The PFL`s second event of the season delivered some unexpected results and exciting finishes.
Held on Friday night at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, PFL 2 marked the opening rounds of the bantamweight and women`s flyweight tournaments. The event saw several favored competitors eliminated early, shaking up the brackets.
In the main event, late replacement Marcirley Alves pulled off a significant upset, defeating former Bellator title challenger Leandro Higo by split decision. Alves, who stepped in on short notice as Higo`s second replacement opponent, seized the opportunity. He displayed strong takedown defense and effective, powerful striking that seemed to confuse Higo throughout the bout.
Alves is set to face preliminary winner Jake Hadley in the next round of the tournament. While Alves secured the main event victory, Jake “White Kong” Hadley arguably stole the spotlight. The former Cage Warriors flyweight champion executed a rare Scottish Twister submission in the third round against Mattheus Mattos. After a challenging period in the UFC, Hadley made a strong PFL debut, becoming only the second fighter in PFL history to successfully land this specific submission, a move popularized by Stevie Ray.
The co-main event saw Liz Carmouche quickly dispatch Ilara Joanne to advance in the women`s flyweight tournament. Carmouche, who had previously stated that a body shot finish was on her MMA `bucket list`, achieved this goal by dropping Joanne with a knee to the body before finishing her with follow-up strikes in the first round.
Carmouche will face Elora Dana in the next round; Dana secured her spot by submitting Diana Avsaragova with a neck crank in the evening`s first bout.
Also featured on the main card, Mando Gutierrez and Justin Wetzell won their initial matches. Gutierrez submitted Francesco Nuzzi via rear-naked choke in the first round, while Wetzell earned a unanimous decision over Kasum Kasumov through control. Gutierrez and Wetzell are scheduled to meet in the semifinals in June.
The featured preliminary bout saw a significant upset as former Bellator women’s flyweight champion Juliana Velasquez was dominated and submitted by Ekaterina Shakalova via rear-naked choke just over two minutes into the fight.
Shakalova will advance to face Jena Bishop in the second round; Bishop earned a hard-fought decision victory over Kana Watanabe earlier in the event.
PFL 2 Full Results:
Marcirley Alves def. Leandro Higo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Liz Carmouche def. Ilara Joanne via TKO (knee and punches to the body) — Round 1, 1:25
Mando Gutierrez def. Francesco Nuzzi via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 4:13
Justin Wetzell def. Kasum Kasumov via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ekaterina Shakalova def. Juliana Velasquez via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 2:05
Jake Hadley def. Matheus Mattos via submission (Scottish twister) — Round 3, 2:16
Jena Bishop def. Kana Watanabe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Elora Dana def. Diana Avsaragova via submission (neck crank) — Round 1, 4:48
Oliver Croft