Finishing his second fight in a single night at PFL 9 2019, Emiliano Sordi earned himself a shot in the 2019 light heavyweight finals, where he will be a very hard man to beat.
In the second of two semifinal fights at PFL 9 2019, fourth seed Bazigit Atajev faced top-seeded Emiliano Sordi in a fight that would send someone to the million dollar final, where American Jordan Johnson awaited. The fight went down in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Event Center Thursday. Sordi, notably, had finished Sigi Pesaleli via TKO earlier in the evening.
After some feeling out, it was Sordi initiating the first real engagement in the semifinal, charging in with a combination, landing several times before Atajev forced him off. Sordi mixed in leg kicks, but Atajev placed a left behind the ear. Sordi would eat that well enough, but get dropped to a knee a moment later. Atajev, however, would wind up on his back off a punch, Sordi on top of him. Sordi would move to mount with a minute remaining in the round, then take the back. With a body triangle locked on, he sunk in the rear-naked choke, forcing the tap! With that, the top seed moves to the finals, and Emiliano Sordi has yet another finish in the Professional Fighters League.
Official Result: Emiliano Sordi def. Bazigit Atajev by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:26
