PFL World Championship 2024 full results and highlights: 6 new millionaires crowned on Black Friday

PFL featherweight final: Timur Khizriev def. Brendan Loughnane via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46).

Loughnane pumps up the crowd. He knows he needs a finish. Khizriev up to -8500 on the live odds. Khizriev goes low then high. Slick right hand finds a home on Loughnane's chin. Khizriev punches his way inside then unloads a monster uppercut. Sick step-in elbow from Khizriev. Loughnane just misses with a counter right. Oof, Khizriev is battering Loughnane here. Everything is landing. Loughnane connects with a counter right hand but eats a combination immediately after for his troubles. Power double-leg from Khizriev bowls Loughnane over. That might've sealed the fight. Khizriev staying tied to Loughnane's back as the Brit attempts to climb to his feet. Loughnane finally escapes but Khizriev jabs him up. Body kick off the exit from another clinch by Khizriev. Loughnane connects with a left. They're trading with 15 seconds to go. Timur Khizriev just won himself $1 million.

10-9 Khizriev. (50-45 Khizriev.)

Khizriev now up to -4800 odds on the live betting line. Instant takedown from the Russian. Loughnane illegally grabs the fence in his efforts to reclaim his feet. He finally gets there. Spinning back kick from Khizriev. Loughnane is laboring hard — seems like something is wrong with one of his legs/knees. Khizriev is all forward pressure right now. He whiffs with a wild uppercut. Loughnane eats a thudding left hook. Loughnane finds a home for his right hand — that's his best shot in a while. Khizriev keeps on coming though. Khizriev cracks the Brit with a hard right. Five minutes to go.

10-9 Khizriev. (40-36 Khizriev.)

Khizriev immediately jabs his way inside, dives low for a double-leg attempt, then works to Loughnane's back standing. Big knee from the back by Khizriev! Loughnane ate that one but it looked nasty. Loughnane finally escapes to the center of the cage, but he's in full crimson mask mode now. Heavy leg kick from Khizriev, who's now a -2800 favorite on the live odds. Loughnane eats another left hand. The Brit finally connects with a stiff right. Khizriev mixes his offense and peppers Loughnane with a combination. Huge uppercut from Khizriev, who then easily takes Loughnane down off a misses spinning backfist attempt by the former champ. Khizriev working from half guard. Loughnane finally reclaims his guard but he's in a bad spot. Loughnane gradually works to his feet, but this is one-way traffic.

10-9 Khizriev. (30-27 Khizriev.)

Khizriev comes out aggressive as the live odds shoot hard in his favor. Thudding body kick for Khizriev, who follows it up with a slick uppercut. That may have hurt Loughnane. Khizriev is in complete control right now — he has Loughnane biting on every feint. Khizriev pops out a series of jabs. Overhand right by Khizriev, who goes low then high. Khizriev slams a straight right into Loughnane's nose. Khizriev continues to work and Loughnane's nose is becoming a bloody mess. Oh, the Brit finally lands a nice check hook that stumbles Khizriev. The Russian waves it off and says he's fine. Double jab from Khizriev.

10-9 Khizriev. (20-18 Khizriev.)

Main event time. Khizriev tosses out an array of kicks early, both high and low. Loughnane fires off a low kick of his own. Khizriev ducks under a wild spinning kick then takes Loughnane to the floor, settling inside his full guard. Khizriev wroks to Loughnane's back and slides one hook in as the Brit works to his feet. Short punches the head from Loughnane. Khizriev continues to chain wrestle and eventually drags Loughnane back down to the floor. Hard elbows from Khizriev.

10-9 Khizriev.

145 pounds: Brendan Loughnane (+260) vs. Timur Khizriev (-350)

The oddsmakers are showing a serious lack of respect for the former champion Loughnane against the rising talent out of Dagestan.

As unbeatable as Khizriev has been, he hasn't looked unstoppable and last fought to a narrow split decision against Gabriel Braga. Names like Daniel Weichel, Enrique Barzola and Brett Johns are the most impressive on Khizriev's résumé and showcased that he has the ceiling to be a major player within the division. However, Loughnane is no stranger to tough competition.

Loughnane, 34, also isn't a stranger to that historically strong Dagestani wrestling. His 2021 season ended with a semifinals loss to eventual tourney winner Movlid Khaybulaev, but via a close split decision. Loughnane and Khizriev are both tremendously well-rounded competitors and Loughnane has proven to be the better finisher of the two. That's with frequency and competition level.

