Denzel Freeman Earns Final PFL Challenger Series 2023 Contract

Heavyweight Denzel Freeman is the latest fighter to earn a Professional Fighters League contract despite being quite low on the final card for the 2023 PFL Challenger Series.

WELCOME TO THE PFL DENZEL FREEMAN!#PFLonFubo pic.twitter.com/5QRQzxHNI4

— PFL (@PFLMMA) March 18, 2023

St. Louis Controls Laia

The Week 8 main event saw Kendly St. Louis take on Paulo Henrique Laia in what was supposed to be a lightweight fight but St. Louis (9-4) missed weight. It was St. Louis that found an early advantage as his wrestling allowed him to control Laia (14-7) on the ground. This laid the framework that would be followed for the rest of the fight as the second and third rounds saw St. Louis firmly in control while never coming super close to a finish.

As expected, St. Louis took a unanimous decision win with scores of 30-27 across the board.

Related » PFL 2023 Challenger Series Week 8 Round-by-Round Scoring

Martins Stifles Cataline

The lone women's bout on the card saw Jackie Cataline take on fellow featherweight Evelyn Martins.

While it was Cataline (3-2) who first found an advantage on the feet with her punches, a flurry of leg kicks by Martins (4-0) turned the fight in her favor. With her opponent's leg heavily damaged, Martins was able to further widen the gap on the feet. The third round was more of the same as Cataline's movement was compromised.

After 15 minutes, the judges awarded a unanimous decision to Martins with scores of 29-28 across the board.

Freeman Smokes Kovacs

Denzel Freeman made a statement to the PFL heavyweight division and earned a contract while doing so.

Freeman (4-0) started his fight against Raiden Kovacs by landing a beautiful high kick that knocked his opponent down. While Kovacs (0-1) looked to grab an arm and did get guard to recover, it was to no avail. Freeman simply kept striking until a TKO was secured.

The fight was stopped after just 27 seconds.

Omar Outstrikes Sadeck

The first fight of the night was in the welterweight division and saw two newcomers make their PFL debut.

Both fighters looked to show off their striking in a back-and-forth first round that saw Ali Omar show off a bit more variety in his offense than Sanon Sadeck. The second frame saw a lot more grappling by Sadeck (3-2), who was able to have more success by clinching against the cage. The third round would see Sadeck take the back of Omar (5-2), although the American had a slight edge on the feet.

After three rounds of action, the judges awarded a split decision to Sanon with scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 30-27.