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Jake’s Takes – PFL vs Bellator is a step in the right direction
On a night where the UFC has an event with decent name value at the top of the card, it’s hard to bring the attention to your own promotions. The only way to do that is to put on a card that breaks the established conventions of the MMA world that we’ve come to know.
Saturday night’s PFL vs. Bellator event was a perfect example of how to do just that. I understand that Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega are not the biggest names in the sport, but it is still incredibly impressive to be able to compete with the UFC’s importance on a given night, given just how much control they have over the audience.
Bellator have always been open to working with other promotions; they crossed over with BAMMA and they had frequent co-promoted events with RIZIN. In fact, Kyoji Horiguchi held titles in both promotions at once. Still, those events never made a dent in the wider market. They never quite broke through. That finally changed with PFL.
Above all the promotion and production (which was excellent and speaks to the strength of Saudi Arabia as a hosting nation), the fights are what made the card great. Bringing the best of the best from each promotion and pitting them against one another for a chance to prove their standing on a world stage is a pipe dream for most promoters. In spite of not having the likes of 2023 PFL welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov or respective featherweight champions Jesus Pinedo and Patricio Pitbull due to injury, the fighters brought in were suitable and still of a high standing in their promotions.
The selling point of the main event between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader was a no-brainer. With all respect to the two champions, nobody cared very much about this fight until Francis Ngannou’s name was brought into the mix. There was more at stake than the ‘super belt’; there was a chance to earn a payday opposite the baddest man on the planet. Ferreira’s prompt destruction of Bader was the statement victory needed to garner fan interest in that bout. I’m doubtful that it will come to fruition, given Ngannou’s blossoming career as a boxer, but it does give PFL a chance to finally book Ngannou’s long-awaited return to MMA.
The co-main event between Impa Kasanganay and Johnny Eblen was as much fun as I had expected. For the first time in his career, Eblen was put in a scenario that he looked unable to escape from. Still, he showed his grit and persevered until the end. I feel for Kasanganay; I scored it 29-28 to him, but his stock has still risen. Over five rounds, I think this would be a very different fight and I hope we get to see it at some point.
To quote my father’s live reaction to the feature fight, Jason Jackson is a bloody monster. The reigning Bellator welterweight champion made Ray Cooper III, a two-time PFL champ, look like an amateur. I have immense for Cooper taking the fight on short notice and making the walk, but it wasn’t to be. Jackson is talking about a matchup with Cedric Doumbe, which I’m not completely opposed to, but Doumbe is still very early in his MMA career. A matchup with Magomedkerimov would be ideal, but I doubt we’ll see that before 2025. Seeing ‘The Ass Kicking Machine’ back in action at Bellator Champions Series is more than enough for me.
Although he gave up his title before the fight, Vadim Nemkov looked every bit of the champion he has shown us that he is. His return to heavyweight was a breeze, disposing of former PFL champ Bruno Cappelozza in just two rounds. Personally, I think he should be the man to face Francis Ngannou, but that’s probably not the direction that either company want to go. Nemkov is keen on picking another gold belt anyway, so a rematch with Bader for the heavyweight title should be a lock for a Bellator Champions Series show. Regardless, he’s an elite fighter and a pleasure to watch.
Thiago Santos vs Yoel Romero wasn’t great and if you thought it would be, I am judging you a little bit. This would’ve been a fantastic contest between two titans had it happened in the UFC about six years ago. Instead, we got the same tepid, lukewarm performances consistent with what we’ve seen from them both over the past few years. I understand that Romero’s name still carries weight to the more casual crowd, but this fight stunk.
AJ McKee is awesome, isn’t he? We all knew that before he tapped Clay Collard in less time than it takes to make a bag of popcorn to watch the fight, but this just reaffirms it. His move to lightweight looks to have been a benefit and I think that he could make a splash in the upper echelon of the division, be it in PFL or Bellator. Clay Collard is still a badass, by the way.
I only managed to catch the final two bouts on the prelims, but what I saw wasn’t too bad. Aaron Pico’s evolution into the world-class talent he was predicted to be has been astounding to watch. He made light work of old foe Henry Corales and did it in style. In all honesty, I didn’t care for Biaggo Ali Walsh vs Emmanuel Palacio. It was pretty dull and doesn’t inspire much confidence in Ali Walsh’s ability. He’s still young in his career, however, and I’m sure that he will improve.
Overall, the card wasn’t perfect, but it’s a major step in the right direction for PFL. Putting on cards with this quality of fights is the key to truly bringing interest to their events and making themselves into the “co-leader” of the sport, as they claim to be. The fact that Bellator fighters went on a 5-0 sweep before the main event also shows that acquiring that promotion was the right call.
Even if next year’s iteration of this event doesn’t live up to expectations or if this isn’t the shot in the arm that puts PFL on the right track, it was a night to remember in Riyadh.
***
For more PFL and Bellator content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.