Khizriev, 29, has only four finishes in his 17 career wins and will need to outlast the 35-fight veteran for 25 minutes in a surely grind-heavy clash. Expect a coin-flip decision win or Loughnane to wear down Khizriev over time with strikes.

I understand the oddsmakers' belief in Khizriev. The Brit just has more paths to victory.

Pick: Loughnane

"I've been telling you. I was trying to tell you," an ecstatic Ditcheva says. "Maybe [they'll listen now]. I'm sure they'll still be moaning about me, but I'll just keep proving them wrong."

"Right from the beginning of the season, if I'd gotten her in the first round, I would've done the same thing. [Santos and her team have] been talking, she's been saying, 'She's just a Barbie, she should be a model.' Well a model just beat your ass in Round 2, so shut up."

PFL women's flyweight final: Dakota Ditcheva def. Taila Santos via TKO (punches) at 4:41 of R2.

Hell of a start for Ditcheva, let's see if she can keep it going. Ditcheva immediately slams two hard knees into Santos after catching her with a combination of punches. Santos is already hunting for a desperation takedown. Ditcheva easily shucks her off. This looks like mismatch so far. Ditcheva pumps out her left hand then circles. Another nice step-in knee lands to the midsection for Ditcheva. Santos eats a foot to the face. Ditcheva nearly connects with another monster head kick. Santos can't get anything going right now. Santos changes levels for a double-leg takedown but Ditcheva expertly fends it off. Big standing elbows from Ditcheva! Santos looks hurt! One minute to work.

Huge knee! Santos locks onto Ditcheva out of desperation. More big elbows on the inside from Ditcheva, followed by a knee. MASSIVE SHOT TO THE BODY BY DITCHEVA! WOOOOW! THAT'S IT! Santos is done. What a performance. Dakota Ditcheva is for real, ladies and gentlemen.

Ditcheva comes out firing a steady steam of low kicks. Slick right hand by Ditcheva, but Santos ties up along the fence. Ditcheva reverses the position and twists Santos to the floor. Ditcheva stands and lets Santos back up. One-two from Ditcheva. Santos clinches and eats a standing elbow for her troubles. Santos is hunting for a takedown along the fence — and she gets it. Ditcheva immediately shoots back to her feet, but Santos is still locked onto her. Ditcheva finally spins free and resets. More teep kicks from Ditcheva. She's really working on that lead leg of Santos as well. Big front kick to the face for Ditcheva. Beautiful combinations from Ditcheva. She's beating Santos up. Nice knee up the middle by Ditcheva. Stellar first round for the aspiring PFL star.

10-9 Ditcheva.

125 pounds: Dakota Ditcheva (-400) vs. Taila Santos (+300)

How the PFL didn't make this the main event is beyond me.

Ditcheva has been one of the promotion's proudest developmental successes since she arrived in 2022. But when we talk about levels of competition, this matchup is universes apart — Santos has Ditcheva beat with ease, even despite Santos' pre-UFC record being arguably one of more padded of all time, with her first 14 opponents' owning a meager 19 combined fights of experience at the time of their bouts.

Santos, 31, is essentially the more evolved version of what Ditcheva, 26, can become and the odds are reflective of how strong the PFL marketing machine has been in boosting Ditcheva. Santos' Muay Thai is fierce and technical, accompanied by an incredibly sound grappling game that led her to wins over strong wrestlers Liz Carmouche and Roxanne Modafferi. Additionally, many thought Santos beat Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC flyweight title in June 2022, however the judges scored the bout in favor of the champion via split decision.

Santos is still one of the best in the world, but Ditcheva is legit despite still having been largely untested. She's defeated her opponents with performances she should be delivering relative to the skill gaps. Ditcheva is as "Dangerous" as her nickname suggests, utilizing soul-shattering knees in the clinch, powerful punches, and an improving, patient defensive grappling game.

Realistically, the odds should be flipped in this fight. You can't teach killer instinct though. Ditcheva has that and will come through to propel her superstardom to a new level.

Pick: Ditcheva

Best fight of the weekend is up next. Massive opportunity here for Dakota Ditcheva to become the promotion's biggest homegrown breakout star since Kayla Harrison.

Taila Santos is no joke, though. Can't wait for this one.

PFL light heavyweight final: Dovlet Yagshimuradov def. Impa Kasanganay via TKO (punches) at :58 of R1.

Let's see if Impa Kasanganay can keep his storybook PFL run going. They come out firing. Heavy leg kick from Yagshimuradov. Kasanganay wades inside swinging bombs! Yagshimuradov catches him with a counter right!! Kasanganay is hurt! YAGSHIMURADOV FLOORS HIM!!! This is done!

