Campos silences Nigerian crowd with first-round submission of Adeshina at PFL Nigeria

Ignacio “Nacho” Campos spoiled the home crowd’s night at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos on June 13, submitting Nigerian favourite Wasi Adeshina with a rear-naked choke at 1:45 of the first round to claim the PFL Nigeria main event. The result handed Adeshina the first defeat of his PFL career.

Campos (8-2, 2-1 PFL) and Adeshina (10-4, 3-1 PFL) opened with a measured feeling-out phase, trading wrestling exchanges against the fence and striking in the centre of the cage. The turning point came when the Spaniard landed a perfectly timed knee that dropped Adeshina. Campos followed with heavy punches from half-guard before transitioning to his opponent’s back as Adeshina scrambled to escape. With the position secured, Campos locked in the rear-naked choke and Adeshina tapped before the two-minute mark.

In the co-main event, Patrick Ocheme (8-1, 3-0 PFL) stopped Ayinda Octave (7-2, 1-2 PFL) with a flying knee at 3:17 of Round 1 in their lightweight tournament clash. Ocheme timed the shot as Octave shot for a takedown, dropping him instantly, before a follow-up left hand prompted the referee to wave off the contest.

Karim Henniene (7-0, 3-0 PFL) remained unbeaten by submitting Thimna Mhlauli (5-1, 0-1 PFL) with an anaconda choke at 2:23 of Round 1 in their bantamweight tournament bout. “The Kryptonian” took the fight to the canvas with ease, locked in the choke, and forced Mhlauli to lose consciousness, spoiling his perfect record and advancing to the next phase of the 135-pound tournament.

Cornel Thompson (12-3, 2-0 PFL) earned a unanimous decision over Aureo Cruz (3-1, 1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC PFL) in a lightweight tournament encounter, with all three judges scoring it 29-28. Thompson controlled the early rounds with clean striking before Cruz took the fight to the mat in the third, but it was not enough to sway the scorecards.

Opening the main card, Jordan Cabrel Fongno (5-1, 1-0 PFL) handed Yahaya Yahuza (8-1, 0-1 PFL) the first professional loss of his career, stopping him with punches at 3:35 of Round 2 in their middleweight contest.