Kelvin Tiller will be a little further down the playoff standings after Denis Goltsov softened him up before submitting him at PFL 6 2019 in Atlantic City.
Due to Ronny Markes missing weight for the PFL 2019 Week 6 card in Atlantic City, NJ, Dan Spohn got a walkover win and three points in the heavyweight tournament. The deck, meanwhile, was reshuffled a bit in terms of bout order, and Kelvin Tiller vs. Denis Goltsov wound up moved to the preliminary card.
Tiller became something of a star for the Professional Fighters League in the 2018 season, and the Mama’s Boy had opened up the 2019 year with a first round submission and six points. On Thursday, he was paired up with Russia’s Denis Goltsov, who had knocked out ex-UFC heavyweight Jared Rosholt at PFL 3 back in June.
That had the pair atop the heavyweight standings, Goltsov ranked first due to a faster finish time. He’d stay that way following the fight. Round one was all Goltsov. An uppercut, a knee, everything seemed to be connecting. Including a left jab, and soon, Kelvin Tiller’s eye was showing some serious damage. He was also being seriously out-struck by Goltsov. A number of times, Tiller either lost or spit out his mouthpiece, as the round wore on, perhaps because his nose was bloodied as well, impeding his breathing. Eventually, the ref took a point from Tiller, but it wouldn’t matter.
Round two saw Tiller’s reemergence, ever so briefly. A takedown attempt, and the loudest crowd reaction of the night, as the Atlantic City faithful got behind Tiller. However, that backfired, Tiller ended up on bottom, and soon tapped to a neck crank.
Denis Goltsov def. Kelvin Tiller by submission (neck crack), Round 2, 3:40
