Ante Delija made the most of his second chance to become heavyweight champion with a blistering first-round knockout over Matheus Scheffel at the PFL Championship card on Friday.
This was Delija’s second victory over Scheffel, after Scheffel had defeated him in a similar manner earlier in the season.
This time around, Delija had to be a bit more methodical with his approach but the result was still the same as he kept waiting for the perfect time to unleash his best strikes against a shorter opponent, who was also at a reach disadvantage.
The end came after Delija pressed forward and trapped Scheffel agains the cage as he unleashed a barrage of shots in rapid-fire succession. Each punch just chipped away at Scheffel’s defense until he crumbled to the mat with the referee rushing in to stop the contest.
The official stoppage came at 2:50 in the opening round.
REDEMPTION ANTE DELIJA HE IS NOW THE 2022 PFL HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION!
[#PFLWorldChampionship | BUY NOW https://t.co/9tors6rrKk | LIVE ON ESPN+ PPV] pic.twitter.com/oKncVXa6aY
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 26, 2022
” I was away for 2 months and now, after two months, Delija stated that she is finally returning home. I’m happy to be home. Today, I am back and I’m very grateful .”
Delija has been a mainstay on the PFL roster but he came up short in his previous bid to become champion after losing a unanimous decision to Bruno Cappelozza in 2021.
Now he is proud to stand tall at the top of the heavyweight mountains and celebrates being the first Croatian ever to win a PFL championship. This was his fourth consecutive victory in this promotion.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/25/23478704/pfl-championship-2022-results-ante-delija-starches-matheus-scheffel-with-first-round-knockout?rand=96749
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