Shamil Musaev is the 2024 PFL welterweight champion after coming out on top in the battle of the undefeated Russian competitors. He improved to 20-0-1 by stopping Magomed Umalatov in the third round with a devastating left hook.
As expected, the fight at Friday’s event in Riyadh was incredibly strategic and both men weren’t willing to risk over-asserting themselves. With that, there was a lot of feeling out and reads in-between the action.
Umalatov appeared to be building into the fight following a slow start, but everything that Musaev did, he did it well in order to keep his opponent guessing.
Whether it was his quick strikes and exits or his world-class takedown defense, the champion started ahead of Umalatov and maintained that lead throughout before landing the ruthless shot that secured him his third finish of the year.
Watch another great finish from the 2024 PFL World Championship in Saudi Arabia that was perfectly set up by a feint from the promotion’s latest welterweight king below.
The grappling exchanges were always going to be fascinating between these two, and though we only got a few of them, they lived up to the expectations.
The usually stoic Musaev even cracked a smile when being awarded the welterweight title and the $1 million cheque after handing Umalatov the first loss of his 18-fight pro career.