This year, it’s the PFL World Tournament final that Popov (21-2) finds himself in; there, he’ll be facing Alexandr Romanov. Romanov’s own entry into the heavyweight final was a strange one, as at Friday’s PFL Chicago, he was the victim of a low blow landed by Valentin Moldavsky.

With the fight in the first round still, the bout ended in a No Contest, with Romanov exiting on a stretcher. Yet in a grand prix, win or go home tournament, someone had to move on. The judges were polled, and Romanov got the nod.

Popov, who lost to Denis Goltsov in the PFL’s 2024 season finale, defeated UFC vet Rodrigo Nascimento earlier in the night on Friday. After the bout, he told media outlets including Cageside Press that “I feel very healthy, wonderful, and I’m ready to go,” adding his own breakdown of Romanov. “Big, heavy, strong wrestler. That’s going to be tough.”

It seems Russia’s Popov is quite happy with the PFL these days. So happy, in fact, that if the UFC were to come calling, he’d turn them down.

“This is my second time reaching the final. A great responsibility. I finally want to win, I hope I can do it,” exclaimed Popov. “The organization is good. Each time, events are better and better organized. Overall, a cool promotion. If they offer me to go to the UFC, I probably won’t go.”

Especially if he wins a half million in prize money in August, no doubt.

Watch the full PFL Chicago post-fight press conference with Oleg Popov above.

The post PFL Chicago’s Oleg Popov Says if UFC Comes Calling, He Probably Won’t Go appeared first on Cageside Press.

Without question, the win is the biggest of his career, in a fight with an opponent he’d respected and even saw featured in the UFC video game growing up. Even better, noted Cauley following the fight, he got to show more of himself to fight fans.

“I really had to dig deep there in rounds two and three. I think Phil and I were both tired coming out of that first round, and yeah I just had to dig deep and fight hard,” Cauley (8-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. “My face was busted up, I was breathing hard, I couldn’t feel my arms, and just kept fighting. That’s the kind of guy that I am, that my coaches know that I am. When you’re knocking people out in the first round people don’t get to see that, and I felt today I got to show everybody what I’m really made of.”

The win was also a huge confidence boost. “I couldn’t be more confident. I knew I was good enough to beat Phil, but believing it and doing it are two different things. So this is just an affirmation for me of my skill set and all the work I’ve put into this sport.”

“Beating a guy like Phil Davis like that, I’m one of the best 205lb’ers in the world, for sure.”

Just as the confidence boost was huge, so was the cage time. Cauley had never before gone to a decision in any of his professional fights. “This is hugely valuable. This is really where you get better,” he noted. “People talk about getting better in practice all the time, and that’s true to an extent, but there’s really a limit to how much you can grow in the practice room. Competition is really where you get better.”

Now, it’s off to the PFL World Tournament final against Antonio Carlos Jr., who Sullivan Cauley called “another veteran, another really tough guy.” In this case, one who possesses “world-class jiu-jitsu.”

That, he added, “presents a unique set of challenges,” though challenges he feels he can overcome. “I don’t think he can strike with me, I don’t think he’s going to be able to find me. I’m going to be in and out, and side to side, and I’m going to knock him out.”

Watch the full PFL Chicago post-fight press conference with Sullivan Cauley above.

The post Sullivan Cauley Happy to Show “What I’m Really Made Of” at PFL Chicago, Predicts ACJ Knockout appeared first on Cageside Press.

Pettis, a former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, bounced back from a loss to Kyoji Horiguchi with the unanimous decision victory. Now, it appears he’s lined up for bantamweight gold in the PFL, though how and when that opportunity comes remains a question. Patchy Mix, who held 135lb gold for Bellator most recently, has since departed for the UFC. In theory, Pettis could end up facing the winner of the PFL Bantamweight World Tournament next.

A title shot is certainly on Sergio Pettis’ mind. “Man, I would like to get a title shot. I’m here for that belt, I’m here for a reason. I’m not here to just fight lower-level guys. I want to fight the best of the division,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “I would love a title shot, and my goal is to become a two-division champion.”

Then there’s the idea of becoming a two-promotion champion, as brother Anthony Pettis did. “In Bellator, now PFL. My brother’s got the WEC and the UFC, and we’d be the first two brothers to have really all the belts that are really big right now.”

After fighting a training partner in Stots (both men have put in their time at Roufusport in Milwaukee), Pettis is hoping to forgo similar match-ups in future. “What a weird experience. This job takes you to places you would ever expect, and you go against people you would never expect to face,” he noted, adding as he has several times before and after the fight, “PFL do not do this to me ever again, please!”

