Dovlet Yagshimuradov has put Turkmenistan on the map. Embarking on a fruitful run all through 2024, Yagshimuradov nabbed his place within the PFL 2024 Championships with a unanimous determination victory over 2022’s bracket winner, Rob Wilkinson. Strolling into the finals of his very first promotional match, the Turkmen discovered himself standing reverse one more PFL title holder, Impa Kasanganay. The reigning gentle heavyweight king claimed the 205-lb. strap final 12 months and hadn’t suffered any setbacks within the weight class on his highway to the championship.
Earlier than becoming a member of one of many largest MMA organizations on the planet, Yagshimuradov had constructed up a formidable 17-5-1 document competing on the European regional scene, notably having fought future UFC standout Magomed Ankalaev again in 2014, dropping the struggle by unanimous determination. He additionally had a large seven bout run within the Russian-based firm Absolute Championship Berkut, the place he ultimately captured their gentle heavyweight strap and defended it two occasions. He then went on to signal with Bellator in 2021, racking up a complete document of 3-2 throughout his tenure there, along with his solely defeats coming towards Karl Albrektsson and Corey Anderson (who later grew to become the promotion’s 205-lb. champion).
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – AUGUST 16: (L-R) Dovlet Yagshimuradov punches Rob Wilkinson in a light-weight heavyweight struggle in the course of the PFL 2024 Playoffs at Onerous Rock Dwell in Seminole Onerous Rock Resort & On line casino on August 16, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida. (Picture by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Photos)
After a middling enterprise into the UFC, which noticed him on the flawed finish of arguably the best knockout in blended martial arts historical past, Impa Kasanganay reinvented himself when he joined the PFL in 2023. Making an announcement in his debut match, the Kill Cliff FC product blasted Osama Elsaidy throughout that 12 months’s Challenger Sequence. This kicked off a incredible stint within the gentle heavyweight class for the Florida native, with Kasanganay going 8-0 within the division and taking the 2023 championship within the course of. His solely blemish throughout this streak got here when he moved down in weight to face off with Bellator Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen, the place he misplaced a extremely aggressive cut up determination.
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – AUGUST 16: (L-R) Impa Kasanganay punches Josh Silveira in a light-weight heavyweight struggle in the course of the PFL 2024 Playoffs at Onerous Rock Dwell in Seminole Onerous Rock Resort & On line casino on August 16, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida. (Picture by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Photos)
To explain Kasanganay and Yagshimuradov’s bout on the PFL 2024 Championships, just one phrase is required: Conflict. From the very begin of the competition, each males got here at one another seeking to put the opposite’s lights out in painful trend. After someday, nevertheless, it was Kasanganay who began to falter as he recklessly charged in to starch Yagshimuradov within the pocket and ended up getting rocked by an enormous punch. The Turkmen then adopted up with a flurry of blows that slumped the defending champion towards the cage earlier than a full minute handed, making Yagshimuradov the brand new PFL Mild Heavyweight Champion.
Strolling out of the SmartCage $1 million richer, Yagshimuradov recorded a massively spectacular efficiency by taking out one of many firm’s most distinguished homegrown stars, in lower than a minute as well. He has additionally etched his title into the game’s historical past books as the primary man from Turkmenistan to win a serious MMA title.
