Waldo circled away landing a jab, then followed it up with a short right hand that staggered Gaziev. As Gaziev retreated Cortes-Acosta pounced on his injured opponent looking to end the fight. Acosta threw another crisp jab that this time set up a winging fastball of a right hand from the former professional pitcher. A massive punch that landed flush on the jaw of Gaziev, who was out before he hit the floor.
Phil De Fries right now. A former UFC talent himself, England's De Fries went 2-3 inside the octagon, and had a few troubles after hitting the regional scene. Having conquered personal demons and turned his career around, however, he has not lost since 2017, compiling a 15-fight win streak that includes victories over UFC veterans Todd Duffee, Darko Stosic, and Augusto Sakai among others.
In the Heavyweight World Tournament Final former UFC contender Alexander Romanov battled 2024 PFL finalist Oleg Popov. Both competitors are known as dominant grapplers which made this a very interesting style matchup. Romanov had a near thirty pound weight advantage on fight night; Popov was a smaller Heavyweight in stature but is one of the most skilled fighters on the PFL roster.