PFL 2: Brooks vs. Firmino Results and Recap

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PFL 2 Will Brooks Luiz Firmino
Will Brooks vs. Luiz Firmino Credit: Mike Straus/Cageside Press

The Professional Fighters League kicked off it’s 2018 lightweight and light heavyweight tournament’s on Thursday night in Chicago, IL — with Will Brooks vs. Luiz Firmino in the main event!

PFL 2 went down Thursday night at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL. Bringing the opening round of the promotion’s lightweight and light heavyweight tournaments, the event promised plenty of action. Plus, a host of familiar names. Will Brooks (former Bellator lightweight champ/UFC combatant), Ramsey Nijem (two-time Ultimate Fighter contestant and finalist in TUF 13), Luiz Firmino (Pride veteran), Sean O’Connell (UFC), and more all joined the action.

In addition, in a non-tournament bout, two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison made her professional MMA debut. She’d take on former Bellator fighter Brittney Elkin.

In early prelim action, a run of bizarre finishes made for an interesting afternoon in Chicago. A low blow by Robert Wately forced Thiago Tavares to the ground in pain, and after a full five minutes of recovery, he was unable to continue. That, however, gave Wately the TKO victory, a result of the low blow being unintentional. That also means Wately earns five points in the tournament, despite the disappointing finish.

Next up was Maxim Grishin, who finished off Jason Butcher with a right hand. However, on his way out, Butcher rolled over his own ankle, injuring it in the process.

And not to be outdone in the weirdness category, Rakim Cleveland finished off Rashid Yusupov after apparently breaking his jaw. The fight was stopped between the second and third round, however, as the injury went undetected, and a tough Yusupov gutted it out. Oddly, the official finish of the fight came at 0:01 of the third, despite Yusupov never actually coming out to answer the bell.

Just when you thought things were in the clear, another doctor’s stoppage TKO after a great back-and-forth fight between light heavyweights Brandon Halsey and Smealinho Rama. A cut on Rama, who came close to finishing Halsey in the first and dropped him with the head kick in the second, rendered him unable to continue. It was yet another fight ending at 0:01 of the third round, as ruled by the Illinois commission — despite the third round never starting. That also robbed each winner of a point in the PFL tournament, leaving Halsey none too happy back stage.

Ronny Markes vs. Sean O’Connell

Sean O’Connell went from the broadcast booth, where he worked the PFL 2 preliminary card, to the cage in Chicago Thursday night. Opposite him, Ronny Markes, who’d fought as high as super heavyweight.

The pair traded kicks to start before Markes shot a takedown and landed it. O’Connell worked his way back to the fence but gave up his back trying to work to his feet. He wound up with Markes on his back, the weight of the Brazilian keeping him down. O’Connell, however, finally slipped free, and moved into half guard. Markes then swept, and began working for a kimura. O’Connell tried to scramble out, but again gave up his back. The American then rolled to get on top, and looked to pin an arm. Markes, however, swept again and moved to a high mount only for O’Connell to slip out the back. He’d eat a punch getting back to his feet, and the pair would trade with Markes getting the better of his opponent. However, O’Connell launched a flying knee, and Markes used that to work for a takedown — bizarrely, given he’d been finding late success on the feet.

Round two started with Markes attacking on the feet, launching a flying knee, and Sean O’Connell proved more than happy to fire back. A hard left to the chin dropped Markes, and O’Connell began launching blow after blow on his fallen opponent. Markes covered up, and survived perhaps longer than really necessary until the ref finally made the save.

Sean O’Connell def. Ronny Markes by TKO, Round 2, 0:41

Efrain Escudero vs. Jason High

Jason High latched onto a standing guillotine early in his bout against Efrain Escudero, and looked to pull his opponent to the ground. He’d abandon the hold, but would continue to control the action as they got back to their feet. The pair would grapple along the fence, reversing position at times as Escudero looked for a takedown, only to be taken down himself following a level change by Jason High. The round would end with High in guard, working in some ground and pound while looking to pass.

Round two opened with some early exchanges on the feet, before High opted to drive his opponent into the cage. A reversal saw High taken down only briefly as he popped back up. Escudero just barely missed with a knee; High then scored a takedown and landed in guard. High maintained position, but was unable to pass into half guard. Escudero would look for an arm-bar, but High escaped, and transitioned into side control after a quick submission attempt.

