Cris Cyborg Makes History, Wins Five-Round War Against Ketlen Vieira To Retain PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship And Secure 30th Career Win
Fans at the Benchmark International Arena were treated to an amazing lineup of world-class mixed martial arts action, as PFL Tampa Presented by Visit St. Pete-Clearwater featured icons, world champions, and some of the best fighters from across the globe. This historic event comes just weeks after the official landmark announcement of the merger between MVP and PFL.
For potentially the final time in her illustrious career, women’s MMA legend Cris Cyborg (30-2) left the cage with her hand raised in the main event, as she topped fellow Brazilian Ketlen “Fenomeno” Vieira (16-6) by unanimous decision to retain the PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship. Cyborg controlled the pace for the first two rounds, but action soon picked up as Vieira began to mount some offense of her own. Usually the aggressor standing up, Cyborg mixed her striking with high-level grappling to score takedowns in the final round and secure the hard-fought decision win. Cyborg adds another impressive win to her already-legendary resumé while defending her 145-pound title.
“I put the belt on the line even though she didn’t make weight because I wanted to fight for the title,” said Cris Cyborg, PFL Women’s Featherweight World Champion. “I don’t know if I’m going to fight again, but I wanted to be a champion one more time and get my 30th victory. No woman has done that before, and I wanted to make history.”
In the co-main event, former champion #2Gadzhi Rabadanov (28-5-2) of Russia needed just under one round to take care of business against Tracy Reeder (12-6), winning by TKO. Rabadanov controlled Reeder on the ground and then unloaded some vicious ground and pound with just seconds left in the opening frame to score the dominant win to make it two straight.
Undefeated rising star #8Sabrinna de Sousa (7-0) put on a striking clinic as she dominated fellow Brazilian and former world title challenger #3Taila Santos (23-5) en route to a unanimous decision win. Considered by many as a star-making performance, de Souza used her superior standup skills to pick up a statement win over a tough challenger and set herself up as a top contender in PFL’s Women’s Flyweight Division.
Kicking off the main card, England’s #3Luke “The Gent” Trainer (11-1) delivered a stunning second round knockout against Roland “The Dream” Dunlap (7-1) of the United States. After a back-and-forth opening round, Trainer found his range in the second round, and unloaded a well-placed front kick to the face, which sent Dunlap crashing to the mat. Trainer finished things off with some brutal ground and pound for his sixth-straight win.
Full PFL Tampa Presented by Visit St. Pete-Clearwater Main Card Results:
PFL Women’s Featherweight World Championship Main Event: C-Cris Cyborg (30-2) defeated Ketlen Vieira (16-6) by unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 48-47)
Lightweight Co-Main Event: #2-Gadzhi Rabadanov (28-5-2) defeated Tracy Reeder (12-6) via TKO (punches) at 4:38 in round one
Women’s Flyweight Bout: #8-Sabrinna de Sousa (7-0) defeated #3-Taila Santos (23-5) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
Light Heavyweight Bout: #3-Luke Trainer (11-1) defeated Roland Dunlap (7-1) via TKO (front kick and punches) at 2:52 in round two
Full PFL Tampa Presented by Visit St. Pete-Clearwater Preliminary Card Results:
Bantamweight Bout: Nkosi Ndebele (14-3) defeated #8-Marcirley Alves (15-6) via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Bantamweight Bout: Daniel Marcos (18-1) defeated #6-Magomed Magomedov (22-5) via TKO (injury stoppage) at 0:11 in round three
Bantamweight Bout: Javid Basharat (16-2) defeated Movsar Ibragimov (8-2) via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Lightweight Bout: Dakota Bush (17-4) defeated Morques Forest (8-2) via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Lightweight Bout: #9-Natan Schulte (26-6-1) defeated Artur Zaynukov (20-5) via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Lightweight Bout: Gino Van Steenis (8-2) defeated Robert Watley (16-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Welterweight Bout: Eoin Sheridan (6-0) defeated James Vake (7-3) via KO (knee) at 4:09 in round one
