Baris Adiguzel is PFL’s newest tournament champion, but his big win might be viewed with an asterisk.
In a bantamweight tournament final at PFL Lyon on Saturday, Adiguzel and Dean Garnett were just starting to throw hands when an Adiguzel flurry hurt Garnett and dropped him to his knees. Garnett fell hard, but appeared to recover quickly and go for a takedown, but by the time Garnett had latched on to a leg, referee Dan Movahedi was stepping in for the stoppage.
Watch the controversial stoppage below.
Garnett immediately protested Movahedi’s call and was in disbelief for several minutes afterward, repeatedly saying, “What the f*ck?” on the broadcast. There was no ill will between him and Adiguzel as he quickly went to embrace his opponent after the official decision was read.
The official time of the stoppage was 44 seconds into the opening round.
Adiguzel (10-1) has now won seven straight fights and is a perfect 2-0 in the PFL cage. With his tournament win, Adiguzel also collects a $100,000 prize.
It’s a tough break for Garnett (14-4-1), whose star was on the rise after battling Lewis McGrillen in Fight of the Year candidate in September 2024. He rebounded from the loss to McGrillen by beating Jan Cieplowski and Tuomas Gronvall, but will have to wait to claim his first PFL crown.
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