After the pair battled through the second, round three saw things go south in a hurry for Jason High. A guillotine attempt by Escudero saw High move his hand to grab an arm. And the ref then waved off the fight! Incredibly, the ref had mistaken a clear attempt to defend the guillotine, with no defined tapping motion, as a tap! While High sat screaming that he did not tap, it was too late. Unbelievable, and one of the worst calls in recent memory. An infuriated High stormed to the back, knocking over chairs as he went, while the promotion opted to skip any in-cage interview with Escudero, who had missed weight for the bout and will not earn any points in the tournament.

Efrain Escudero def. Jason High by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 0:35

Kayla Harrison vs. Brittney Elkin

Kayla Harrison immediately pressed Elkin against the fence in her MMA debut, and soon had Brittney down to the ground. The judoka moved to side control, the half guard. Harrison postured up and dropped some punches, then transitioned to the back. Another bit of scrambling and some defense from Elkin, and Harrison would roll into an arm-bar after some hammer fists to the body. Once she had the arm, it was a done deal, with Elkin forced to tap!

Kayla Harrison def. Brittney Elkin by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:18

Brian Foster vs. Ramsey Nijem

Wasting no time whatsoever, Foster and Nijem came out swinging, with Foster unleashing some heavy uppercuts. He’s transition to a takedown along the cage; Nijem made it back up, and worked for a takedown of his own, latching on to a single leg while Foster fought to maintain his balance. Nijem would eventually manage to get on top of his opponent and work from the guard, which Foster tried to stay active from the bottom. Foster would later use a kimura attempt to sweep, landing on top, but Nijem proved tricky, locking his hands behind his back to avoid the submission.

Round two saw Nijem on top early, with Foster again trying to stay active from the bottom, throwing wild punches and looking to scramble free. He then locked on with a guillotine attempt, but Nijem easily pulled free. Nijem would maintain top control until the final minute of the round, working for a guillotine to no avail. Foster would then transition to the top, then briefly take the back, however with time in the round running out, they’d go to a third with Foster dropping hammers and Nijem answering with upkicks.

Two spinning kicks and a flying knee opened round three for Brian Foster, and after two rounds of grappling, the suddenly explosive Foster sealed the deal! Nijem tried to hold on, but could only cover up against the coming storm.

Brian Foster def. Ramsey Nijem by knockout, Round 3, 0:23

Luiz Firmino vs. Will Brooks

Firmino and Brooks went to the ground early, but Firmino was up quickly and tried for a guillotine, jumping into guard. Brooks easily freed himself and worked from the top, in half guard. Brooks would wind up back on his feet, however, and allowed ‘Buscape’ to get back to his feet. After some back-and-forth on the feet, Firmino shot in first with a double then a single, while Brooks tried to fight him off. Firmino would finish, however, but only had twenty seconds remaining to make something happen, which wasn’t in the cards.

Firmino came out flashing stance changes and working his standup early in round two. However, soon enough, they’d end up grappling once more. Brooks would reverse and throw Firmino to the canvas, then work to control the wrists. Plenty of action and exchanges in the second, but nothing close to a finish, and they’d move to a third.

Round three saw the pair grappling and fighting for wrist control through the first half of the round. The grappling-heavy approach would eliminate the possibility of a finish, and any bonus points, as the pair would go the distance. Will Brooks controlled the round, and the local hero finished the frame with a big punch from the top, but it would go to the judges.

Will Brooks def. Luiz Firmino by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Check back come fight time for full results and a recap of the main card action!

PFL 2 Results:

Will Brooks def. Luiz Firmino by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brian Foster def. Ramsey Nijem by knockout, Round 3, 0:23
Kayla Harrison def. Brittney Elkin by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:18
Efrain Escudero def. Jason High by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 0:35
Sean O’Connell def. Ronny Markes by TKO, Round 2, 0:41

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Brandon Halsey def. Smealinho Rama by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 3, 0:01
Islam Mamedov def. Yuki Kawana by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Vinny Magalhães def. Jamie Abdallah by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:37
Rakim Cleveland def. Rashid Yusupov by TKO (injury), Round 3, 0:01
Maxim Grishin def. Jason Butcher by TKO, Round 1, 1:40
Robert Watley def. Thiago Tavares by TKO, Round 2, 0:35
Natan Schulte def. Chris Wade by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
Dan Spohn def. Bazigit Atajev by TKO, Round 3, 4:31

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