- George Chung
- Aug 24, 2024
- 2 min read
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) concluded the 2024 PFL Global Playoffs with an action-packed event of fights live from The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The evening’s card featured four playoff bouts across the Featherweight and Welterweight divisions and now the PFL World Championship bouts are set.
In the highly anticipated main event of the evening, Brendan Loughnane and Kai Kamaka III battled with a spot in the 2024 PFL Featherweight Championship on the line. It was the Pride of Manchester, Loughnane taking the split decision, securing an opportunity for his second PFL World Title against Timur Khizriev.
In the co-main event of the evening, Magomed Umalatov faced off against Neiman Gracie, who took the fight on short notice as an alternate. The fight saw exciting back and forth action both standing up and on the mat, but in the end, “Prince” Umalatov took the decision victory, remaining undefeated to start his career and making his first-ever appearance in the PFL World Championships against fellow unbeaten superstar, Shamil Musaev.
PFL Featherweight Playoff action kicked off with PFL Challenger Series alum Gabriel Braga battling against the undefeated Timur Khizriev. After three rounds, two of the three judges awarded Khizriev the split decision, sending him to the PFL World Championship against Brendan Loughnane.
“Tonight the PFL showcased the best action in MMA once again with four fighters continuing their $1 million dollar journey,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “The energy of a PFL Playoff event brings out the very best in our athletes. We look forward to crowning our 2024 PFL World Champions.”
A mere eight weeks after their Regular Season matchup, Shamil Musaev and Murad Ramazanov met in the Welterweight Semifinals and the rematch had a similar result. The undefeated Musaev cruised to a unanimous decision win, blanking fellow Russian on the scorecards and setting up his 2024 World Championship fight against Umalatov
Two-time PFL Champion Ray Cooper III battled Mukhamed Berkhamov and in the end it was Berkhamov who won by a closely contested split decision. This was Berkhamov’s PFL debut and he moved his career record to 17-2.
Further action saw Enrique Barzola defeating Tyler Diamond by a unanimous decision in the Featherweight showcase. Barzola moved his career record to 21-9-2.
In a Featherweight bout, Jose Perez defeated Jesse Stirn by a unanimous decision. This was Perez's PFL debut and he won his fifth straight fight overall.
Maxwell Djantou Nana and Kent Mafileo competed in a heavyweight contest. In the second round, Djantou finished his opponent with a technical knockout. All six of his wins have come via knockout and Djantou will now go on to compete in PFL Africa.
In the first fight of the evening, Shido Boris Esperanca defeated Tyler Hill by first-round TKO. Esperanca moved his career record to 9-1 and will now be competing in the inaugural 2025 PFL Africa season.
All 2024 PFL Global Season events are live across ESPN platforms in the U.S. and DAZN in Canada and Europe with additional international premium sports platform distribution reaching 160 countries globally.
