PFL vs Bellator took place on February 24 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with reigning PFL and Bellator MMA heavyweight champions Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader going toe-to-toe in the main event.
The 2023 PFL champ Ferreira ended up scoring a quick finish as the massive Brazilian crushed Bader with a 21-second knockout to win the super belt.
PFL: Renan Ferreira will fight Francis Ngannou
Before the event, it was advertised that the winner would be next in line for the lineal MMA heavyweight king Francis Ngannou, who’s looking to make his much-anticipated PFL debut after walking away from the UFC as champ.
Ngannou is coming off a split decision loss to undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, a fight that shocked the boxing world as Ngannou scored a knockdown and put on an ultra-competitive performance despite being counted out by most from the get-go.
Ngannou, now ranked in the top 10 by WBC, is currently slated to return to the ring against former boxing world champion and massive superstar Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on March 8. After that fight, he is expected to return to MMA in the PFL Super Fight Division.
“I am the real problem out here. I am the record breaker. I am the record setter. Francis, where you at? I’m waiting for you. Let’s go, let’s do this,” Renan Ferreira shouted following the win over Bader, adding:
“I’ve always been ready to fight against the very best in the world. Francis, it can be inside a PFL smart cage, it can be in a boxing ring, whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it. I’m ready to go.”
Ferreira, nicknamed “Problema”, now holds a pro record of 13-3, 3 NC with 11 wins by T/KO. Ngannou, on the other hand, has gone 17-3 in MMA with 12 knockouts.
PFL vs Bellator main card score: 1-5
The PFL vs Bellator card was originally supposed to feature four super belt title fights between reigning PFL and Bellator champions. However, after a few card shuffles, we where left with a lineup of two title bouts and a total of two reigning PFL champions, three reigning Bellator champs and a couple of former champs from each side on the card.
In the co-main event, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen survived a knockdown and did just enough to get the split nod against the 2023 PFL light heavyweight champ Impa Kasanganay and extend his undefeated record to 15-0.
Furthermore, reigning Bellator welterweight champ Jason Jackson, former Bellator light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov, Bellator contender Yoel Romero and former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee all scored victories as Bellator went 5-1 against PFL on the main card.
On the prelims, the highly-touted wrestler and power-puncher Aaron Pico avenged his loss to Henry Corrales by first-round stoppage.
Boxing icon Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh also won his professional MMA debut against Emmanuel Palacio by way of unanimous decision.
In another notable prelim fight, boxing world champion Claressa Shields returned to the win column by defeating Kelsey DeSantis via split decision.
Official PFL vs Bellator results
Check out the PFL vs Bellator results right here!
Main card:
- Heavyweight super belt title bout: Renan Ferreira def. Ryan Bader via TKO (punches) – Round 1,
- Middleweight super belt title bout: Johnny Eblen def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jason Jackson def. Ray Cooper III via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:23
- Vadim Nemkov def. Bruno Cappelozza via technical submission (arm triangle) – Round 2, 2:13
- Yoel Romero def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- A.J. McKee def. Clay Collard via submission (triangle armbar) – Round 1, 1:10
Prelims:
- Aaron Pico def. Henry Corrales via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 4:53
- Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Emmanuel Palacio via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Claressa Shields def. Kelsey DeSantis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. Edukondala Rao via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:23
- Malik Basahel def. Vinicius Pereira via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
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