One of the world’s newest MMA promotions, Anthony Pettis FC, has only been in business for a short time. Initially founded under its original name, Showtime FC a few years ago, the organization began its life on Feb. 11, 2022 in Lakeland, FL.
That night, Lucas Alexander (8-3 MMA), now competing in the UFC, scored a second-round TKO victory against Jacob Kilburn (8-7 MMA) after the latter sustained an injury and could no longer continue in the main event of the evening. Kilburn is currently on a five-fight losing streak and hasn’t appeared in a bout in over a year.
Following that first night, the promotion took a six-month hiatus, during which time it rebranded and relaunched with its current moniker. Up to now, APFC, run by Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, has held its cards exclusively on American soil.
APFC Heads to Manchester for APFC 8 and APFC 8 Co-Main Event
This Friday afternoon (US time), everything changes. Your weekend of competitive violence begins with APFC setting up shop in the United Kingdom for the first time in its young existence with APFC 8: Manchester Fight Night.
Bantamweight Showcase in APFC 8 Co-Main Event
Friday’s card is co-headlined by a battle at 135 lbs. James Williams (4-1 MMA, APFC promotional debut) won’t have to travel very far from his training camp site in Manchester for the APFC 8 co-main event when he takes on Karvan Ahmadi (2-1 MMA, APFC promotional debut).
Without a championship at stake, the APFC 8 co-main event is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
APFC 8 Co-Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the APFC 8 co-main event on Friday night, both of these men stand level at 5-foot-7. No reach information was accessible on the Internet at press time.
James Williams Getting “Home Game” in APFC 8 Co-Main Event
James Williams enters Friday’s card having posted a record of 4-1 thus far in his professional MMA career. At the present time, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.
Most recently, he scored a third-round submission (rear-naked choke) of Jamie Kelly (3-3 MMA) on Dec. 3 of last year in Full Contact Contender 31. Since then, he was scheduled to fight Daniel Missin (10-15 MMA) on three occasions, with each booking canceled before coming to pass.
Rather than wait around for a fourth possible date against Missin, Williams has optioned for a clean slate and a new adversary in the APFC 8 co-main event, something he explained to the MomsBasementMMA YouTube channel recently.
“I don’t really worry about my opponent too much when I’m training, anyway,” Williams began. “It’s just a little bit annoying, that kind of, how it dragged on for the best part of a year. Now, obviously, I’ve fought him before. Obviously, I beat him the last time, so I know he was keen for the rematch, anyway.”
With the change in opponent for the APFC 8 co-main event, the crowd will now be firmly on Williams’ side.
Ahmadi Looking to Get Back in Win Column
In the other corner, Karvan Ahmadi has posted a 2-1 record so far in the cage as a pro. Most recently, he saw a two-fight winning streak to begin his career get snapped at the hands of Safiullah Husseini (3-2 MMA) on April 23 during Cage 58.
Dating back to his amateur career, he’s gone 3-2 in his last five fights. If Ahmadi is to get noticed by a major promotion, he needs to get some consistency going.
A sustained winning streak from a fighter early on in his MMA life will cause his stock to rise. For Ahmadi, the time to string wins together begins now.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
The APFC 8 co-main event looks to be another one of those toss-ups. Neither man has a clear-cut advantage here.
James Williams is a Submission Specialist
James Williams has the potential to end the fight by making his opponent tap out and go to sleep. One need look no further than the footage of his fight against Reese Street.
During the first round, Williams connected on a leg kick to knock Street down, but the latter counterattacked with an up kick. This momentum was ill-fated, however, thanks to Williams’ steadfast efforts to lock up a submission.
Williams applied continuous pressure down the stretch, finally ending the bout with a head and arm choke. If James Williams can knock Karvan Ahmadi down just once, this could give him the needed momentum to score a win this Friday.
Watch for Ahmadi to Wear Williams Down
In the other corner, it would behoove Karvan Ahmadi to exhaust James Williams by any means necessary. In his first pro fight against Karri Itkonen, he absorbed a right hand at the start of the first round, but then went on the offensive with a flying knee and a head kick to set up an easy single-leg takedown.
From there, Ahmadi was in the driver’s seat, scoring with a quick burst of ground and pound shots. Ahmadi opened up his attack further with some grappling as he tried to land a submission.
Even though Itkonen broke free, Ahmadi continued his assault with another flurry of punches to the head. While the fight went to a decision, he made it clear that he was in complete control.
Karvan Ahmadi has to knock James Williams off of his gameplan from the first opportunity in Friday’s featured bantamweight scrap.
Final Thoughts
It looks as though fight fans have a good fight to watch in the APFC 8 co-main event on Friday.
Prediction: Karvan Ahmadi by Unanimous Decision.
Live coverage of APFC 8 begins at 10 am ET/ 7 am PT with the amateur undercard on the promotion’s YouTube channel, followed by the main card at 2 pm ET/ 11 am PT on UFC Fight Pass. All told, APFC 8 features 18 fights from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, barring any postponements between now and then.
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