Gigantic flurry of punches is what did it. Lots of right uppercuts in there. That was crazy.

205 pounds: Impa Kasanganay (-185) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (+150)

If you don't like Impa Kasanganay's story then you're just tough to please.

The turnaround the 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion has undergone is still a marvel to behold since finding himself on the wrong end of an all-time knockout loss in 2020. You know the one.

Kasanganay has gone 8-1 in the PFL with his lone loss coming via a close split decision to Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. He's an all-around athlete who can fight anywhere the fight goes and packs a knockout shot in either hand to boot. However, the same can be said for Bellator veteran Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.

"Yag-Nasty" has gained serious momentum since his two-fight losing skid in 2021. He's won six straight since and continues to impress, overcoming former champions like Rob Wilkinson and Rafael Carvalho.

As a natural light heavyweight, Yagshimuradov will have the size advantage in this one, which will catch up to former welterweight Kasanganay eventually. Kasanganay has fit into his 205-pound division well, but certain hitters will still be a lot to deal with throughout 25 minutes. It won't be easy, as both are evenly matched, but Yagshimuradov has been putting things together as of late and I like his chances.

Pick: Yagshimuradov

PFL welterweight final: Shamil Musaev def. Magomed Umalatov via TKO (punches) at 1:44 of R3.

The crowd is starving for some action right now and you can feel it. Right hand from Umalatov misses. Musaev comes back with a jabbing teep kick. Umalatov marches forward and ducks low for a single-leg takedown, but can't get it. Big left hand lands on the counter for Musaev. OOOHHHH ANOTHER HUGE LEFT HAND TO THE FACE FROM MUSAEV!!! Umalatov is down! This is done, son. Good lord. That came out of nowhere.

He faked the right hand then demolished Umalatov with a perfect left hook. Wow.

Let's see if business picks up here in Round 2. More tentativeness to start. Umalatov finally punches his way inside and hunts for a double-leg takedown. Musaev takes advantage in the ensuing scramble and squirms his way to Umalatov's back standing. Musaev briefly gets Umalatov down against the fence but Umalatov quickly pops back up. Nice inside elbow from Umalatov. They trade inside knees from the clinch. We're back to the center of the cage and now Umalatov on the one applying forward pressure. Umalatov shucks off a takedown attempt.

10-9 Musaev. (20-18 Musaev.)

Man, this is such a high-level fight. Very interested in this one. They touch 'em up and we're off. Early feeling out process here and the fans are already getting restless. Two minutes in and nothing much has happened. Both men very wary of the other. Musaev lets loose with a left hook followed by a right hand. Big flurry from Musaev. There we go. Musaev ties up along the fence then trips Umalatov to the floor. Umalatov breaks free and resets in the center of the cage. More boos rain down as the action slows. Not a great first round.

10-9 Musaev.

170 pounds: Shamil Musaev (-250) vs. Magomed Umalatov (+200)

Somebody's zero has to go in the welterweight finals.

This is a pretty crazy fight to see happen. In battling their way through the 2024 season, Shamil Musaev and Magomed Umulatov remained undefeated with 17 wins apiece. The only blip on either's résumé is Musaev's majority draw with Michal Pietrzak from his final KSW appearance in 2022.

Since that Petrzak draw, Musaev has scored impressive knockouts of Logan Storley and Alexey Kunchenko as well as back-to-back wins over Murad Ramazanov. Holding an extensive Wushu Sanda background, Musaev has been a high-caliber finisher on the feet, but Umulatov matches his opponent identically in victory methods with his combat sambo base. Each fighter owns 11 knockouts, four decisions, and two submissions. I had to do a double-take when I first saw it. Talk about bizarre stuff.

Ultimately, Musaev is no slouch on the ground either and is defensively sound enough to halt Umulatov's offense. This is a highly competitive matchup no matter how it's sliced, but stylistically, I like what we've seen more from Musaev and the oddsmakers agree.

Pick: Musaev

PFL lightweight final: Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Brent Primus via KO (punches) at 2:31 of R3

Rabadanov comes out firing. He downs Primus with a big right hand through the guard early! Rabadanov again refuses to capitalize on the moment. He lets Primus back up and resets to the center of the cage. Rabadanov working off his back foot, trying to coax Primus into something. Rabadanov ducks under a spinning backfist and cracks Primus with a right hand. MONSTER FLURRY FROM RABADANOV!!! Oh my goodness. Primus melts to the canvas! Rabadanov finally swarms and this one is done. What a gorgeous combination to finish it off. Take your $1 million check, Gadzhi, because that was sick.

