Corey Anderson claimed the PFL gentle heavyweight title with a one-sided efficiency to close down Dovlet Yagshimuradov throughout 5 rounds of their rematch on Friday.
Some very early adversity noticed Anderson get clipped with a few laborious photographs however exterior of that, he was dominant with quite a few takedowns and smothering floor management. As time handed, Yagshimuradov was clearly working out of steam and Anderson simply stored making use of strain as he secured the win within the PFL Dubai co-main occasion.
The ultimate scorecards learn 49-45, 48-47 and 49-45 as Anderson wins the PFL 205-pound title after beforehand holding Bellator gold in the identical division.
Gunning for the knockout from the soar, Yagshimuradov truly ended up with two eye pokes early within the opening spherical that paused the motion. On the second restart, Yagshimuradov blasted Anderson with a blistering mixture of punches that did some harm as the previous UFC gentle heavyweight was briefly rattled as he stumbled backwards in the direction of the cage.
Yagshimuradov tried to surge forward with a flurry however Anderson was fast to counter with a slick takedown that gave him the benefit again.
Anderson continued to strain ahead together with his wrestling with Yagshimuradov already fighing together with his mouth open, seemingly gasping for air. The aggression from Yagshimuradov additionally began to decelerate, though he was nonetheless greater than able to launching a haymaker to maintain Anderson sincere.
Because the combat moved into the third spherical, Anderson’s coaches have been satisfied that Yagshimuradov was working out of gasoline in a rush. So Anderson was actually pushing ahead whereas attempting to empty no matter vitality Yagshimuradov had left because the latest PFL event winner was respiratory heavy and not unleashing multi-strike combos.
Anderson bided his time till he lastly dragged the combat again to the canvas the place he started peppering away with punches attempting to place Yagshimuradov away. Regardless of his finest efforts, Anderson couldn’t fairly get the end however Yagshimuradov was clearly shifting into survival mode.
One other takedown adopted and Anderson simply continued with suffocating strain on the bottom and time ran out on Yagshimuradov and felt the possibility to win slip away.
It was a classic efficiency from Anderson as he showcased superior conditioning and grappling expertise to overwhelm Yagshimuradov throughout 5 rounds. He can now have fun because the PFL gentle heavyweight champion with the brand new title being launched and an eventual showdown towards 2025 event winner Antonio Carlos Junior might occur within the close to future.
