PFL World Tournament 6 Post-Fight Notebook

The Professional Fighters League World Tournament Semifinals took place on Friday night in Wichita, Kansas, and while six fighters advanced to the tournament championship in their respective brackets, others made their own statements. Four other fighters seized the moment: some staking their claim to be the top backup in their bracket, others making the most of a lifetime memory while picking up a win in the Smartcage.

Nicholas Meck Welcomes Newborn Son the Night Before PFL Victory

Getting a victory over Alan Dominguez by first-round submission was a thrill for Meck, his first win with the PFL, but less than 24 hours before his win, his girlfriend gave birth to their newborn son. The up-and-coming welterweight spoke with the media in Wichita and explained how it all came together for him.

“Life is crazy, it’s always the unexpected that happens. When my son was born, I was like ‘Crap, I still have to fight tomorrow.’ God gives his soldiers the toughest challenges, and I feel like he gave me this challenge and I succeeded. It was a really hard camp for me emotionally, my girlfriend has been pregnant all camp and I just moved her from Denver. When you have those tough life battles, I think it brings out the best in me.”

Magomed Magomedov Stakes Claim as Best Bantamweight in PFL

After handing Sarvarjon Khamidov the first loss of his professional career in a non-tournament feature bout, Magomedov reiterated his belief that he’s the best bantamweight in the PFL and paid no mind to Justin Wetzell or Marcirley Alves who will be in the bantamweight tournament championship.

“Who knows these guys fighting in the tournament? I don’t know these guys. I smash them. All the guys in this tournament, I smash them. I want to fight for the title, my last fight against “Patchy” Mix, I won this fight, it was a robbery. I’m a championship caliber fighter. I want the next title fight. I want a title fight against winner of Raufeon Stots vs. Sergio Pettis, it’s only fair.”

Darragh Kelly Wanted a Smoother Win Against Mike Hamel

Looking to keep his undefeated record intact, Kelly faced first-round adversity, forcing him to adjust on his way to a third-round submission win.

“Not to be complaining again but I wanted a smoother path to victory. He caught me in the first round, I started a bit lazy, when he hit me I was seeing two of him for the first four minutes of the fight and that really threw me off. I had to pull back and give away the first round, the second round my vision came back and I started to get going, but a win is a win.”

Ilara Joanne Is Ready for the Call

Getting back into the win column with a decision victory over Saray Orozco in a women’s flyweight matchup, “Arya Stark” is eager to be an alternate for the tournament final. While Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche are set fight for the tournament championship after winning their respective semifinals on Friday, Joanne said she will be ready if she needs to step up as a replacement.

“Absolutely, I put in a lot of work. I’ll stay ready, I’ll stay in shape, so when the call comes, I’ll be fully ready to go.”