PFL

Britain’s Alfie Davis stunned defending champion Gadzhi Rabadanov to win the PFL lightweight tournament by unanimous decision in Charlotte, North Carolina.

London’s Davis landed the more damaging strikes to edge a close contest with all three judges scoring it 48-47 in the 33-year-old’s favour.

Davis was overcome with emotion as the result was read out as he won $500,000 (£369,000) – a prize he described as “life-changing”.

He becomes the third Briton to win an annual PFL tournament after featherweight Brendan Loughnane in 2022 and women’s flyweight Dakota Ditcheva last year.

“I don’t know what to say, I’ve worked so hard for this,” said Davis.

“To be a champion like Gadzhi, I respect him and have watched him for so many years – he and his team are amazing. To beat someone like that is a dream come true.”

Davis reached the final after enjoying the best spell of his 11-year career with wins over Clay Collard and Brent Primus.

In Russia’s 32-year-old Rabadanov, however, he was facing last year’s champion and a fighter on a 12-fight win streak.

Davis said he had suffered from a lack of confidence in the past, but has put that behind him with a string of impressive displays.

His new-found confidence was on full display as he danced his way to the cage, before being introduced as someone whose “charisma can be seen from space”.

Alfie Davis reflects on one fight in particular when he points out one of the most difficult moments of his career.

Fighting Alexander Shabliy in 2021, the Londoner admits he was “outclassed” as the Russian cruised to a unanimous decision win.

The 33-year-old says that while his preparations for the bout were hampered by a bacterial infection in his foot, the main reason for his defeat was psychological.

“I just didn’t pull the trigger and I think I choked under the pressure that he is this big star I felt I shouldn’t have been in there with,” Davis tells BBC Sport.

When a person doubts their ability and achievements it is sometimes described as impostor syndrome – a psychological experience where someone fears being exposed as not competent at their profession.

Confidence and bravado play such important parts in many fighters’ mindsets that it is uncommon for them to voice doubts about their standing in the sport.

Davis says throughout his career he has performed to his exciting potential in the gym, but has sometimes struggled to replicate it during fights.

This year however, things have changed. His career has reached new heights.

Having won two fights in 2025, Davis faces Russia’s Gadzhi Rabadanov in the PFL lightweight tournament final in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday – with the winner securing a $500,000 (£372,000) pay day.

Davis puts his change in fortunes down to two factors. The first is a swap of gym and coaches, which he says have allowed him to “express myself a bit more”.

The second is altering the way he thinks about competing. Davis appears calm and confident as he envisions the fight with 32-year-old Rabadanov.

“I think I used to put too much pressure on myself, but when I just go in there and go with the flow, not concentrating on the result too much, I get into my flow state. Before, I was overthinking,” he adds.

“I feel this guy I’m fighting now, if he was in the gym, I’d make easy work of him – I’ve just got to prove that under the big lights.”

When Dakota Ditcheva became the first British woman to win an MMA world title, she had no idea of the frustration that would follow.

After the 26-year-old’s historic win over Taila Santos in the PFL flyweight final – her fourth victory in a golden 2024 – she had all the momentum.

Congratulations poured in from icons of women’s MMA, including Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but soon the narrative would develop.

The question starting to form on everybody’s lips after that career-high moment in November was “what’s next?”.

Ditcheva was ready to fight anyone, but the dominant way in which she had dispatched her opponents – including three first-round stoppages and one in the second round – meant there were no worthy challengers left in the promotion.

“Obviously, with me walking through them last year it’s made it difficult,” Ditcheva tells BBC Sport.

“It’s definitely frustrating. I did so well last year – I fought in the cage four times and obviously the last one was a big one and drew a lot of attention, but now I felt like my momentum had kind of dropped off.

“Santos was the top girl in the division and the fact I walked through her so easily is another thing which made this year so difficult. They [the PFL] didn’t know which direction to put me in.”

The Professional Fighters League says it is “aware of the situation concerning Timur Khizriev” after a video posted online appears to show the Russian featherweight champion being shot multiple times.

The footage shows Khizriev, 29, being attacked by two gunmen as he exited his car in Makhachkala, Russia.

Despite being shot, Khizriev grapples with one while the other fires at close range, before escaping further harm by fleeing the scene.

Khizriev is in stable condition, according to Russian media reports, but suffered numerous injuries to the shoulder, hand, and chest, and is undergoing surgery.

“PFL is aware of the situation concerning Timur Khizriev, and remain in close touch with his representatives,” the mixed-martial arts promotion said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with him and his family during this time.”

Khizriev has won the first 18 fights of his career and beat Britain’s Brendan Loughnane in November to win the PFL’s featherweight tournament.