"Usman Nurmagomedov, arguably the PFL's biggest star, looked to defend his lightweight title against World Tournament winner Alfie Davis on Saturday. The lightweight title fight headlined PFL: Road to Dubai at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE, the first card of 2026 for the promotion. An "Usman! Usman! Usman!" chant immediately broke out in the arena, while Davis flashed stance switches in response to Nurmagomedov's kicks."
"After battling it out on the feet for four minutes, mostly kicks with the odd punch thrown into the mix, Nurmagomedov landed the first takedown of the fight. The champ found himself in half guard, Davis along the fence, locking his hands together, trying to prevent Nurmagomedov from improving position. No such luck, but Davis ate enough time to escape the round."
"Nurmagomedov opened round two with another spinning kick, with Davis blocking and escaping. The challenger was firing the odd kick of his own, but found himself outperformed in terms of volume. Davis did fire a trio of kicks, the final attack a spinning kick. Nurmagomedov fired a head kick, but slipped. As the round progressed, Davis loosened up, with lots of creative kicks of his own fired. The problem was, champ Nurmagomedov avoided most of them, slipping under the best of the bunch."
Usman Nurmagomedov defended his PFL lightweight title against World Tournament winner Alfie Davis at PFL: Road to Dubai in Dubai, UAE. The defending champ used powerful kicks, stance switches, and occasional spinning techniques to control striking exchanges. After four minutes of mostly kicking, Nurmagomedov secured the first takedown and worked from half guard before Davis escaped. In round two, Davis increased creative kicking but Nurmagomedov avoided most attacks. Round three began with a takedown and sustained pressure from Nurmagomedov, including body and head strikes and continued front kicks as he pursued positional control and follow-up takedown attempts.
Read at Cageside Press
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