The
Professional Fighters League has just found a potential star in
the making at
PFL Chicago, and his name is Mitchell
McKee.
In his PFL debut, McKee dominated former world champion Sergio
Pettis en route to a decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Saturday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Despite the close
scorecards, McKee (10-0, 1-0 PFL) was in control for the majority
of the fight. The unbeaten Minnesotan made mincemeat of Pettis on
the ground and controlled the former Bellator kingpin’s hips in
check. Pettis nearly pulled off a hail mary triangle choke in the
second round, but once McKee avoided the danger, he closed the door
on Pettis’ hopes for a comeback. With his first win in the PFL
coming against a battle-tested former champion, the sky is the
limit for what the promotion plans for its newest title
contender.
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Renat
Khavalov kept his unblemished record intact after eeking out a
tough decision win over experienced veteran Raufeon
Stots in bantamweight action. Khavalov (12-0, 4-0 PFL) bothered
Stots with a consistent jab and erratic feints. Although Stots
landed some big shots of his own and even dropped Khavalov in the
third round, the Houston native spent too much time waiting for the
perfect shot and was outworked throughout the fight. Stots (21-4,
1-2 PFL) displayed a high skillset and could’ve arguably snuck away
with a decision, but Khavalov’s consistency was properly awarded
the victory.
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran flyweight Viviane
Araujo handled business in her PFL debut, but she got a solid
scrap out of Shanna
Young. Despite dropping Young in the first round and nearly
finishing her, Araujo was taken the distance in a fun fight. Young
showcased heart and stubbornness and landed some big shots, but
Araujo’s dominance on the ground and heavy hands led the way to a
clear unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). After suffering a knockout in his last fight, Gabriel
Braga dug deep and pulled out a decision win over scrappy
featherweight Cheyden
Leialoha (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Braga (17-3, 9-3 PFL) opened
the contest slow and was outworked early on by the PFL debutant.
Leialoha (11-3, 0-1 PFL) fought well when he pushed the pace and
walked forward, but Braga’s conditioning and mounting pressure
turned the tide. Heading into the bout-deciding third round, Braga
leaned on his wrestling and kept top pressure while working in
consistent ground-and-pound. Leialoha’s gas tank failed him late
and despite the fast start, Braga’s experience was too great to
deny.
If you let a world champion jiu-jitsu specialist take your back,
you’re probably going to sleep. Borena
Tsertsvadze found out the hard way in her flyweight bout
against Jena
Bishop, where Bishop, a former International Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation world champion, technically submitted
Tsertsvadze 2:21 into the first round. Bishop (9-3, 4-3 PFL) knew
she was levels above the formerly unbeaten prospect on the ground
and quickly transitioned to the back after taking the fight to the
mat. Tsertsvadze (6-1, 0-1 PFL) tried her best to fight Bishop’s
hands but the vet was simply too good.
Once she found the neck, it wouldn’t take long for the lights to go
out.
Omar El
Dafrawy is primed to make some noise in the PFL welterweight
division. The former PFL MENA tournament champion brought the crowd
to its feet with a highlight-reel worthy first-round knockout over
James
Vake (1:12). El Dafrawy (15-6, 5-1 PFL) stormed out and took
control of the center of the cage, keeping Vake on his backfoot.
After landing several solid calf kicks, El Dafrawy feinted the
kick, and cracked Vake (7-2, 0-1 PFL) with a
flush left hand that put him out flat on his back.
Paulina
Wisniewska picked up the biggest win of her career via second
round TKO (3:15) over Kana
Watanabe. Wisnieska (7-1, 5-1 PFL) showed a ton of promise
after winning the 2024 PFL Europe flyweight title but suffered a
minor setback after losing a split decision in December.
Wiseniewska took it out of the judges hands, however, and
battered the former Bellator contender until Mike
Crimm was forced to pull her off. Watanabe (13-5-1, 1-3 PFL) has
lost three straight.
UFC veteran Alexander
Romanov accepted a last-minute opportunity and dominated
Rodrigo
Nascimento en route to a second-round submission (gullotine).
Romanov (22-4, 2-1 PFL) ragdolled Nascimento (12-5, 1-2) throughout
the first round and had “Yogi Bear” out of sorts. Romanov is a
frighteningly strong heavyweight who can make life hard on the mat.
Nascimento held on for dear life, but Romanov wasn’t going to let
him off the hook for much longer and
seized his opportunity to close the show in the
second.
Biaggio
Ali Walsh made quick work of Dashiande
Harris-Moore, TKOing the Michigan native in 46 seconds. Ali
Walsh (4-1, 4-1 PFL) had been on the sidelines since August and
wasted little time dispatching his overmatched foe. Ali Walsh
invested to the body early and caught Harris-Moore with a right
hand to the solar plexus. Harris–Moore (2-1, 0-1 PFL)
crumpled to the canvas before referee John McCarthy
was forced to call the bout.
Valanti
Atsas kicked off the night with a unanimous decision win
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over 25-fight veteran Nate
Jennerman in welterweight action. Atsas (10-1, 1-0 PFL)
controlled the first two rounds with his wrestling and kept
Jennerman pressed and smothered against the fence. Down two rounds,
Jennerman (18-7, 0-1 PFL) nearly pulled off the comeback in the
final minute after catching Atsas in a deep arm triangle, but Atsas
survived to the final bell and escaped with the win.