Despite the win being the first for Pettis since 2023, the bantamweight wasn’t the happiest with his showing. As he explained to Cageside Press, there were areas to improve in.

“Just my takedown defense, just being a little bit less gun-shy,” he noted. “It is also because I fought a guy I know. It was weird to really try to hurt somebody I know. I wasn’t holding back my punches, but I wasn’t comfortable trying to inflict damage until he started punching me on the ground. I was like ‘oh this motherf*cker is trying to win.'”

Pettis is hoping to face someone he’s not friends with moving forward, he reiterated. “I’ll go out there, try to sleep them.”

Watch the full PFL Chicago post-fight press conference with Sergio Pettis above.

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Edwards (15-4), a former Bellator middleweight title challenger, now has a date with Dalton Rosta in the final. And Rosta is someone he doesn’t appear to hold in high regard.

“He’s an idiot, and that’s it really,” Edwards said following the event, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “He’s just acting for the sake of acting, but he knows a five-rounder, that suits me.”

Edwards was among the many who felt Rosta lost his rematch with Canadian Aaron Jeffery. The bout went the distance, as did their first encounter. One official scored it 30-27 for Jeffery, but was overridden by the remaining two judges, who awarded Rosta 29-28 scores.

“That fight tonight, he lost, but they just gave it to him. It is what it is,” stated Edwards. “A five-rounder, I don’t see him making it for the five.”

Edwards is now set to fight for the third time in six months when the PFL World Tournament finals roll around in August. And there’s always a chance that, should all goes well, he earns a spot on a Super-Fights card later in the year. Regardless, the Brit is quite happy with the schedule.

“I like it. It keeps me in shape. Like the gas tank, the experience, it’s everything I love about it,” stated Edwards. “You know three fights in the space of six months, that’s lovely. I can’t be more grateful than what I am now.”

Watch the full PFL Chicago post-fight press conference with Fabian Edwards above.

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Edwards was a former Bellator MMA title challenger, Silveira had gone to the finals of a PFL Global season previously, though neither had managed to claim gold.

Early on, Silveira delivered some nasty low kicks, but Edwards ripped some of his own. Both men stumbled at times, and just under two minutes in, Silveira opted to change up the pace. He drove in on a takedown, though Edwards appeared up to the job of defending it. Both men would find success with their right hands during the round. And when they did go to the ground, Edwards was able to briefly take the back, though it was Silveira who would finish the round there.

Round two saw Silveira in on a single leg, and when Edwards stuffed it, Josh adjusted. Yet again, when they went to the ground, it was Edwards who was briefly able to get control. Only briefly, however, as Silveira adjusted and got back in control. Fabian was able to escape to his feet soon enough, and when they went back down, it was Fabian in control.

Silveira had been hurt by some knees to the body, and that might have allowed Edwards a little more success than he’d otherwise manage. Edwards briefly had the back, then transitioned to top, in half guard, looking for space to land elbows and clubbing punches. As Silveira moved to his feet, another Edwards knee landed. And as Silveira changed levels, Edwards ripped off a few more elbows.

Edwards had looked solid in round two, and in the third, ripped Silveira to the body, forcing him to take a step back. The knees in the second, the body shots in the third, it was all taking a toll, and moments later, Edwards had taken Silveira down. Silveira rolled to a knee, posting up along the fence. Yet there was Edwards, firing another knee; Silveira looked for an ankle pick, but basically gave up his back in the process. Silveira would eventually reverse, but Edwards was back to his feet moments later. And there, a left hand connected, hurting Silveira. He went after the desperation takedown, but barring a miracle, it was going to be Fabian Edwards meeting Dalton Rosta in the PFL World Tournament middleweight final.

That miracle did not come for Silveria, and it was indeed Edwards headed to the final.

Official Result: Fabian Edwards def. Josh Silveira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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The bout came on a night with some questionable scorecards (Dalton Rosta vs. Aaron Jeffery, Sergio Pettis vs. Raufeon Stots) and with one outright bizarre ending, as a No Contest in Alexandr Romanov vs. Valentin Moldavsky saw an injured Romanov, carried out on a stretcher due to a nasty low blow, advance to the PFL heavyweight World Tournament final.

