Professional Fighters League Signs Simeon Powell in Wake of PFL Challenger Series 8 Rout

Undefeated British prospect Simeon Powell kept his perfect record intact with a one-sided unanimous decision over a shoe leather-tough Tobias Baker in a PFL Challenger Series 8 light heavyweight feature on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The promising 23-year-old swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 marks from the cageside judges.

Afterward, Powell (5-0) was awarded a Professional Fighters League contract.

In his first appearance since Nov. 16, 2019, Baker (2-2) was technically and athletically outmatched on all fronts. Powell operated behind six-inch reach and eight-inch height advantages and picked apart the Oregonian with knifing punches, flying knees and kicks to the head, body and legs. Clearly behind on the scorecards, Baker made passes at a kneebar, a toe hold and a calf slicer late in the third round. None of them were successful, and Powell cruised to the finish line free of real danger.

Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA export Jeslen Mishelle leaned on superior conditioning and outstruck Jackie Cataline to a unanimous decision in a three-round women’s lightweight clash. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for the unbeaten Mishelle (2-0).

Cataline (1-1) executed multiple takedowns in the first round, progressed to the back and threatened with rear-naked chokes, only to see those efforts fail to net the desired result. Her pace slowed to a crawl in the middle stanza and she deteriorated further in the third. Mishelle slowly but surely seized the reins, as she battered her counterpart’s lower leg with kicks, mixed in several Superman punches and cut loose with multi-punch bursts whenever the mood struck. By the time it was over, Cataline was clearly on fumes.

In other action, Carlos Leal Miranda (16-3) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29, 29-28—over Chris Brown (8-4) in a memorable back-and-forth welterweight encounter; and Ali Zebian (8-2) took a unanimous decision from Aaron Blackie (8-3) in a three-round featherweight affair, drawing 29-28 marks from all three judges.