How unlucky the Russian heavyweights are! Goltsov collapsed after Pavlovich
Igor Nekrasov November 25, 2023, 11:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The Russian hero is one step away from the PFL title and a million dollars.
The season finale of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) took place in Washington (USA). In the co-main event of the tournament, Russian heavyweight Denis Goltsov (32-7), nicknamed the Russian Hero, faced Brazilian Renan Ferreira (11-3), nicknamed the Problem. Not only was the Grand Prix title at stake, but also a million dollars.
Denis Goltsov is a 33-year-old Russian heavyweight who has been competing in the PFL since 2019. Like many national mixed martial arts fighters, Denis began his sports career in combat sambo and continues to perform in this type of martial arts to this day. today. Denis is a multiple champion of Russia, two-time champion of Europe and the world. Goltsov made his MMA debut in 2010, signing a contract with M-1. The start of Denis’s career was not the most impressive; In his first six fights he won three times and suffered three defeats, including to Alexander Volkov, who is now one of the best heavyweights in the UFC. However, Denis continued his performances, had a good winning streak, played in leagues such as ASV and RCC and in 2019 joined the PFL. The Russian reached the semifinals of the organization’s Grand Prix several times, but was one step away from the long-awaited fight. But this season Goltsov is showing excellent results: the Russian won three early victories over César Ferreira, Yorgan de Castro and Jordan Heiderman and reached his first final of the season in the PFL. By the way, Denis needed 18 seconds to defeat De Castro, which is a record victory in the organization’s heavyweight division.
Denis’s rival in the decisive match was the Brazilian Renan Ferreira. Even though Ferreira is a year older than the Russian, Renan has much less experience in professional performances. The Brazilian, like Denis, ended up in the PFL in 2019 and also reached the league semifinals at most. This season, Renan could have completely missed the playoffs, having lost to Rizvan Kuniev in the first match of the season, but the Russian was involved in a doping scandal, was disqualified, and Ferreira continued his performance. After defeating Matheus Sheffil and Maurice Greene, the Brazilian reached the season finale.
All the details of the PFL season finale:
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At the beginning of the fight, the combatants exchanged positions, both delivered several powerful blows to the target, the Brazilian even managed to break the Russian’s nose. Denis responded to this with a successful takedown attempt and managed to gain a foothold on the ground. Goltsov controlled his opponent on the ground for a long time, periodically throwing punches and threatening the Brazilian with painful holds. At the end of the round, the Russian managed to reach full mount, but Ferreira was saved from finishing for the gong.
The second round began again with a standing exchange. The Brazilian was more precise in the exchange: after a powerful missed shot, Goltsov “swam”. Ferreira felt the blood and rushed to finish: Denis fell to the ground, Renan threw several more powerful blows to the ground, after which the referee stopped the fight, recording the victory of the Brazilian by technical knockout.
This season, PFL broadcasts are available on OKKO.
Unfortunately, the Russian heavyweights have had a lot of bad luck lately. More recently, Sergei Pavlovich fought for the title of interim UFC champion, he was the favorite in the fight with Tom Aspinall, but lost by knockout in the first round. Goltsov also entered the fight as a clear favorite, confidently won the first round and seemed to be in control of the situation in the octagon. But a missed shot put an end to the dreams of the title and the million dollars.
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