Professional Fighters League Signs Jarrah Al-Silawi Following PFL Challenger Series 2 Knockout

JARRAH AL SILAWI TIMES THE KNEE PERFECTLY!#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/IeisKHpxy0

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 26, 2022

Jarrah Al-Silawi has a new home.

The two-division Brave Combat Federation champion knocked out Michael Lilly in the first round of their PFL Challenger Series 2 headliner on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. After Al-Silawi (17-3) drew the curtain 2:54 into Round 1 of their 177-pound catchweight clash, he was rewarded with a Professional Fighters League contract.

Lilly (7-7) was woefully outgunned. Al-Silawi probed for weakness with leg kicks, stuffed an attempted takedown and floated into open space. He approached Lilly from the outside, feinted and caught him with the knee as he ducked into a takedown. The MMA Masters product collapsed backward and fell to the canvas, and though Al-Silawi was in hot pursuit, referee Andrew Glenn had seen enough.

Meanwhile, Sanford MMA export Dilano Taylor was awarded a technical knockout over Mark Martin in the welterweight co-feature. Having suffered severe gruesome damage to his left eye, Martin (7-2) was declared unfit to continue in between the first and second rounds.

A Titan Fighting Championship titleholder, Taylor (8-1) was fortunate to escape with a win. Martin controlled much of the first period with stout left hands, heavy pressure and a late takedown. However, he absorbed a pair of right hooks from Taylor, resulting in grotesque swelling to his left eye. The cageside physician examined Martin during the intermission and recommended the fight be stopped.

Taylor has rattled off seven consecutive victories.

Elsewhere, Carlos Leal Miranda wiped out Korey Kuppe with punches in the first round of their welterweight confrontation. Kuppe (9-5) checked out 56 seconds into Round 1, suffering the most lopsided defeat of his 14-fight career.

Miranda (15-3) swarmed at the outset, floored his 6-foot-5 adversary with a right hand and never took his foot off the gas. He pounced with follow-up punches, assumed top position and applied some hammerfist-laden ground-and-pound. Miranda eventually rose to his feet and dropped standing-to-ground punches until the job was done.

The 27-year-old Miranda has won nine fights in a row, six of them finishes.

Finally, Chris Mixan put away Nathan Pierce with punches in the second round of their catchweight pairing at 174 pounds. Pierce (3-2) succumbed to blows 1:29 into Round 2, his two-fight winning streak having run its course.

Mixan (3-1) utilized a six-inch reach advantage, unleashed an effective jab and pieced together crisp punching combinations. He opened a cut on the bridge of Pierce’s nose in the first round and turned up the heat in the second. There, Mixan doubled over his counterpart with a series of left hooks to the body, mixed in a few knee strikes to the head and went back downstairs to prompt the stoppage.