There was drama across the card as PFL rolled into Connecticut last night, with the first set of playoff fights being made.
Promotional favourite Dakota Ditcheva was the co-headliner on the night. And she made the formidable Chelsea Hackett look like a minimal step up in competition as she dropped and stopped the Australian in the first round to secure maximum points.
The show was headlined by a massive heavyweight trilogy between Linton Vassell and Valentin Moldavsky. After going one apiece during their Bellator days, the pair went the distance as the Brit won on the night, but ultimately failed to win enough points to progress to the next round.
Linton Vassell fails to progress despite beating Valentin Moldavsky
The heavyweight trilogy between Vassell and Moldavsky was one of the most exciting fights of PFL’s second round of regular season fights. At the Mohegan Sun Arena, arguably the spiritual home of the old Bellator regime, one of the promotion’s greatest rivals was finally settled.
The Brit was in need of a first round stoppage in order to progress, but he was unable to get that done. The Russian looked to have the better of their early exchanges, seemingly taking a better understanding of his rival’s strength from their previous two fights.
But disaster struck as towards the end of the first he landed a vicious low blow that saw the action halted for a lengthy time. Vassell eventually recovered and pushed for the stoppage, almost landing it with a big knee towards the end.
They ended up heading to the judges’ scorecards, which meant that even though the Brit got the decision, it was Moldavsky who progressed through to the semi-finals. Elsewhere in the division, Oleg Popov, Denis Goltsov and Tim Johnson earned their spots in the final four with big performances.
Dakota Ditcheva continues to show explosive power as she progresses to PFL playoffs
The impressive rise of Manchester’s Dakota Ditcheva continued as she won yet again in the first round to secure maximum points against Chelsea Hackett. The Australian had been eyeing up a bout with her British rival since their Muay-Thai days, but felt the power instantly in the first.
Almost the opening punch that landed from Ditcheva saw her floor her rival. They managed to get back to the feet, but from there it was pretty much game over as the unbeaten Brit moved to 12-0 and into the playoffs for women’s flyweight.
Ditcheva will stay away from the tests fans have been hoping for in either Taila Santos or Liz Carmouche, both of whom won their respective fights, when she returns this August. Instead, she faces No.4 Jena Bishop, who actually lost on the night to Santos and was unable to appear for a face-off.
Heavyweight clash goes viral as Tim Johnson wins after outlandish double knockdown
One of the craziest moments of the night came during an early card fight between Tim Johnson and Danilo Marques. The former Bellator title contender had just landed flush on his Brazilian rival and floored him, but was simultaneously hit with a gnarly low blow that saw him bundle over as well.
The pair ended up battling through, with Johnson ultimately working his way into a ground and pound position, where he landed a big stoppage. As such, he has booked his place in the playoffs against number one seed Denis Goltsov.
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