Loik Radzhabov and Islam Mamedov battled it out in a close lightweight quarterfinal bout at PFL 8 2019 in Las Vegas.
The third lightweight quarterfinal at PFL 8 2019 on Thursday saw Islam Mamedov take on Loik Radzhabov. Mamedov was the winner of seventeen straight and had not lost in over a decade. He was also the second seed in the PFL lightweight playoffs, while opponent Radzhabov was seventh.
Both fighters entered the playoff bout with just one professional loss each to their name. That stat was about to change, with the winner moving on to face the winner of Nate Andrews vs. Chris Wade.
Radzhabov connected early in the first round with a left hook. Mamedov shot in on a single leg, perhaps out of desperation. But he stayed on it, and planted Radzhabov on the ground at least briefly. Radzhabov would scramble up; Mamedov would take the back and drag him down, but again, Radzhabov broke free. However, moments later Mamedov would get the fight down again, putting Radzhabov on his back. Mamedov moved to side control, while Radzhabov worked his way back to the fence, trying to wall walk up. Only for Islam Mamedov to pull his legs out from under him.
Round two had Mamedov changing levels for a takedown early, but Radzhabov escaped. He’d be trapped up against the fence, however, where Mamedov clamped on a body lock. He’d work there for a while and eventually drop Radzhabov on his back. With half a round to work, Mamedov certainly had time to make something happen. With a minute to go, however, Radzhabov scrambled out — only to fall victim to another single leg takedown. At the end of the round, however, Radzhabov would catch Mamedov in a rear-naked choke. He had it deep, but was out of position, and couldn’t finish it, or re-position himself, before the final bell.
After a close, hotly contested battle, the pair went to the scorecards — with the judges returning a draw. As a result, the tiebreaker rule was in effect. Judges selected a winner based on who they felt had the most complete body of work in the fight. And in this case that was Loik Radzhabov.
Official Result: Islam Mamedov vs. Loik Radzhabov ends in draw, Radzhabov advances due to tiebreaker (judge’s selection)
