The only fighter to score a finish Friday night was rewarded with a spot on the upcoming Professional Fighters League 2022 Regular Season.
Ultimate Fighting Championship alum BostonSalmon was the worthiest man at PFL Challenger Series 4. Salmon (8-3, 1-0 PFL) went to war with DoGyeom Lee (8-5, 0-1 PFL), exchanging wild strikes for 10 minutes. In Round 2, Salmon’s educated jab found the way to its target more freely, inflicting major damage to Lee’s mouth. The Korean — who missed weight by 2.6 pounds the day before the fight — attempted to battle through the pain, but his corner called it a night between the second and third stanzas. In addition to the promotional contract, “Boom Boom” also pocketed a $5,000 performance bonus.
The card’s headliner featured a close clash between Reinaldo Ekson (18-5, 1-0 PFL) and Mike Barnett (10-4, 0-1 PFL). Both fought very carefully on their feet, and neither showed many initiatives as they limited themselves to score from afar. The highlight of the fight was a guillotine choke attempt by Eksen, which Barnett denied in the second frame. When the dust settled, the judges unanimously gave 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 nods to Eksen.
In the co-feature, Edwin Cooper Jr. (6-1, 1-0 PFL) attempted to score a quick finish as he rushed Troy Lamson (13-5, 0-1 PFL) to the canvas and hammered his opponent from the crucifix position. While Lamson survived the storm, Cooper kept landing more punches and kept his prey pinned on his back for the first stanza. The second frame followed the same script as Cooper spent plenty of energy dictating the pace and the place of the clash. In Round 3, Lamson looked fresher than his adversary looked and managed to keep the fight on the feet, making the most out of the situation to attack with a variety of punches. Ultimately, the judges’ scorecards read 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 in favor of Cooper.
In the first fight on the card, BrahyanZurcher (3-0, 1-0 PFL) made a savvy display of takedowns and swift punches to outpoint Scottie Stockman (3-2, 0-1) on all three scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
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