Davis outworks Rabadanov over five rounds to capture 2025 PFL Lightweight World Tournament title in the main event. Under the bright lights of Bojangles Coliseum, Alfie Davis delivered a performance that will be remembered as one of PFL’s greatest fights. Davis outworked defending champion Gadzhi Rabadanov over five rounds, earning a unanimous decision and the 2025 PFL Lightweight World Tournament title.
The highly anticipated PFL 9 Finals unfolded on Friday, August 15 at Bojangles Coliseum, where hearts raced and champions were crowned. In the main event two lightweight warriors, Alfie Davis and Gadzhi Rabadanov faced off in a showdown that electrified the arena and had the fans on their feet.
Alfie Davis, the technical striker has been quietly building momentum in the PFL. In November 2024, Davis’s PFL debut didn’t go as planned as he suffered a rear-naked choke defeat to Mansour Barnaoui in the championship final at PFL 10, a humbling moment for him.
But Davis came back swinging. In the 2025 Lightweight World Tournament, he opened with a stunning first-round TKO of Clay Collard in April, all but erasing doubt with a spinning back elbow and punches that showed his striking technique. Just two months later, he navigated past former PFL and Bellator champ Brent Primus in PFL 6 bout, earning a unanimous decision in a back-and-forth semifinal that felt like a proving ground .
Gadzhi Rabadanov his opponent is the epitome of consistency, and when he’s on, he finishes. He began the season by erasing Marc Diakiese with a brutal 30-second knockout in PFL 3, the kind of highlight that sends a message to everyone watching . Not stopping there, he delivered a statement performance against Kevin Lee in June, a ground-and-pound TKO just 2:37 into the first round, sending the ex-UFC contender home and punching his ticket to the semifinals. It wasn’t just the victories themselves, but the way they came quick, decisive, and merciless. The two fighters entered the octagon to make a statement again.
From the opening bell, Gadzhi Rabadanov came out aggressive throwing a heavy hook and landing a low inside leg kick less than a minute into the fight. Shortly after, Davis landed a low inside kick that caught Rabadanov’s attention
but Rabadanov shook it off quickly and the fight continued. Rabadanov held the center of the cage, pushing Davis back and making him fight off the counter. Davis tried to answer with a big overhand left late in the round, but it didn’t connect. He started finding openings, and by the end of the round, Rabadanov was already showing some signs of damage.
Rabadanov took control in the second round, scoring an early takedown and imposing his will from the top position. He got to his usual style, shooting for a single-leg takedown and controlling from the top for most of the round. He stayed busy with body shots and advancing through half guard.
Round 3 came and Rabadanov came forward with a right hand and clinched, but Davis broke free and reset in the center. Davis landed a front kick to the body, then cracked him with a right uppercut and a left hook. Rabadanov absorbed it and kept pressing forward. Davis circled around the cage, picking shots. He tried a knee and a left hook but missed, then threw a wheel kick that also came up short. Rabadanov kept walking him down but wasn’t throwing much.
Davis mixed in some elbows, a left hand, and kept moving. With about a minute and a half left, Davis landed a side kick to the body, faked a knee, and followed with a body kick. Rabadanov swung big hooks but missed. Davis finished the round with a spinning elbow.
Rabadanov came forward, took Davis down, and quickly secured top position. He controlled from side control and half guard, landing short punches to the body. Davis tried to use butterfly hooks to escape but couldn’t create space. The referee stayed close but allowed the action to continue despite Davis’ protests. Rabadanov stayed heavy on top, bleeding time off the clock, even threatening to move to mount before returning to half guard. Rabadanov kept working with steady ground-and-pound until the round ended.
Davis opened round five with an inside leg kick while circling the cage. He landed a knee up the middle and a front kick to the body. Both fighters traded jabs as Rabadanov pressed forward from the center. Davis countered with a right hand and added a knee to the body. Rabadanov had not attempted a takedown yet. Davis kept moving and shrugged off one. Rabadanov connected with a right hand, but Davis answered with a left. Midway through the round, Davis landed a jumping knee and defended another takedown. They traded right hands. Davis’ nonstop movement gave Rabadanov problems, but Rabadanov finally secured a takedown with just over a minute left. On the ground, Rabadanov landed body shots and a few short punches from half guard. He used shoulder pressure, while Davis held onto a guillotine attempt. Rabadanov controlled the position but failed to land anything significant.
In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche showed once again why she’s one of the most experienced fighters in the game. From the start, she chopped away with sharp leg kicks and clean jabs, making Jena Bishop work hard just to close the distance. Bishop had her moments in the clinch and kept fishing for submissions, but Carmouche stayed calm, defended well, and kept landing the better shots. As the fight went on, Carmouche’s experience and composure took over. Then, in the third round, she sealed the deal in dominant fashion dropping Bishop with a perfectly timed left hook before swarming her with ground-and-pound to force the stoppage. At exactly 2:56 into the final round, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight giving a TKO victory.
Check out full PFL 9 results below:
Main Card
Alfie Davis def. Gadzhi Rabadanov via unanimous decision (48-47 x3)
Liz Carmouche def. Jena Bishop via TKO – Round 3, 2:56
Marcirley Alves def. Justin Wetzell via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47 x2)
Robert Watley def. Mads Burnell via TKO – Round 3, 2:43
Preliminary Card
Juliana Velasquez def. Ekaterina Shakalova via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Adryan Grundy via KO – Round 3, 3:23
Sabrina De Sousa def. Saray Orosco via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Renat Khavalov def. Vilson Ndregjoni via TKO – Round 1, 2:49
Chris Mixan def. Kendly St. Louis via TKO – Round 1, 4:46
Damion Nelson def. Isaiah Diggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
