Germans use the big stage
Spectacular kick decides main event at PFL Europe
07/09/2023 12:47 am
With the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a major US organizer is making a guest appearance in Berlin. Five participants from Germany are there, three are fighting for the semi-final ticket in a 100,000 euro tournament. From a German point of view, the evening begins promisingly, but ends with a mood killer.
From a German point of view, the MMA event PFL Europe offers light and shadow in front of around 1500 spectators in the Verti Music Hall in Berlin. Several representatives from Germany took their chance and showed strong performances, however, with Farbod Iran Nezhad and Lorena Cubero two big hopes lost their cage duels in the capital.
The evening ended bitterly, especially for the Berlin bantamweight fighter Nezhad. Against the slightly favored Italian Francesco Nuzzi, the 32-year-old mainly relied on takedowns in the first round, but Nuzzi knew how to fend them off. When Nezhad then wanted to start the takedown again in front of the rushing Italian on the edge of the cage, a kick to the head of the German-Iranian got through. Nezhad left immediately Ko Nuzzi takes on Ireland’s Frans Mlambo in the last four of the €100,000 tournament.
Kurshed Kakhorov hardly gave his opponent a chance.
(Photo: PFL)
The German Kurshed Kahkorov is also in the bantamweight semifinals. The 31-year-old put on a tremendous performance against Frenchman Moktar Benkaci, who was considered the tournament’s secret favourite. Kahkorov landed incredible punch and kick combos in each of the three rounds that staggered Benkaci but didn’t knock him down. “I was surprised that he took the punches. But he’s a tough opponent. My coach wanted me to fight smart, I showed that today,” said Kakhorov. In the semifinals he will face Sweden’s Ali Taleb.
For the only 18-year-old Lorena Cubero from the Ruhr area, her opponent Griet Eeckhout proved to be one size too big. Although Cubero scored hits by kicking her opponent’s leg while standing, the Belgian knew how to quickly shift the fight to the ground in each round, where she clearly dominated. After three rounds, the judges decided the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 30-25 in favor of Eeckhout, who thus entered the tournament in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, things went better for their teammates Anatolij Baal and Christina Breuer. Both successfully contested their cage duels in the capital. After a break of almost three years, Baal made a brilliant return against the Spaniard Sebastian Santana Guedes. In the duel between the two lightweight fighters, the 30-year-old German dominated in the first round and landed the clearer hits.
Guedes tried to take the fight to the ground, but Baal fended off the takedown attempts with ease. Only when he had control on the ground himself was Guedes able to start a submission hold (triangle choke). “It was tight, but I had everything under control,” said the fighter from Fight Club Gelsenkirchen. In the second round further hits by the German had an effect, a combination sent the Spaniard to the ground. Baal followed suit and decided the fight prematurely with a technical knockout
Breuer, who also comes from Fight Club Gelsenkirchen, also showed a dominant performance. In what was only her second professional fight, the native of Cologne showed a good sense of her range and boxed out her opponent, Ruby Mesu from the Netherlands, in the first round.
As she shifted the fight towards the edge of the cage in the second round, she came through with more good hits, Mesu faltered. After a knee to the head and another combination, the referee intervened – victory by technical knockout for Breuer. Although Baal and Breuer were not part of the European tournament, they have hopes of climbing into the cage at further PFL events.