Rkena vs. PFL in Tbilisi: Georgians win the rivalry – Topuria at cageside
In the main event, Nikoloz Abramishvili submitted Aaron McKenzie with an armbar in round two. Ilia Topuria drew cheers with a surprise appearance.
Archive image · Photo: BRUTE / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
At the joint event of Georgian promotion Rkena and the PFL at the Tbilisi Sports Palace on Saturday, the Rkena fighters clearly won the cross-promotional rivalry, 5-1 according to Last Word On MMA. In the main event, Nikoloz Abramishvili beat Aaron McKenzie by armbar at 3:29 of the second round.
In the co-main event, Ibragim Ibragimov submitted Nika Kupravishvili with a rear-naked choke at 3:44 of round two. Armenia's David Mgoyan choked out American Asa Ten Pow at 1:55 of the first round – his third straight win according to Sportaran, taking him to 10-1. A total of 15 bouts were on the card.
A surprise guest made headlines: according to Last Word On MMA, thousands of fans cheered Ilia Topuria as he entered the arena, and he watched Abramishvili's win from cageside. Topuria is preparing in Georgia for his UFC return after suffering his first MMA loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June.