2024 PFL Championship: Denis Goltsov sleeps Oleg Popov from bottom, calls for Francis Ngannou
Denis Goltsov is $1 million richer thanks to a slick triangle choke submission.
The 2024 PFL Championship main card opener Friday, Goltsov (36-8) was taken down in the opening seconds, but within a few minutes had opponent Oleg Popov (19-2) snoozing on top of him. The technical submission stoppage came at 2:55 of Round 1 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With the win, Goltsov is the 2024 PFL heavyweight champion and walks away seven figures richer. The victory topped off a perfect 4-0 run in PFL in 2024. He defeated Linton Vassell, Thiago Santos, and Tim Johnson prior to Friday's fight.
After the fight, Goltsov called for a crack at Francis Ngannou, who has one bout remaining on his PFL deal.
With the loss, Popov has a 17-fight winning streak snapped. The 2024 season marked Popov's first in PFL after being imported from Bellator. Popov defeated Steve Mowry, Davion Franklin, and Vassell to earn Friday's opportunity.
Up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL Championship results include:
Brendan Loughnane vs. Timur Khizriev – for featherweight title
Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos – for women's flyweight title
Impa Kasanganay vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – for light heavyweight title
Magomed Umalatov vs. Shamil Musaev – for welterweight title
Brent Primus vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov – for lightweight title
Denis Goltsov def. Oleg Popov via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:55 – to win heavyweight title
Mansour Barnaoui def. Alfie Davis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:41
Slim Trabelsi def. Abraham Bably via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Gabriel Braga def. Jeremy Kennedy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Asael Adjoudj def. Jose Perez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:10
Costello van Steenis def. Joao Dantas via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:48
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for 2024 PFL Championship.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 2024 PFL Championship: Denis Goltsov sleeps Oleg Popov from bottom, calls for Francis Ngannou