Renan Ferreira came out on top against Ryan Bader in the main event of PFL vs Bellator: Champs. The MMA event aired live on pay-per-view from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 24.
The heavyweight contest, pitting PFL champion of Brazil against Bellator champion of the U.S., didn’t go the distance. Ferreira dropped Bader with a big overhand right that was followed by punches on the ground. Referee Kerry Hatley called it a day at 21 seconds into the first round.
With the victory, Renan Ferreira improved to 13-3, 3 NC and secured his fourth win in a row. In his next fight, the 34-year-old is set to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (boxing 0-1, MMA 17-3) of Cameroon. The latter is expected to return to MMA, following his boxing match against Anthony Joshua in March.
Ryan Bader dropped to 31-8, 1 NC. The 40-year-old native of Reno, Nevada got his three-fight winning streak snapped.
In the co-feature, Johnny Eblen defeated Impa Kasanganay by split decision at middleweight. Also on the card, Jason Jackson stopped Ray Cooper III with leg kick and punches in the second round of their 182-pound catchweight bout.
As well, Vadim Nemkov submitted Bruno Cappelozza in the second round at heavyweight clash and Yoel Romero earned a unanimous decision against Thiago Santos at light heavyweight. In addition, AJ McKee submitted Clay Collard in the first round at lightweight.
Among the prelims, Aaron Pico eliminated Henry Corrales in the first round with punches at featherweight and Biaggio Ali Walsh scored a UD against Emmanuel Palacio at lightweight. Plus, boxing world champion Claressa Shields took a split decision against Kelsey DeSantis after three rounds at 165-pound catchweight.
Kicking off the action, Abdullah Al-Qahtani TKO’d Edukondal Rao in the third round at featherweight and Malik Basahel secured a unanimous decision against Vinicius Pereira in an amateur bout at 129-pound catchweight.