Despite being just two weeks removed from his defeat to Alex Pereira in the main event at UFC 300, Jamahal Hill is climbing straight back on the horse and already has his next fight lined up. ‘Sweet Dreams’ is scheduled to face Khalil Roundtree Jr at UFC 303 on June 29th.
The card will be headlined by the long-awaited return of ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, and Hill has elected to step straight back into fight camp rather than sit on the sidelines and recover from the devastating first round knockout he suffered at the hands of Pereira.
Rountree will be coming into this bout on a five-fight winning streak and has finished seven of his 9 UFC victories by knockout. Sitting at #8 in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings, Rountree will surely see a victory over a former champion like Hill as a short cut to a title shot.
Given that Hill will likely have received a 60-day medical suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and there are only 77 days separating UFCs 300 and 303, there are certainly questions to be raised about the decision of Hill and his team to take this fight.
Hill explained in an interview with The Schmo that he sees the proximity of the two fights being a positive for his physical preparations, and that he is focused on avenging the loss to Pereira:
“I’m already in good shape” he explained. “I’m feeling good, heading into another camp just makes sense, I get to go into a camp in shape instead of going into camp off a layoff so I think that’ll be a huge plus and will help me go out and put on the performance I need to against Khalil Rountree to put myself back in position to get that Alex Pereira fight back.
“It’s about getting back to that fight, I want to fight Alex again just because of the narrative surrounding it ”
Hill originally won the 205lb title after defeating Pereira’s coach Glover Teixeira over five rounds at UFC 283 in January of 2023. He then ruptured his Achilles tendon last July and vacated the belt which Pereira won by beating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November.
After much deliberation, striking veterans Liam Harrison and Seksan Or Kwanmuang have finally found a date for their highly anticipated clash.
The pair will meet in a 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest when ONE Championship returns to the U.S. for ONE 168: Denver on Saturday, 7th September.
The event inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena is already stacking up to be one of the biggest cards of the year for the world’s largest martial arts organization, and the addition of this matchup will only increase the hype among martial arts fans.
Harrison has been on the sidelines for some time now. He suffered a worrying knee injury when he challenged former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama for the gold at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August 2022, and he had to overcome further complications before thinking about a return to action.
The British striking legend will have a chance to shake off the cobwebs before colliding with Seksan, however, as he is scheduled to make his way back to ONE for a battle with Katsuki Kitano at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on 8th June.
“Hitman” will need all the preparation he can get for his match with Seksan. The former Rajadamnern Stadium and WBC Muay Thai World Champion has built a fearsome reputation in ONE Championship over the last 15 months, given that he amassed eight consecutive wins after his debut last January.
Seksan appeared unstoppable in the promotion until he met Japanese star Yutaro Asashi at ONE Friday Fights 58 earlier this month.
After three thrilling rounds of Muay Thai, the Thai veteran fell to a unanimous decision loss, which means he’ll be charged up for a triumphant return to form against Harrison.
And with “Hitman” keen to find his way back to the top in ONE, their clash in Denver on 7th September is all but guaranteed to be a barnburner.
The whirlwind surrounding Ryan Garcia’s victory over Devin Haney last weekend is just beginning to settle down but it seems the controversial boxer is intent on staying in the headlines as he eyes UFC champion, Sean O’Malley.
The bizarre lead up to the fight with Haney was plagued with erratic behaviour on Garcia’s part, rumours of a mental breakdown, signs of alcohol and drug issues, and generally controversial behaviour. Garcia missed weight by 3.2lbs, and appeared to chug a beer on the scales during the weigh ins.
Entering the fight as an underdog, Garcia surprised everybody by dropping Haney three times and emerging victorious by majority decision. After the fight, Garcia insisted he drank and smoked every day in the build up to the fight and still picked up the win. This shocking turn of events has now opened up a variety of possible lucrative match ups for Garcia going forward, and it seems one MMA superstar wants a piece of that action.
The UFC hasn’t sanctioned a boxing crossover bout since Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has long campaigned for the opportunity to test his striking skills against Garcia, and this week on his podcast The Timbo Sugar Show, he insisted that the UFC have already given him the green light to seek out some opportunities in the boxing ring:
“A boxing fight’s possible for sure. I’m not there yet. I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more f*cking sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do it.
O’Malley continued: “They told me ‘You can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money’. The option is there, it just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f*cking freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f*cking Floyd v Conor fight”.
Ryan Garcia tweeted an image of himself and O’Malley this week with the caption: “RAINBOW CACA BRAIN. WANTS TO BOX. BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW”
RAINBOW CACA BRAIN
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 22, 2024
WANTS TO BOX
BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW pic.twitter.com/GGrvV7ZSCH
Sean O’Malley became the UFC’s bantamweight champion when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last August. He then defended the belt and avenged the only loss on his record when he dominated Marlon Vera over five rounds at UFC 299 in March.
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