PFL Challenger Series 3 Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Louie Sutherland (254) vs. Alton Meeks (228.8)

Round 1

In the first heavyweight match of the night, Alton Meeks (4-1) who lost on Dana White's Contender Series as a -800 favorite against Yorgan de Castro, confronts Louie Sutherland (4-1), with the well-worn nickname of "Vanilla Gorilla". Referee Christopher Mignocchi gets the opening assignment. They are cautious early, but when Sutherland comes forward with a hook, Meeks easily ducks under and gets a double-leg takedown. Sutherland gets up, but Meeks dumps himi back down to the mat immediately. Meeks is now in the half-guard, having pushed Sutherland against the cage. Meeks lands the occasional punch to the body, though none of them are especially hard. Sutherland turns his back, but Meeks doesn't take advantage, allowing him to wall-walk back up. Meeks hits a mat return, but again, Sutherland gets up. Meeks then gets a second mat return, but doesn't maintain any control. Yet again, Sutherland is almost immediately back to his feet, with Meeks over him. Sutherland doesn't quite rise, being on one knee, as Meeks throws a few knees to the thighs. Meeks continues throwing knees to the thighs, but with 105 seconds left, Sutherland rises back to his feet. Meeks tries a trip, but is unsuccessful, with Sutherland barely defending. With 90 seconds left, they separate and are back at range. Suddenly, Sutherland is throwing hooks and Meeks covers up, with a few partially getting through. Meeks has very primitive striking, pushing some very slow, telegraphed straight punches. Sutherland nails Meeks with a knee and begins throwing a plethora of hooks as Meeks covers up. He survives, but Sutherland soon lands a nice kick to the body. Meeks looks tired. Sutherland hurts him with a leg kick. Meeks is retreating with his hands down as the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Sutherland
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Meeks
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Meeks

Round 2

Meeks starts the round much slower to begin the stanza and Sutherland is more cautious, not wanting to be taken down early. Sutherland throws a few interesting front kicks to the ankles which land. Meeks has barely thrown anything. Sutherland lands a couple of leg kicks, though none are hard. Sutherland throws an overhand right that is blocked but partially gets through. Suddenly, Sutherland nails Meeks with a big knee to the head and the American is badly hurt. Sutherland swarms him with hooks as Meeks crumples in the corner of the cage, covering up. As Sutherland pounds away with hammerfists, the referee has no choice but to save him.

The Official Result

Louie Sutherland def. Alton Meeks via TKO (Knee and Punches) at 1:25 of Round 2

Abraham Bably (245.6) vs. Hassan Graham (250.2)

Round 1

Up next, Abraham Bably (2-0), who holds a victory over Sutherland from the opening bout, is a big favorite against Hassan Graham (1-0). Referee Andrew Glenn will keep them honest. Bably begins with a powerful leg kick that already buckles Graham. Bably is bouncing very nicely on the balls of his feet and lands a second leg kick. He then throws a left hook and immediately shoots, taking down Graham with ease. Graham tries to wall-walk, but Bably keeps him down. Still, Graham persists and gets back to his feet. Bably grinds against the cage and lands two nice knees in the body that hit flush. Bably throws Graham to the canvas, but Graham uses a whizzer to get back up almost immediately. They continue grappling and Bably hits an outside trip. This time, Graham is grounded. Bably opens up with punches. Graham turns his back but Bably is all over it, getting both hooks in and pounding away with punches to the head. Graham turns back into him, and now Bably is pounding away while in mount. Graham's sole defense is to put his arms up, but Bably decides to stabilize his position. Bably expertly gets Graham further away from the cage and then postures up to land punches and hammerfists. Graham is doing little to defend but Bably's shots aren't the most accurate or hard. Still, they're landing and Graham turns his back yet again. As Graham is getting pounded from behind, with his hands over his head, not even trying to improve position, the referee has no choice to but to stop it. Very impressive performance by Bably.

The Official Result

Abraham Bably def. Hassan Graham via TKO (Punches) at 3:56 of Round 1

Vitor Resende (243.2) vs. Isaiah Pinson (235.2)

Round 1

In the co-main event, the 6' 9" goliath Vitor Resende (4-0) battles Isiah Pinson (1-0). Referee Christopher Mignocchi returns to work the match-up. Pinson launches a head kick to start but Resende is well out of range. Resende goes for a jumping knee and it connects, though Pinson laughs and shakes his head. Resende then nails Pinson with a hook. Pinson clinches, but Resende almost instantly shakes him off. Pinson lands a leg kick, his first connect of the fight. Resende jabs, looking for another opening. Resende gets a Thai clinch and launches a knee, though Pinson blocks well. Resende goes for a leg kick but Pinson checks it well. Pinson throws some punches but Resende covers well himself. Pinson lands a nice leg kick. Resende throws some punches and then adds a knee for good measure, though Pinson covers up well. Resende jabs, but Pinson moves his head well, evading most blows. Pinson's own jab is dodged by Resende. Resende throws a few punches and chains a head kick to it, but Pinson evades. Resende lands an inside leg kick. Pinson comes forward with a huge flurry of punches and some land on the inside, though Resende gets out of there. Resende lands another inside leg kick. Resende touches Pinson with a hook, but it's not hard. Pinson launches a left hook but it's slightly short. Pinson commits to the inside and now he goes to the body and these land well now, with another body kick on the break. Pinson is making this a very close round! Pinson lands a nice leg kick late in the round and then a second one to the calf. This was a very close stanza.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Pinson
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Pinson
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Pinson