Davis, a former Bellator champ and UFC contender, proved elusive early, as Cauley had to endure an extended feeling out process. Even when the action did pick up, with Cauley attempting to target the body, Davis was just plain hard to hit. And in the back half of the round, it was Davis closing the distance, clinching up, and looking to land a takedown. Which he did, care of a bodylock and a trip. While Cauley was immediately back to his feet, Davis never let go of the hold, and slammed him back down again.

Once again, Cauley popped up, and even dove in on a double-leg attempt of his own, before fanning on a high kick. After five minutes, the lessons learned were clear: Davis had the edge in wrestling, Cauley on the feet.

Cauley, as he had in the opening frame, began to rely on his right hand in round two; that appeared to be his most effective weapon. Davis fired a kick, while Cauley doubled up on that right. Davis ripped another kick to the body of Sullivan, Cauley jabbed the body. “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis then fell back on this wrestling, using a bodylock to his advantage again. And when Cauley returned to his feet, Davis landed a nasty knee to the face, opening up an equally nasty cut.

Despite a faceful of blood, Sullivan Cauley would clip Davis with a headkick towards the final minute, then land a knockdown! Davis shot in out of desperation, and suddenly the round had a different feel- though Davis did complete the takedown, and even went after a half-hearted face crank briefly.

Phil Davis opened round three with a kick to the body, but whether he was fully recovered remained a question. His first takedown attempt was sloppy, with Cauley easily pulling free. Cauley targeted the body with a jab, and worked to pin Davis down on the outside. He’d then catch a Davis kick, trying but failing to dump the former Bellator champ. Another level change from Davis saw Cauley pull free, but this time, Davis went right in on a second attempt, and briefly took Cauley down. To his credit, Cauley was again back up, with just under half a round remaining. He’d try to put the pressure on, only for Davis to tie things up in the final minute.

They’d go to the scorecards, on a night where the judges had been iffy at best. All three judges awarded the fight to Cauley, with two giving him all three rounds against the much more experienced Davis. He’s headed to the light heavyweight World Tournament final, opposite Antonio Carlos Jr.

Official Result: Sullivan Cauley def. Phil Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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The two bantamweights were originally slated to fight back in April of 2022 when they split up, but the fight ended up being cancelled due to a torn ACL on Pettis’s side. Since then, the two kept their distance, training far apart from one another, but the irony is the fact that the fight didn’t happen until tonight.

In round one, the two former training partners engaged in some striking on the feet for the majority of the round, where Pettis was the more effective striker, using his footwork to assist in peppering the head and body of Stots. With almost exactly a minute left, Stots landed a takedown and got into mount, where he finished the round on top.

Early in round two, Pettis attempted his signature spinning backfist, which landed well, but shortly after, the pair fell to the ground, where Stots found himself in the mount position. From there, Stots was grinding out the round versus a more so “defensive” Pettis, who made sure to stay clear of danger but wasn’t looking to advance the position much.

In the opening minute of the final round, the two swung strong and heavy on the feet. The counters from both men were very dangerous and came with lots of power. After striking for the majority of the round, Stots went for his takedowns in the final minute. It took two before he was successful, but there wasn’t much time to work with, and the bell rang before any significant advancement.

The scorecards were identical across the board, 29-28 for Pettis, who returns to the win column after a loss to Kyoji Horiguchi roughly a year ago.

Official Result: Sergio Pettis def. Raufeon Stots by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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It was Bellator 298 inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where the pair first met two years ago. In their initial meeting, the gas tank of Aaron Jeffery carried him far and allowed him to impose his will for all fifteen minutes, earning an obvious unanimous decision win while handing Rosta his first loss as a professional fighter.

It was another full 15 minutes on Friday, where Jeffery came out and took the center of the cage, using his range to back up Rosta. The Canadian was looking to use the cage wall to clinch up a few times to wear on Rosta, but Rosta did a good job of keeping his back off the cage and escaping the clinch. He also landed a clean elbow on the exit midway through round one.

During the last two minutes, Jeffery clinched up once again, actively looking for the takedown while he also landed a few knees and short shots to the head and body.

When the bell rang in round two, both men came out quick and less than a minute in, Jeffery once again clinched up against the fence for a brief moment before Rosta freed himself. The striking of Dalton Rosta looked very sharp, and his explosive power proved very dangerous as he appeared to be landing the bigger and more damaging shots. The last minute or so of round two was pure pressure from Rosta as he then clinched up and held Jeffery against the cage, working to batter the body of Jeffery.

