Bellator MMA Nearly Sweeps PFL Fighters at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS Event
A.J. McKee defeated Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: Champs event Saturday Night via Triangle-Armbar. (via USA Today)
(RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA) Bellator MMA fighters realized tremendous success against PFL fighters this Saturday at their crossover event. There were many questions going into this event as to which promotion had the superior fighters, and who would realize more success against the other. In a rather surprising turn of events, Bellator MMA nearly swept the PFL’s fighters, winning 5 out of 6 matchups made for this event. The main card results are as follows:
Renan Ferreira (PFL) def. Ryan Bader (Bellator) via TKO
Johnny Eblen (Bellator) def. Impa Kasanganay (PFL) via Split Decision
Jason Jackson (Bellator) def. Ray Cooper III via TKO
Vadim Nemkov (Bellator) def. Bruno Cappelozza via Submission
Yoel Romero (Bellator) def. Thiago Santos (PFL) via Unanimous Decision
A.J. McKee (Bellator) def. Clay Collard (PFL) via Submission
It is not just impressive that Bellator fighters won nearly every main card fight, it is also impressive that most of them ended via stoppage. Although Eblen vs. Kasanganay was a very close fight, the rest were not nearly as close, with almost every Bellator fighter producing great performances.
The lone PFL fighter to win was their Heavyweight Champion, Renan Ferreira, who produced a first round knockout of Bellator Heavyweight Champion, Ryan Bader. This was likely due to the six inch edge in height and 11 inch edge in reach that Ferreira had over Bader.
A compelling headline for this fight was that the winner would go on to fight PFL’s biggest star and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis N’Gannou. This will be a very compelling matchup, as N’Gannou has yet to fight someone with Ferreira’s stature, reach and knockout power.
Although this event did show that PFL made a great acquisition of fighters with the purchase of Bellator, they did in turn shoot themselves in the foot by showcasing that they did not have a comparable pool of fighters. This will likely not be a problem, as they now have control of Bellator and their fighters, but does not look good for the fighters they already had on their roster.
It will be fascinating to see how PFL will deal with the results of this event, and what the next steps are for integrating Bellator fighters into their championship picture. It is certain that it has just gotten much more interesting, but the question remains: Will other Bellator Champions realize the same success as the ones who fought at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS?
