Davis reaches PFL finals but Hadley loses
Britain's Alfie Davis reached the final of the PFL lightweight tournament with a unanimous decision win against Brent Primus in Wichita, Kansas.Davis, 33, was the busier striker in a back-and-forth contest, sealing a 29-28 victory on all three judges' scorecards at the Intrust Bank Arena.Victory sees Davis compete for his first world title and the chance to win £395,000 ($500,000) in prize money.He will face Russia's Gadzhi Rabadanov in the PFL Finals on 15 August at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.There was disappointment for fellow Briton Jake Hadley, however, who was outclassed by Brazil's Marcirley Alves in the bantamweight semi-finals.Hadley, 28, was on the back foot throughout as Alves dominated with his striking, landing a number of thudding combinations.
Davis edges entertaining contest
The PFL has been a breeding ground for success for Britons in recent years with Brendan Loughnane winning the featherweight title in 2022 and Dakota Ditcheva securing women's flyweight gold last year.Davis will have the chance to become Britain's first PFL lightweight champion after delivering the more eye-catching moments in an entertaining contest with Primus. Primus, who was last year's beaten finalist, edged the first round, controlling the action on the ground but Davis came alive in the second.Davis unleashed a selection of eye-catching strikes, hurting Primus with knees to the body and catching the American with a couple of spinning back kicks.With the crowd showing their appreciation, Davis danced in the middle of the cage as the final seconds of the round ticked down.Davis continued to land in the final round and despite being taken down, reversed the position to end the fight on top, before celebrating victory with his team.
Hadley, who parted ways with the UFC last year after his contract expired, failed to join Davis as he was overpowered by Alves.Alves started strongly and never looked back, landing a number of combinations to the body with Hadley using his jab in vain to disrupt the momentum.The Brazilian exerted more control in the second round, dropping Hadley with a straight right and opening a cut below his left eye.Hadley continued to struggle with Alves' power and the Brazilian stamped his authority on the contest by landing a takedown in the final minutes.On the prelims, Ireland's Darragh Kelly extended the unbeaten start to his career to eight by submitting American lightweight Mike Hamel in the third round.Despite some clean shots from Hamel, Kelly was the better striker throughout before securing a rear-naked choke with two minutes remaining to end the contest.Britain's Fabian Edwards faces American Josh Silveira in the middleweight semi-finals at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on 27 June.Fellow Briton Simeon Powell fights Brazil's Antonio Carlos Jr in the light-heavyweight semi-finals on the same card.
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