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PFL News: Dovlet Yagshimuradov Stuns Impa Kasanganay with 58-Second KO

"Wolfhound" claimed the light heavyweight belt in his first PFL season.

Drew Beaupre

(PFL MMA)

The 2024 PFL light heavyweight finals saw Impa Kasanganay attempt to win back-to-back tournaments when he took on Dovlet Yagshimuradov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Yagshimuradov Stops Kasanganay To Win Title

Competing in his first PFL tournament after putting together a three-fight win streak in Bellator, Yagshimuradov scored a first-round knockout against last year's PFL Europe Light Heavyweight Champion Jakob Nedoh and took a unanimous decision over Simon Biyong to book his spot in the 2024 playoffs.

PFL 2024 World Championship Live Results & Highlights

A victory over former champion Rob Wilkinson set "Wolfhound" up for a title bout with Kasanganay, who suffered his first loss since 2022 when he took on Bellator Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen in February before rebounding with back-to-back stoppage-wins and a second victory over Josh Silveira in a rematch of last year's light heavyweight finals.

Kasanganay entered the 2024 PFL Championship as a small favorite to win back-to-back tournaments, but it was Yagshimuradov who rattled "Tshilobo" less than a minute into the fight before he finished things with some brutal punches against the fence.

The shocking finish was Kasangany's first loss in a PFL tournament, and it puts Yagshimuradov on an impressive seven-fight win streak after the 35-year-old came up short in his first two appearances for Bellator in 2021.

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Yagshimuradov was the eighth fighter to win a title between the PFL and PFL MENA finals at the 2024 World Championship event, and he also added another finish to a main card that had already kicked off with three-straight stoppages.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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