chizov’s temple.
Pacella (6-3, 3-2 PFL) tightened the cards with a dominant third round, but Chizov’s slick boxing in the opening two frames banked him the edge on the scorecards.
Kelly Puts on a Show
Darragh Kelly kept his unblemished record intact with a shockingly easy first-round submission over Bakhtiyar Abdulloev (2:27). Kelly (9-0, 2-0 PFL) dominated the lightweight showcase bout from the onset and showed impressive wrestling by reversing an Abulloev (10-2, 0-1 PFL) takedown along the fence.
The SBG Ireland prospect took the German’s back and set up his rear-naked choke beautifully with a cluster of punches. By the time Abdulloev noticed Kelly’s forearms closing in on his neck, it was too late.
Del Guerra Folds Aissaoui
Vincent del Guerra is a seasoned veteran of 56 bouts, and that experience was on full display throughout his middleweight showcase bout with Sofiane Aissaoui.
Del Guerra dominated from start to finish, punishing Aissaoui with body kicks and nearly stopping the fellow Frenchman multiple times. Following another del Guerra knockdown via front kick and flurry of punches, referee Daniel Movahedi called the bout 24 seconds into the third round. With the win, del Guerra (33-22-1, 1-0 PFL) picked up his 28th career stoppage, while Aissaoui (11-7, 0-1 PFL) goes back to the drawing board.
Ewen Rebounds with Brabo Choke
After falling in the PFL Europe lightweight quarterfinals four months ago, Mark Ewen proved Friday that he’s still a prospect to watch with an impressive first-round brabo choke on Sebastien Di Franco (3:18).
Ewen (7-2, 2-2 PFL) notched his second submission in three fights and is starting to show more comfort on the ground after kicking his career off with a string of knockout finishes. Di Franco (10-5, 0-2 PFL) dropped his third straight.
Guedez Jr. Edges O’Sullivan
In a battle of two professional debutants, Venezuelan strawweight Maria Guedez Jr. outgrinded slick submission specialist Kiya O’Sullivan by split decision with scores of 30-26, 28-29 and 29-28.
Guedez Jr. (1-0) opened the fight with a flash knockdown and spent most of the bout inside of O’Sullivan’s guard. She rained down punches and elbows, but was nearly finished by O’Sullivan’s (0-1) submission attempts off her back. Both fighters enjoyed their moments throughout, but Guedez’s pressure and ground control were the story of the fight.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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