Round 2

Pinson begins the second stanza with another leg kick. Resende throws jabs but none land. Pinson throws a 1-2 that partially gets through. Resende shoots a takedown but Pinson easily defends. Resende lands a nice front kick to the body, though. Resende ducks under a big Pinson punch and they're now grappling against the cage. They soon separate, however. Resende partially touches Pinson with a right cross. However, Pinson retaliates with a big straight right to the body. Pinson then knocks Resende off his feet with a kick and lands a punch or two, but then waves the Brazilian back up. Resende lands a nice right cross, his best punch in a long time. Pinson lans a nice 1-2 and suddenly he is swarming Resende, landing kicks to the body and a thudding right cross over and over. Resende takes a lot of shots, though he doesn't fall to the canvas and finally gets out. Pinson lands several leg kicks at range as there is still more than 2 minutes to the fight. Resende partially lands an overhand right and Pinson clinches, though he soon separates. Resende ducks his head and Pinson hit shim with an uppercut, forcing him back. Resende clinches now, going for a takedown against the fence. He doesn't succeed, but uses his height to land a couple of knees to the head. With a minute left, Pinson lands a big right cross. They clinch but soon separate again. Resende looks tired now, with his eye very bloody and his hands down. Pinson comes forward and lands some more body punches as Resende can only push him back. Suddenly, Resende hits Pinson with a big body kick and he is hurt! Resende nails Pinson with punches as he retreats back, wincing in pain. Another clsoe round that could go to either man.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Pinson
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Pinson
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Pinson

Round 3

Resende begins the third round with a cracking kick which sounds like a gunshot. However, Pinson comes forward with punches, landing them at will and adding a body kick of his own for good measure. Resende is briefly on his knees before getting up and exiting the pocket. Pinson continues his assault soon after, landing a nice body kick and a few punches. Pinson lands a nice leg kick but then Resende gets him in a Thai clinch and cracks a hard knee that clearly hurts Pinson. Soon after, Resende changes levels and eventually sucks out Pinson's hips, putting him on his back. Resende swings the legs to get to side control. The pace slows, though Resende has 3 minutes to work. Pinson gets to his knees, but Resende is all over him. Resende gets too high and then falls over the top of Pinson. Pinson gets to his feet but waves the Brazilian back up. Both men are tired and hurt now, clinching in an exhausted manner. Pinson pushes off as both men lumber back to the middle of the cage. Resende throws a body kick, though it's lacking impact. He throws a head kick and this one lands, though it doesn't have enough starch on it, either. Pinson lands a jab, though he is too tired to follow it up with much. Resende lands another body kick. Pinson lands another leg kick. Pinson lands a few punches but there is not much on them. Resende is utterly spent. He slowly changes levels to go for a takedown but it's defended. Pinson then stuffs a second attempt and hits him with a knee for good measure. A very fun fight!

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Pinson (30-27 Pinson)
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Pinson (30-27 Pinson)
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Pinson (30-27 Pinson)

The Official Result

Isaiah Pinson def. Vitor Resende via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Danilo Marques (247) vs. Ras Hylton (255.2)

Round 1

In the main event, UFC veteran Danilo Marques (12-4) moves up from light heavyweight to battle Bellator veteran Ras Hylton (9-6). Amusingly, both men are exactly 6' 6". Referee Andrew Glenn will get the closest look at the action. Hylton lands an inside leg kick. Hylton is punching air, a foot away from Marques. Hylton keeps missing punches and then misses a head kick. However, Marques isn't firing back yet himself. Marques shoots a takedown, and runs the pipe on a single-leg. Hylton scrambles and gets back up. Marques clinches but Hylton soon breaks the hold. Yet again, Marques goes for a single-leg and again he hits pay dirt, with Hylton hitting the canvas. This time, he is slower to get up, though he does wall-walk. Marques is still clinched up and trying for an outside trip. Hylton pushes him off. Hylton touches Marques with a leg kick, but misses follow-up kicks. Marques now lands an inside leg kick of his own. Hylton throws punches but again, they're not very close. Marques lands a nice body kick. Marques finally throws a punch, but his right cross is blocked. Hylton continues throwing a number of punches, but all are well out of range of Marques. Marques connects with a front kick to the body. Marques lands yet another body kick. A second one, however, ends with Hylton catching the kick. He has no interest in going to the ground with Marques though, letting him up. Suddenly, Marques lands a nice overhand right upstairs, his best punch of the stanza. Hylton wobbles backwards a little. Hylton misses jabs from way too far. Marques misses another overhand right and then Hylton hits him with a kick to the balls. Marques complains to the ref, noting it's the third time it's happened, and referee Andrew Glenn gives him a chance to recover. Marques lands another body kick as Hylton continues throwing and missing punches. Marquest lands another big overhand and Hylton is hurt! Marques swarms and pounds away as the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Marques
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Marques
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Marques

Round 2

Hylton begins the round missing about 8 jabs in a row, none closer than 6 inches from Marques' face. Marques lands a right hand. Marques lands a body kick and Hylton responds with one to the groin yet again. Marques recovers in the corner and counts on his finger to 5. Finally, referee Andrew Glenn takes action and docks a point from Hylton. Hylton wants to touch gloves as they resume but Marques wants none of it. Marques lands a kick and this one is actually to the legs. Marques answers with a huge leg kick that hurts Hylton badly, as he struggles to stand. Marques than lands a nice spinning back kick to the bread basket. Marques then lands an overhand right. They grapple but soon separate. Hylton throws straight punches and these are closer, but Marques evades all of them. Hylton comes forward and Marques changes levels with a double-leg, slamming him hard to the mat. Hylton tries to get up but is reckless, as Marques takes his back and gets both hooks in, locking in a rear-naked choke. Hylton refuses to tap, but it's all for nothing, as Marques puts him to sleep. The referee stops it. Marques appears to have improved his striking since leaving the UFC, though he still ended it with his fine grappling.

The Official Result

Danilo Marques def. Ras Hylton via Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:33 of Round 2