The 2024 PFL heavyweight final is set following Friday’s PFL Nashville, which saw Oleg Popov and Denis Goltsov win their semifinal fights.
Popov claimed a unanimous decision against Linton Vassell, who had stepped into the playoffs on short notice, replacing Valentin Moldavsky, who had withdrawn from the tournament.
Moldavsky, like Popov, is a student of Fedor Emelianenko, part of “The Last Emperor’s” highly-touted Fedor Team. If nothing else, Moldavsky being swapped out with Vassell saw teammates avoid fighting one another.
Tim Johnson, meanwhile, met Denis Goltsov in the PFL Nashville main event. Goltsov, a finalist in 2023 and multi-time PFL playoff fighter, is a veteran looking to get over the final hump and claim the first major title of his career. Johnson was a late entrant in the 2024 season, sneaking into the playoffs off his one and only fight, a finish of UFC vet Danilo Marques.
Friday’s main event opened with Johnson punching in and driving Goltsov into the fence. Unable to get the Russian fighter down, the action returned to center, and this time, it was Goltsov pursuing, and landing, a takedown. With three and a half minutes on the clock, Goltsov had ample time to work from half-guard. Right hands followed; Goltsov moved to mount, dropping ground n’ pound as Tim Johnson covered up. Under fire, Johnson gave up his back, and wound up turning to his side again.
Goltsov, undeterred, pounded away, the ref taking a good look and finally choosing to halt the action. A TKO victory sends Denis Goltsov to the 2024 PFL heavyweight final, where he’ll meet Popov in an all-Russian finale.
