Potential Francis Ngannou Opponent Emerges As Denis Goltsov Nets Shock Submission To Win 2024 PFL Heavyweight Title

Heavyweight veteran Denis Goltsov finally went all the way, stunning Oleg Popov with a shock submission win at the 2024 PFL World Championship. The Russian produced three consecutive finishes this season to make it back to the finals in what marked his fifth season shooting for glory in the PFL SmartCage. Against Popov, he faced […]

Heavyweight veteran Denis Goltsov finally went all the way, stunning Oleg Popov with a shock submission win at the 2024 PFL World Championship.

The Russian produced three consecutive finishes this season to make it back to the finals in what marked his fifth season shooting for glory in the PFL SmartCage.

Against Popov, he faced an opponent who certainly isn’t used to losing. And beyond just the shock of defeat, not many would have predicted this finish.

Popov secured an early takedown but didn’t threaten with much offense from the top position. His opponent then popped the commentators by throwing up a triangle attempt from the bottom.

After adjusting his submission, the referee eventually stepped in to pull Goltsov off of his unconscious opponent.

The commentary team initially believed the newly crowned champ was retiring after he took his gloves off immediately after the win, but Goltsov later clarified that this isn’t the case.

After some prompting from Dan Hardy, the Russian said he wants to fight Francis Ngannou next year after the former UFC champion made his PFL debut in October, stopping Renan Ferreira in the first round.

With the likes of Vadim Nemkov and Ante Delija being matched for January next year in Dubai, Goltsov has certainly emerged as the frontrunner for being “The Predator’s” next opponent in the PFL.

VIDEO: Abdullah Al-Qahtani Gets Knockout In Wild First-Round Brawl To Earn PFL MENA Title

Abdullah Al-Qahtani has been a prime face of the PFL’s expansion into the Middle East, and he continued that trend by defeating Marouane Bellagouit to become the inaugural PFL MENA featherweight champion. The two headlined the MENA portion of the PFL World Championship card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday. Al-Qahtani and Bellagouit traded strikes […]

Abdullah Al-Qahtani has been a prime face of the PFL’s expansion into the Middle East, and he continued that trend by defeating Marouane Bellagouit to become the inaugural PFL MENA featherweight champion.

The two headlined the MENA portion of the PFL World Championship card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Al-Qahtani and Bellagouit traded strikes in an intense exchange, with both landing powerful shots. The Saudi favorite ultimately dropped his Moroccan counterpart twice over the course of the round, overwhelming him with a relentless flurry of punches to put him away and win the gold.

Al-Qahtani debuted in the PFL last year as the first Saudi talent in the promotion’s history. He won five straight fights before losing to Abdalrahman Alhyasat in September. Alhyasat’s inability to make tonight’s title fight, however, resulted in another chance for Al-Qahtani to step up and earn the gold.

Bellagouit, a veteran of UAE Warriors, defeated Mido Mohamed earlier this year but lost to Islam Reda in September’s PFL MENA semifinals. However, he also reached the final as a result of Reda being unable to make the walk.

With the PFL MENA championship card complete, the likes of Brendan Loughnane, Dakota Ditcheva, and Impa Kasanganay will compete for PFL Global gold and $1 million in prize money on the main card at King Saud University.

Hattan Alsaif, Saudi’s First Female Fighter, Stays Undefeated With Knockout At PFL World Championship

Fan-favorite atomweight Hattan Alsaif got the crowd going at Friday’s PFL World Championship event, where she extended her undefeated amateur record with another strong showing. The Professional Fighters League is staging this year’s PFL Global and PFL MENA finals from the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, with 10 title bouts set […]

Fan-favorite atomweight Hattan Alsaif got the crowd going at Friday’s PFL World Championship event, where she extended her undefeated amateur record with another strong showing.

The Professional Fighters League is staging this year’s PFL Global and PFL MENA finals from the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, with 10 title bouts set to play out.

Alsaif — a highly touted amateur who marks the first female fighter from Saudi Arabia — had her latest outing splitting the four championship clashes on the MENA card, as she did battle with Algeria’s Lilia Osmani.

The 23-year-old had already made a splash this year, first by stopping her opponent on debut with a brutal head kick at PFL MENA 1 this past May and then by battering her next foe into a corner stoppage two months later.

And on Friday, Alsaif continued her violent form. After delivering highlights such as a slam and a spinning wheel kick that connected clean, the Saudi favorite closed the show with some vicious knees to the body in round two.

Alsaif is now 3-0 as an amateur and could soon begin to compete in the professional ranks.