Earlier in the PFL Chicago Fight Week, Rosta had promised that he would not tire out later in the fight as he had in the pair’s original encounter. This stood very true as when the fight entered the third and final round, Rosta was presumably up on the score cards and came out very active. Jeffery controlled the first half of the final round after backing Rosta up into a clinch again but stayed active within that position, working the mid-section quite a bit. With about a minute left and still standing, Jeffery tried to drag Rosta to the canvas, but found no success before the two broke free and used the time remaining to score any last points, Rosta firing several heavy shots towards Jeffery in the dying seconds of the fight.

The scorecards had it split, with two judges siding with Rosta 29-28. The dissenting judge, meanwhile, gave all three rounds to Aaron Jeffery. That was all it took, however, for Dalton Rosta to advance to the PFL Middleweight World Tournament final.

Official Result: Dalton Rosta def. Aaron Jeffery by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

The post PFL Chicago: Dalton Rosta Avenges Loss to Aaron Jeffery appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the opening two minutes of the semi-final matchup, Romanov used the clinch to execute a successful belly-to-belly suplex to ground Moldavsky. Showing in the process exactly why he goes by the nickname “King Kong.”

After carrying the weight of his opponent on the ground for at least a minute and escaping the full mount position, Moldavksy got back to his feet and engaged in the striking, but it wasn’t long before Romanov was once again working to tie up his arms and get back into a clinch position. After a few deep attempts but with no successful takedowns or tie-ups, the two heavyweights began to slug it out with big shots on the feet.

The two began to exchange some nice combinations in the last minute of the opening round but an accidental low-blow to the groin area of Romanov unfortunately ended the fight early due to the fact that Romanov was injured and unable to continue. The knee that connected low left Romanov writing in pain, unable to get back to his feet.

The fight ended in a no contest at 4:26 of round one, with Alexandr Romanov advancing to the 2025 PFL Heavyweight World Tournament Finals via default, based on the judges, despite the bout not making it out of the first round. He was taken out in a stretcher this evening in Chicago due to the extremity of his pain.

Official Result: Valentin Moldavsky vs. Alexandr Romanov ends in No Contest (accidental low blow), Round 1, 4:26 

PFL officials later issued the following statement to Cageside Press:

“Valentin Moldavsky vs Alexandr Romanov ends in a no contest after an accidental groin strike (1st round, 4:26). Per PFL World Tournament rules, for the purpose of determining advancement in the tournament, in the case of a no contest the three judges are asked to choose the fighter who they think had the most complete body of work for the entirety of the fight. The judges chose Romanov to progress to the finals. The official result will remain a no contest. Romanov will face Oleg Popov for the 2025 PFL World Tournament Heavyweight Title.”

The post PFL Chicago: Romanov Suffers Accidental Low Blow, Advances Despite No Contest appeared first on Cageside Press.

Over a year after acquiring their rival, the PFL might have lost some of the biggest Bellator names, but others were alive in the World Tournament, which continued on Friday in Chicago. Middleweights, light heavyweights, and heavyweights saw their semifinal rounds unfold, with a spot in the finals on the line. Fabian Edwards was in the headlining spot, taking on PFL mainstay Josh Silveira.

Where to Watch the PFL World Tournament

The Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL plays host to the Professional Fighters League on Friday, June 27, 2025 as PFL Chicago wraps up the World Tournament semifinal round. The action kicks off at 8:30PM ET, 5:30PM PT, airing live on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S., and DAZN elsewhere. Full results can be found below.

PFL Chicago: Edwards vs. Silveira Full Results

Main card

Fabian Edwards def. Josh Silveira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Middleweight World Tournament Semifinal
Sullivan Cauley def. Phil Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – Light Heavyweight World Tournament Semifinal
Sergio Pettis def. Raufeon Stots by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dalton Rosta def. Aaron Jeffrey by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28) – Middleweight World Tournament Semifinal
Antônio Carlos Júnior def. Simeon Powell by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Light Heavyweight World Tournament Semifinal

Preliminary card

Valentin Moldavsky vs. Alexandr Romanov ends in No Contest (accidental low blow), Round 1, 4:26 – Heavyweight World Tournament Semifinal
Ronnie Gibbs def. Baggio Ali Walsh by technical submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 2:45
Oleg Popov def. Rodrigo Nascimento by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Heavyweight World Tournament Semifinal
Rafael Xavier def. Karl Albrektsson by TKO (Punches), Round 1, 0:27 – Light Heavyweight World Tournament Alternate Bout

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