In the Heavyweight World Tournament Final former UFC contender Alexander Romanov battled 2024 PFL finalist Oleg Popov.
Both competitors are known as dominant grapplers which made this a very interesting style matchup. Romanov had a near thirty pound weight advantage on fight night; Popov was a smaller Heavyweight in stature but is one of the most skilled fighters on the PFL roster.
In round one, both fighters started out cautious exchanging low leg kicks early. Romanov initiated the clinch and landed a knee to the body of Popov. Each fighter again was locked up in the clinch battling for position at the midway point of the round. Once separated Popov threw a big overhand right that barley connected. Popov seemed to be the quicker fighter in round one landing a few leg kicks and jabs at distance. After five minutes Popov jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in all likelihood.
To start round two both fighters almost immediately locked up in the clinch staling time against the fence. Romanov was eventually shrugged off and landed a knee on the break. Popov bounced back and forth landing a low leg kick and forcing the fight back to the fence. Once against the cage, Popov dropped down on a double leg takedown and dragged Romanov to the floor. After returning to their feet, Romanov landed a straight left hand but Popov walked through the shot and continued to march forward. With little action on the feet for the remainder of the round, Popov could have won this round as well.
The third began with each fighter exchanging kicks early before entering the clinch again. This was starting to look more like a sparring match then a world title fight as the crowd in Florida began to grow restless of the continuous clinch fighting. Romanov began stalling time against the fence in the clinch , as the referee had no interest in breaking up the action. At the midway point of the round, Popov shot in on a single leg takedown, but abandoned the attempt and landed a few good punches upstairs on Romanov.
In round four, Popov started off with a good low leg kick but the fight quickly entered the clinch. Romanov plotted forward looking to land a big left hand, but Popov was able to get away from danger. As Popov retreated Romanov connected on a big uppercut that was his best shot of the fight. Popov covered up and started to retreat from “King Kong”. A damaging elbow from Romanov landed a home before Popov forced the fight to the clinch. Romanov pushed Oleg up to against the fence and started to have his best moments in the fight. Another big elbow landed for Romanov as he exited the clinch. The fourth was the best round of the fight for Romanov but he may have been too far behind.
The fifth and final round saw Popov come out on the aggressive. A big left hand connected for Popov before Romanov started to land quality shots in the clinch. Both fighters seemed to be relatively fresh in this final five minutes. Romanov looked for a takedown against the fence, but was unsuccessful and ate a few good shots from Popov as he circled away. With a minute remaining, Popov landed a low leg kick and Romanov missed on a spinning back kick. After five rounds it was more than likely Popov who would come away with the victory.
The judges scored this contest split with the first two going in separate directions. The third judge scored the fight for Oleg Popov as he was awarded the victory. This was a massive ride back to the title for Popov who fell just short last year in the final.
Official Result: Oleg Popov def. Alexander Romanov by split decision (47–48, 49–46, 49–48)
