Simeon Powell and Dakota Ditcheva extended their unbeaten runs at the inaugural event of PFL Europe by tapping out their opponents.
Powell choked out veteran kickboxer Mohamed Amine in the headlining act whilst Ditcheva also tapped out Malin Hermansson at the Newcastle event. The wins push the British duo into the playoffs for the European competition in their respective divisions, as they will be back in action on September 30 at the Zenith La Villette in Paris.
As the main event got underway, Powell took control in the centre of the cage and towered over his opponent Amine thanks to his size advantage. The Brit was chopping down the legs of Amine with some hard low kicks, being forced to shoot for a takedown moments later after Amine stunned him with a big hook.
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‘Smooth’ was landing some good ground and pound shots before Amine got back to his feet, but the Dutch fighter was dragged back down to the mat just moments later. Powell took control by securing full mount and Amine look helpless as he desperately tried to defend the Brit’s punches.
The second round was much the same as Amine was landing some good punches on the feet, with Powell taking his opponent to the ground again. Amine was able to survive the ground and pound of Powell but the Brit worked towards an arm-triangle submission and despite the bell sounding to end the round, Amine was unconscious and the fight was rightfully stopped.
"I'm not going to lie, I thought he survived but then I saw he was out," Powell said after the fight. "I just got me a win bonus and now I'm going to go and party. This division is exciting but you are looking at the king. I am taking that $100,000, I don't give a f*** what any of these boys did in the cage. I'm the star here and those boys know that, you'll see that in Paris."
In the co-main event, Ditcheva improved to 8-0 as she picked up the first submission win of her professional career. Ditcheva started the fight by pressing Hermansson against the fence, landing a good takedown before taking side control. The former British muay thai champion looked confident in her grappling abilities despite being known as a striker. Ditcheva worked her way to the back of Hermansson and eventually locked up a rear-naked choke, with the Swede being forced to tap out in the opening round.
"I really wanted to show off my ground skills," Ditcheva said after the fight. "I came out and did that tonight and I’m really proud of myself. This week has been a lot, it’s the first time I’ve carried a show like this in the co-main event. There was a lot of pressure this week, a lot of emotions. It was good to show I’m not just a striker, these flyweights need to be careful. I feel a bit sorry for the one who's going to face me next.”
