Renan Ferreira knocked out Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds to headline the PFL vs. Bellator card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Bellator fighters won all five bouts on the main card before the battle between PFL and Bellator heavyweight champions closed the evening. Ferreira easily prevented the clean sweep, however, as the PFL champion wasted no time en route to victory.
PFL @PFLMMA
PFL takes home the Main Event win!#PFLvsBellator pic.twitter.com/LseKR2WOCu
PFL @PFLMMA
WOAHHHHH pic.twitter.com/xV3J1oRAks
That win could very well set up a match with former UFC heavyweight champion Frances Ngannou, who has expressed a desire to return to MMA and had his eyes on Saturday’s winner.
For now, though, here’s a look at how the evening’s matches went down, alongside some highlights.
Renan Ferreira def. Ryan Bader via Round 1 TKO (0:21)
Johnny Eblen def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Jason Jackson def. Ray Cooper III via Round 2 TKO (0:23)
Vadim Nemkov def. Bruno Cappelozza via Round 2 technical submission (2:23)
Yoel Romero def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
AJ McKee def. Clay Collard via Round 1 submission (1:10)
Aaron Pico def. Henry Corrales via Round 1 TKO (4:53)
Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Emmanuel Palacio via split 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 Round 3 TKO (0:23)
Malek Basahel def. Vinicius Pereira via unanimous decision: 30-27, 29-28, 30-27
Main Card Recaps and Highlights
Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
Ferreira clocked Bader with a left hand before hitting him with a right that sent him to the canvas. Some ground-and-pound closed the deal, sending Ferreira to 13-3 (three no-contests). Bader is now 31-8 (one no-contest).
Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
Johnny Eblen moved to 15-0 lifetime after this win, but it wasn’t easy as Impa Kasanganay took him the distance in this battle of middleweight champions.
Eblen got dropped hard in the second round with a big right hand and took some other shots as well.
PFL @PFLMMA
IMPA DROPS EBLEN!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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Kasanganay (15-4) clearly won the second round, but Eblen had the edge in Rounds 1 and 3 thanks in part to takedowns in each. He notably clearly controlled the end of Round 3 after a takedown with a minute-and-a-half left.
Bellator MMA @BellatorMMA
WoW what a fight! We go to the scorecards…#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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In the end, he was the victor in the closest main card bout.
Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson
Jackson landed a low kick to Cooper’s left knee that took his foe’s legs out from under him, and then some ground-and-pound led to a Round 2 TKO in this 182-pound catchweight fight.
MMA Fighting @MMAFighting
Jason Jackson brutalizes Ray Cooper III with leg kicks for the TKO 😤 #PFLvsBellator pic.twitter.com/gBv5PpjmkY
Jackson has won eight straight to move to 18-4. Cooper is 25-10-1.
Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
Vadim Nemkov choked out Bruno Cappelozza with an arm triangle in Round 2 for the convincing heavyweight win:
DAZN MMA @daznmma
Vadim Nemkov puts him to SLEEP 😴#PFLvsBellator | Live on DAZN pic.twitter.com/DKdBXMq7sO
Nemkov, who was making a return to heavyweight from light heavyweight, is now 17-2 (one no-contest). Cappelozza fell to 15-7.
Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
The 46-year-old Yoel Romero proved he’s still got it with a great victory over Thiago Santos in this light heavyweight matchup.
Low kicks proved beneficial to Romero’s victorious effort:
Bellator MMA @BellatorMMA
Yoel Romero has been investing in those low kicks through 2 rounds. 1 more round to go!#PFLvsBellator LIVE NOW
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He also got in some great punches and a Round 3 flying knee en route to improving to 16-7. Santos is now 22-12 (one no-contest).
Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee
AJ McKee got an early takedown and began looking for an early submission afterward in this lightweight fight. He got it done just 1:10 into the match with a smooth armbar attempt:
DAZN MMA @daznmma
𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄@ajmckee101 submits Clay Collard in the first 🤯#PFLvsBellator | Buy now at https://t.co/Bpg4GPT1PB pic.twitter.com/4CcZKAwuAU
McKee improved to 22-1 lifetime. Collard fell to 24-12 (one no-contest).
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