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 resolution victory over 2022’s bracket winner, Rob Wilkinson. Strolling into the finals of his very first promotional event, the Turkmen discovered himself standing reverse one more PFL title holder, Impa Kasanganay. The reigning mild heavyweight king claimed the 205-lb. strap final yr 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 this planet, Yagshimuradov had constructed up a powerful 17-5-1 document competing on the European regional scene, notably having fought future UFC standout Magomed Ankalaev again in 2014, dropping the battle by unanimous resolution. He additionally had a large seven bout run within the Russian-based firm Absolute Championship Berkut, the place he finally captured their mild heavyweight strap and defended it two instances. 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 battle throughout the PFL 2024 Playoffs at Laborious Rock Reside in Seminole Laborious Rock Resort & On line casino on August 16, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida. (Photograph by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Pictures)
After a middling enterprise into the UFC, which noticed him on the incorrect finish of arguably the best knockout in combined martial arts historical past, Impa Kasanganay reinvented himself when he joined the PFL in 2023. Making a press release in his debut match, the Kill Cliff FC product blasted Osama Elsaidy throughout that yr’s Challenger Collection. This kicked off a implausible stint within the mild 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 break up resolution.
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – AUGUST 16: (L-R) Impa Kasanganay punches Josh Silveira in a light-weight heavyweight battle throughout the PFL 2024 Playoffs at Laborious Rock Reside in Seminole Laborious Rock Resort & On line casino on August 16, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida. (Photograph by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Pictures)
To explain Kasanganay and Yagshimuradov’s bout on the PFL 2024 Championships, just one phrase is required: Struggle. From the very begin of the competition, each males got here at one another seeking to put the opposite’s lights out in painful style. 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 Gentle 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 outstanding 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 significant MMA title.