Regardless of what comes next, it’s safe to say that she’ll have plenty of eyeballs on her career moving forward, having had one of the bigger receptions of the night inside Riyadh’s King Saud University.

Following the conclusion of the PFL MENA championship card, the likes of Brendan Loughnane, Dakota Ditcheva, and Impa Kasanganay will be looking to leave the Middle East with titles and $1 million prize money.

VIDEO: Ali Taleb Demolishes Opponent In Under 2 Minutes To Win PFL MENA Title

Ali Taleb brought out a vicious performance that ended in a quick knockout to capture the first-ever PFL MENA bantamweight championship in Saudi Arabia. After a bit of kick-heavy attacks from his opponent, Rachid El Hazoume, Taleb stunned him with a one-two, namely from an uppercut, before launching a flurry that ended with him dropping […]

Ali Taleb brought out a vicious performance that ended in a quick knockout to capture the first-ever PFL MENA bantamweight championship in Saudi Arabia.

After a bit of kick-heavy attacks from his opponent, Rachid El Hazoume, Taleb stunned him with a one-two, namely from an uppercut, before launching a flurry that ended with him dropping the Moroccan with a right hand.

The fight came to a close with just 85 seconds on the clock.

Taleb reached the finals at today’s PFL World Championship with wins over Nawras Abzakh and Jalal Al Daja. He competed in the inaugural PFL Europe season last year, falling short against Khurshed Kakhorov in the semifinals.

El Hazoume, meanwhile, entered the fight with seven wins in his last eight fights, including over Xavier Alaoui and Elias Boudegzdame to reach the 135-pound final.

After the four PFL MENA titles are handed, 12 fighters will compete for PFL Global glory on the main card at Riyadh’s King Saud University.

VIDEO: Ali Taleb Demolishes Opponent In Under 2 Minutes To Win PFL MENA Title

Ali Taleb brought out a vicious performance that ended in a quick knockout to capture the first-ever PFL MENA bantamweight championship in Saudi Arabia. After a bit of kick-heavy attacks from his opponent, Rachid El Hazoume, Taleb stunned him with a one-two, namely from an uppercut, before launching a flurry that ended with him dropping […]

Ali Taleb brought out a vicious performance that ended in a quick knockout to capture the first-ever PFL MENA bantamweight championship in Saudi Arabia.

After a bit of kick-heavy attacks from his opponent, Rachid El Hazoume, Taleb stunned him with a one-two, namely from an uppercut, before launching a flurry that ended with him dropping the Moroccan with a right hand.

The fight came to a close with just 85 seconds on the clock.

Taleb reached the finals at today’s PFL World Championship with wins over Nawras Abzakh and Jalal Al Daja. He competed in the inaugural PFL Europe season last year, falling short against Khurshed Kakhorov in the semifinals.

El Hazoume, meanwhile, entered the fight with seven wins in his last eight fights, including over Xavier Alaoui and Elias Boudegzdame to reach the 135-pound final.

After the four PFL MENA titles are handed, 12 fighters will compete for PFL Global glory on the main card at Riyadh’s King Saud University.

VIDEO: Costello van Steenis Opens PFL World Championship Card With Head-Kick KO In 48 Seconds

This year’s PFL World Championship began in violent fashion, with longtime Bellator contender Costello van Steenis landing a brutal knockout in the first round. 10 title fights are set to go down today inside the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where both this year’s PFL Global and PFL MENA champions will be determined. […]

This year’s PFL World Championship began in violent fashion, with longtime Bellator contender Costello van Steenis landing a brutal knockout in the first round.

10 title fights are set to go down today inside the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where both this year’s PFL Global and PFL MENA champions will be determined.

Before gold is dished out, a series of showcase bouts are opening proceedings. And while the cancellation of Jesus Pinedo’s return dealt a blow to the lineup, a number of notable names are still featuring.

That included van Steenis, who has figured in Bellator middleweight title contention ever since getting the better of Fabian Edwards back in 2020.

He advanced his ambitions in a big way at the PFL World Championship, face-planting opponent Joao Dantas in just 48 seconds with a perfectly timed head kick.

During his celebrations, “The Spaniard” called for a shot at PFL middleweight gold and also pitched a clash with the current Bellator 185-pound kingpin, Johnny Eblen.

Van Steenis originally appeared in line for a shot at gold following a victory earlier this year. After having his charge toward the top stalled by Douglas Lima in 2023, the Dutch-born 32-year-old bounced back by submitting Gregory Babane in a clash branded a title eliminator this past May.

For whatever reason, that classification was forgotten about and van Steenis was further made to earn a potential opportunity this week in the Middle East.

Suffice to say, he did just that.