THE arrival of the PFL in Spain This is a historic moment for domestic mixed martial arts (MMA). The second promoter of the discipline is ahead of the UFC and will arrive in Madrid, at the Vistalegre Palace, on March 20. … The main event will feature new champion Costello van Steenis defending his crown against old acquaintance Fabian Edwards. Additionally, his brother, Gino van Steenis, also confirmed that he will be attending the party. Despite this, the PFL wanted to focus on local talent, by recruiting another of our representatives.
Acoidán “El Pei” Duque (22-5) will appear at PFL Madrid in front of his home crowd for a lightweight fight, taking on Russian Alexandr “Peresvet” Shabliy (22-4) in the cage on Friday, March 20. The Canarian, who has already successfully competed in the promoter in 2023, seeks to finish his last spurts in this sport in style, since he will already be 39 years old at the time of said event. Anyway, the show with El Pei is guaranteed.
Duque, a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and with half of his victories coming via submission, is an MMA veteran with five victories in his last six fights. It is one of the “old schools” of Spanish MMA. The Spaniard has 16 years of experience as a professional, achieving victories in organizations around the world like Oktagon, the now defunct Bellator or Brave FC. It was here that he had his last fight, in which he came out with his arm raised after beating Jason Ponet on the cards.
Alexandr Shabliy will faceanother experienced Russian martial artist. This fighter is known for being very complete and for his clinical ability to finish fights, with a 50% KO/TKO rate and 28% submission wins. With victories over fighters of the stature of Alfie Davis and Patricky Pitbull, Peresvet, his fighting nickname, comes from sharing a cage with the promotion’s champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, in a duel that was decided by decision. We can therefore assume that it will not be an easy trial for the Spaniard.
Also on the program, a heavyweight duel between 2024 world champion Denis “The Russian Bogatyr” Goltsov (36-9) and Englishman Linton “The Big Swarm” Vassell (25-10). Two natural punchers who between them have 25 KOs and who will look to deliver a film ending in Madrid. Furthermore, it can be assumed that between now and the date of the evening, more names will continue to be added, both nationally and internationally. PFL is gradually putting the pieces of the puzzle together so that its landing in Spain is historic, so that the country becomes a recurring destination for the promoter.
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