PFL 9 saw the lightweight and light heavyweight finalists earn their shot at a million dollars over the weekend, with Vinny Magalhaes and Sean O’Connell coming out on top at 205lbs.
PFL 9 took place in Long Beach, California over the weekend, sorting out the league’s lightweight and light heavyweight divisions in terms of who would move on to the final. The merit-based format of the Professional Fighters League has made for some interesting action this year, and though there were a few quirks (like the “lucky loser” rule coming into play on Saturday), the action in the cage delivered.
Ultimately, when the dust had settled, Vinny Magalhaes and Sean O’Connell moved on to the light heavyweight finals on New Year’s Eve in New York. Natan Schulte and Rashid Magomedov, meanwhile, will battle it out for a million dollars in the lightweight division.
PFL 9 Results:
Light Heavyweight: Vinny Magalhães def. Bazigit Atajev by submission (kimura), Round 1, 1:50 (semi-final bout)
Lightweight: Natan Schulte def. Chris Wade by split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28) (semi-final bout)
Light Heavyweight: Sean O’Connell def. Smealinho Rama by knockout, Round 1, 1:45 (semi-final bout)
Lightweight: Rashid Magomedov def. Thiago Tavares by TKO (punches), Round 2, 3:36 (semifinal)
Light Heavyweight: Vinny Magalhães def. Rakim Cleveland by submission (kimura), Round 1, 1:20 (quarterfinal bout)
Lightweight: Natan Schulte vs. Johny Case ends in a majority draw (19-18, 19-19, 19-19) (quarterfinal bout) – Schulte advances by first round tiebreaker
Light Heavyweight: Bazigit Atajev def. def. Emiliano Sordi by TKO, Round 1, 1:43 (quarterfinal bout)
Lightweight: Chris Wade def. Robert Watley by majority decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) (quarterfinal bout)
Preliminary card (Facebook Watch)
Light Heavyweight: Sean O’Connell def. Dan Spohn by unanimous decision (19-19, 19-18, 19-18) (quarterfinal bout)
Lightweight: Islam Mamedov def. Thiago Tavares by unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) (quarterfinal bout)
Light Heavyweight: Maxim Grishin vs. Smealinho Rama ends in majority draw (20-18, 19-19, 19-19) (quarterfinal bout) – Rama advances by first round tiebreaker
Lightweight: Will Brooks vs. Rashid Magomedov ends in a unanimous draw (19-19, 19-19, 19-19) (quarterfinal bout) – Magomedov advances by first round tiebreaker
Light Heavyweight: Brandon Halsey def. Ronny Markes by unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) (tournament alternate bout)
Lightweight: Ramsey Nijem def. Yuki Kawana by unanimous decision (19-18, 19-18, 19-18) (tournament alternate bout)
Below, you can check out highlights from the evening courtesy of the Professional Fighters league!
