Brendan Loughnane secured his spot in his second PFL Featherweight final by defeating Kai Kamaka III in the main event of PFL 9 in Washington, DC.
The final play-offs event of the season saw the Featherweights and Welterweights book their tickets to the million dollar finals in the US capital.
Loughnane and Kamaka, as expected, played out as a high-level kickboxing encounter where the most significant moment of the fight came at the end of the first where the 2022 winner poured on the pressure with a series of clinch knees.
He will now look to join the rare list of two-time winners when he faces his opponent who booked his place earlier in the night.
The co-main event saw “The Prince” finally arrive in position to seize the throne. Magomed Umalatov maintained his winning streak in the PFL following a tough fight against Neiman Gracie. The Brazilian continued to push the action but his submission threats and a great display of heart wasn’t enough to counter his opponent’s striking.
Winning form continued for the Russians as Timur Khizriev advanced to the finals by defeating last season’s finalist, Gabriel Braga, via split decision. The undefeated Featherweight wasn’t able to consistently control the fight with his grappling but got the job done nonetheless, making for an interesting 145-pound match-up in the finals.
In the first of the four play-offs, Shamil Musaev defeated Murad Ramazanov for the second time in the space of two months to advance to the finals. Unlike last time, he wasn’t able to find the finish this time around but with Musaev advancing, it sets up an all-Russian clash in the finals which promises to be one of the promotion’s most high-level fights to date.
The highlight of the prelim action was undoubtedly the fantastic Featherweight clash between Tyler Diamond and Enrique Barzola. Diamond showcased his improved striking game in the first round and seemed well on his way to earning a win, if not a finish until Barzola turned the tide in dramatic fashion in the second. He did enough to win the third in order to secure the victory.
Elsewhere earlier on in the night, Mukhamed Berkhamov earned a hard fought split decision win over Ray Cooper III, Jose Perez and Jesse Stirn put on yet another great watch at featherweight and the card kicked off with debuting African fighters.
Shido Boris Esperanca made light work of his opponent in the opening bout whilst Manchester Top Team’s Maxwell Djantou Nana went to war with Kent Mafileo before closing the show with a one-hitter quitter in the second.
All eyes now turn to two huge events in the PFL calendar with the finals card coming soon alongside the long awaited MMA return of Francis Ngannou.
Words by Kyle Dimond