Good chance the judges gave that one to Rabadanov but they really shouldn't — he didn't do anything. Very measured attacks on the feet from both men over the first minute of this second round. Both staying patient. HUGE right hand from out of nowhere knocks down Primus!!! What is Rabadanov doing? He just jumps in Primus' guard and settles in, totally allowing Primus to recover. Lost opportunity there and Primus is already back to working his rubber guard from the bottom. Rabadanov finally breaks free and stands up. He smacks Primus' legs with a few kicks then dives back into top control. Primus trying to create some space with a knee shield. We're pretty much in a stalemate.

10-9 Rabadanov. (19-19 overall.)

Primus looks massive compared to Rabadanov. Primus wades forward with looping punches. He's owning the center of the cage thus far. Rabadanov slips and bull-rushes into a double-leg takedown in the center, settling into full guard. Primus tries to use a rubber guard to get something going but Rabadanov powers through it. Primus goes right back to it but Rabadanov again powers through it, this time reaching half guard. Very little offense coming from Rabadanov right now. Primus tosses out a few elbows from the bottom. Good chance he just won that round off his back.

10-9 Primus.

155 pounds: Brent Primus (+400) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (-550)

Brent Primus has had an interesting career as one of the sport's most underrated grapplers.

Anyone you speak to who knows Oregon's Primus and trained with him will tell you just how insane he is on the mat, and he's proven that with submissions as rare as the unicorn-esque gogoplata. It's been a bit of a resurgent run for the former Bellator champion in his first PFL season, which has seen him submit Bruno Miranda and Solomon Renfro then dispatch Clay Collard with a unanimous decision.

There are some parallels to be made between this fight and Ditcheva vs. Santos. Gadzi Rabadanov has accrued a deeper résumé than Ditcheva comparatively, but against Primus, he'll face a decent step-up in name value and competition level. His nine-fight winning streak isn't to be taken lightly, though; Rabadanov earned his role as the betting favorite with impressive showings against Koji Takeda, Jay-Jay Wilson, Daniel Carey and Michael Dufort, in particular.

Although the odds gap might feel a little large, we've seen Primus' kryptonite be strong wrestlers who can match him in that department and stifle submission threats from the top. Rabadanov was choked out once in 2016, but has improved significantly since then and will cruise to his first PFL title.

Pick: Rabadanov

Goltsov uses his mic time to call for a 2025 fight with PFL's star heavyweight Francis Ngannou.

Great job, Denis. You needed to do the thing and you did, in fact, do the thing. 10/10, no notes.

PFL heavyweight final: Denis Goltsov def. Oleg Popov via submission (triangle choke) at 2:55 of R1

Goltsov comes out aggressive, working behind his jab. Popov ducks under and drags Goltsov to the floor with a single-leg takendown, settling inside Goltsov's full guard. Goltsov throws up a triangle attempt from the bottom! Oh wow, there's something to this. He switches to an armbar, then back to the triangle. Popov tries to stack him but it only gets him deeper into trouble. No way?? He does it!!! Popov taps! Fifth time is the charm for Denis Goltsov! Early submission victory for the new millionaire in his fifth PFL season.

Oleg Popov kicking off our main card by walking out to Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness." I suddenly feel 13 years old all over again.

265 pounds: Denis Goltsov (+110) vs. Oleg Popov (-135)

Denis Goltsov is a PFL OG, competing in the promotion since its transformation from World Series of Fighting in 2019. Unfortunately for the big man, he's yet to win a heavyweight title.

Oleg Popov carries strong momentum heading into this title tilt, owning just one career loss that came eight years and 17 fights ago. Should he choose to employ a wrestling-heavy, grind-out game plan, he'll give Goltsov problems over 25 minutes. But Goltsov is a dangerous giant, and for him, the fourth crack at $1 million will be the charm.

There isn't ever much rhyme or reason at heavyweight, especially in the PFL. It's not a technical or complex prediction, I'll admit it. Goltsov is just a big, rangy, and consistent finisher, whether by knockout or submission. He'll catch Popov for a feel-good moment to start the main card.

Pick: Goltsov

Welcome! The 2024 PFL World Championships are finally upon us. Six MMA fighters will leave Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend not only as PFL champions, but also $1 million richer.

Main card kicks off in moments! Follow Uncrowned all afternoon for live round-by-round updates of the action.