Rizin FF 20: Tofiq Musaev outbattles Patricky Pitbull to capture lightweight grand prix title

Tofiq Musaev made light of his underdog status as he surged into the Rizin lightweight grand prix final and claimed a unanimous decision victory over pre-tournament favorite Patricky Freire at Rizin FF 20 in Saitama.

The two semifinal matchups in the lightweight grand prix tournament produced brutal, quickfire finishes as Azerbaijan’s Musaev (18-3 MMA, 5-0 Rizin) and Brazilian Bellator star Freire (23-9 MMA, 2-1 Rizin) registered impressive stoppage wins.

Musaev’s power was too much for Johnny Case as he stopped the American with his heavy-handed punches in just under three minutes in the opening bout of the night, while Freire trumped that performance with a 28-second battering of fellow countryman Luiz Gustavo as he bludgeoned him with strikes, then finished with an exclamation point as he connected with a vicious soccer kick to the his man as the referee dived in to stop the contest after just 28 seconds.

It set things up for the tournament final later in the night as the two fighters, both fresh from their swift victories at the start of the event, stepped through the ropes in prime condition for the final at the end of the preliminary card.

And while “Pitbull” was considered the favorite heading into the tournament finale, Musaev was anything but intimidated as, after a cagey opening, he stood and traded toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Brazilian in a wild final 60 seconds of the first round.

Despite his apparent willingness to trust his chin, the key difference-maker for Musaev was his ability change levels and use his wrestling to keep Freire on the back foot throughout the second stanza. That wrestling also led to the scariest moment of the matchup, when one takedown attempt on a retreating Freire saw the Brazilian fall backwards through the ring ropes and onto the arena floor. In the brief chaos that followed, Musaev’s cornerman was penalized with a yellow card for supposed “interference”, despite trying to help the Brazilian as he fell through the ropes.

But the break in proceedings didn’t affect Musaev, who continued to mix up his stand-up with smartly-timed takedowns as he took control of the bout. And that pattern continued in the third as Musaev and Freire went to the scorecards, where the underdog claimed a unanimous decision victory to capture the lightweight grand prix crown.

Up-to-date results at Rizin FF 20 include:

• Tofiq Musaev def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision – for lightweight title
• Jiri Prochazka def. C.B. Dollaway via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:55 – for light heavyweight title
• Simon Biyong def. Vitaly Shemetov via TKO (tap due to strikes) – Round 2, 0:58
• Hiromasa Ogikubo def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via split decision
• Jake Heun def. Satoshi Ishii via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:12
• Patrick Mix def. Yuki Motoya via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:36
• Miyuu Yamamoto def. Suwanan Boonsorn via unanimous decision
• Patricky Freire def. Luiz Gustavo via TKO (punches and soccer kick) – Round 1, 0:28
• Tofiq Musaev def. Johnny Case via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:46