PFL packed a punch for its first trip to Salt Lake City.
The Professional Fighters League hosted Regular Season action on Friday night at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center. The card boasted reigning champs, fan favorites and hometown heroes across the Lightweight and Light Heavyweight divisions, with the event solidifying their respective brackets for the 2024 “Win or Go Home” Playoffs.
“I want to make sure that we come out to Utah at least twice a year,” said PFL President Ray Sefo in his post-fight address. “That crowd was amazing.”
The night's first contest saw a Featherweight showcase between two undefeated prospects. After an exciting back and forth, Brahyan Zurcher decided enough was enough and flatlined the Utah-raised Julian Ruiz with a devastating left hand in the second round.
Rounding out the prelims, Lightweight Brent Primus overcame early adversity and locked in a clutch last-minute rear naked choke to walk away with a submission victory. With the third-round finish, the former Bellator champ finished his first PFL Regular Season with nine total points and the #1 seed in the Lightweight Playoffs.
“I just wasn’t finding my leg kicks,” Primus said, reflecting on his early struggles in the fight. “I worked to kick his calf like crazy, but it just wasn’t there and I finally said, ‘screw it, let’s just brawl.’”
Bruno Miranda and fan-favorite Patricky Pitbull did their best Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje impressions but instead of waiting for the final ten seconds, the two Lightweights traded shots in the middle of the cage from the opening bell. Both fighters landed over 50% of their strikes in an unwavering search of a finish but Miranda ultimately pulled ahead to secure a split decision victory.
The co-main event featured a battle between Light Heavyweight belt holders, namely the 2023 PFL Champion Impa Kasanganay and 2023 PFL Europe Champion Jakob Nedoh. Kasanganay was rocked early by the European champ but rallied to return the favor in the following round. The American unloaded on Nedoh in the final minute of the second and although the bell sounded, the doctor had seen enough and called the fight.
“You should see the training sessions coach puts us through,” Kasanganay said, describing the level of danger he felt he was in during the first round. “He dropped me, respect to him, but I go in to push the pace and break somebody. I don’t care if it's three, five, ten, fifteen rounds; literally, you’ll have to kill me out there.”
The doctor stoppage was a polarizing decision. Many believed the referee should have stepped in to call the fight, while others thought it should have continued into the next round. The latter sentiment was shared by Sefo.
“I don’t know what the hell happened there,” he said. “You get a minute to rest. If you get dropped in that last second but you can make it to the corner, you still have a minute to recover… The ref should have actually stopped that fight before that bell rang, but once that bell rings, the fighter has a minute to recover.”
Nonetheless, Kasanganay walked away with 11 total Regular Season points and heads into the Playoffs with the #1 seed and a shot to become the first back-to-back PFL Light Heavyweight Champion. He expressed that he is grateful to return to the Playoff stage where he will take on a familiar foe in Josh Silveira in the opening round.
“I respect Josh, he’s a good man. Good men make great fighters. But I’m going to dominate him more than I did last year and look to get that finish.”
Rounding out the event, Mads Burnell stepped into enemy territory against the hometown hero Clay Collard. There, the Lightweight neutralized Collard’s elite boxing and output with his patience, reaction timing and grappling advantage, spoiling Collard's homecoming with a unanimous decision victory.
“I think I hit him with the cleaner shots and was smarter with picking my shots,” Burnell explained. “When most guys fight Clay, they are so intimidated by his volume. I was just standing there, picking my shots and then when the takedown was there, I took it.”
“This ain’t a beer belly. This is a fuel tank full of ass-whoopin.” - Mads Burnell
Playoff brackets have now been solidified for the Lightweight and Light Heavyweight divisions and the two weight classes will return to the SmartCage for postseason action on August 16 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.
The Professional Fighters League wraps up its Regular Season on June 28 in Sioux Falls, Idaho. Playoff action begins shortly thereafter on August 2, with Heavyweights and Women’s Flyweights competing at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Tennessee.
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