Nemkov Submits Ferreira in Round One for the PFL Heavyweight Belt

Vadim Nemkov ended 2025 as the first PFL heavyweight world champion. In the main event at PFL Lyon, held at the LDLC Arena in France, he submitted Brazil's Renan Ferreira with an arm triangle choke in round one, at 4:00.

Nemkov is Russian and now has a record of 20-2. He closed out his 2025 as champion, and sits atop the division. Ferreira, nicknamed "Problema," stands at 13-5. The PFL said Nemkov will welcome all challengers in 2026.

Cyborg adds another belt

The co-main event gave Cris Cyborg the PFL women's featherweight world title. She beat Sara Collins by rear-naked choke at 2:55 of round three. Cyborg is 29-2 with one no contest, and Collins is 6-1. The PFL release says Cyborg has stated she wants one more fight in MMA to close out her career.

Four champions were crowned in total. The other two were PFL Europe tournament winners. Aleksandr "Pretty Boy" Chizov, 13-3, won the 2025 PFL Europe lightweight tournament by knocking out Connor Hughes, 12-3, at 0:50 of round three. Baris "The Sniper" Adiguzel, 10-1, took the bantamweight tournament with a round-one TKO of Dean Garnett, 14-4-1.

Rest of the main card

Belgium's Patrick "The Belgian Bomber" Habirora, 8-0, knocked out Kevin "Air" Jousset, 10-5, in round one at 2:42. It was his most experienced opponent to date, his perfect record stays intact, and the arena erupted. Fighting in his home country, Frenchman Taylor "Double Impact" Lapilus, 23-4, beat England's Liam "Nightmare" Gittins, 13-5, by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.

Source: PFL