Bilostenniy dethrones Nemkov via unanimous decision to claim PFL heavyweight title in Dubai

Sergei Bilostenniy dethroned Vadim Nemkov to become PFL heavyweight champion at PFL Dubai on November 14, earning a unanimous decision victory over the Fedor Emelianenko protege in the main event.

Nemkov came out aggressively in the opening round, shooting for a takedown after a missed head kick and quickly reaching full mount to threaten with an armbar. Bilostenniy escaped and returned to his feet, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. The second round was competitive on the feet, with Bilostenniy finding more success in the stand-up exchanges while Nemkov’s takedown attempts repeatedly came up short.

By the third round, Bilostenniy was comfortably stuffing Nemkov’s grappling and forcing the champion to engage in a striking battle he was losing. He continued to land the harder shots through rounds four and five, with Nemkov unable to close the gap or secure a takedown despite staying active with his jab in the championship rounds.

Although Nemkov led on total strikes landed according to official records, the judges scored in favour of Bilostenniy, whose cleaner, more damaging output proved decisive across all three scorecards.

Habirora’s rise continues with brutal finish

Welterweight prospect Patrick Habirora delivered the night’s most emphatic performance in the co-main event, stopping Omar El Dafrawy with a guillotine choke before the end of round one. The Belgium-based fighter absorbed early takedown pressure from El Dafrawy before turning a grappling exchange into a submission, putting his opponent out cold with the choke.

Elsewhere on the main card, Oleg Popov and Joji Goto both earned decision victories — Popov over Pouya Rahmani and Goto over Sergio Pettis — while Lewis McGrillen needed just one round to beat Nawras Abzakh.