Live Now! PFL Madrid ‘Van Steenis vs. Edwards 2’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Sherdog’s live
PFL Madrid coverage will begin Friday at 1 p.m. ET.

A Middleweight
World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March
20 at 12 p.m. ET.

Round 1

For the first time, a major MMA league will be planting its flag on
Spanish soil. The PFL beat the UFC and other heavies to the punch
with a fight card that is appropriately headlined by a local
champion. Before we get there, a bunch of fighters from the
European region will battle it out over the next few hours. The
action starts in a catchweight affair that was scheduled at
featherweight. Spain’s “Nacho” Campos (6-2, 0-1 PFL) made his
proper marks, but the same could not be said for Frenchman Duragrin
(4-2, 1-1 PFL), who eclipsed the limit by a half pound. The two
will meet with referee Juan Villar watching on, and they share a
fist bump to get things going.

Campos introduces himself with a few slapping low kicks, putting
Duragrin on his back foot early. He chambers and fires off one to
the body, and chants in favor of him start to rain down. Duragrin
crowds him, and he shoots for a takedown but ends up pushing Campos
to the wall after trading a few punches. Campos defends with
vicious elbows to the side of the head, and Duragrin wilts and
regains his footing to pressure the Spaniard against the wall.
Duragrin’s attempt to take the fight down leads to him getting
shoved to his back, and Campos snatches up a guillotine and slides
into full mount. Duragrin is able to fight out of the choke, but is
still under heavy pressure and stuck against the wall. The
Frenchman explodes to reverse his position, and this results in
both men working their way back to their feet. Duragrin grabs
Campos from behind while leaning him against the fencing, and he
elevates and slams Campos to the mat.

Campos bounces back up to his feet as if he had springs in his
shorts, and Duragrin tries and fails to attempt a throw. Duragrin
drops all the way down to pursue a double, and Campos rolls him
around thanks to a keylock attempt and positions himself on top.
Campos lowers himself down to hit an arm-triangle choke, but he is
on the wrong side and Duragrin is not overly concerned. Campos
imposes heavy shoulder pressure on Duragrin’s throat, and Duragrin
is flat on his back giving up side control but not in serious
submission danger. Campos repositions himself to half guard in
hopes of improving his leverage, smothering the French fighter all
the while. Duragrin pulls on his foe’s face and scrapes Campos’
eyes, but this all leads to the two fighting back to their feet.
Campos cracks his man with a heavy forearm strike to shake Duragrin
up, and he thumps up Duragrin with a knee to the body. Duragrin
falls to his seat in pain, and Campos tries to punch him out but
runs out of time. When the referee separates the two, Duragrin
complains that it was a groin strike and not a knee to the
midsection, and replay shows the knees were right on the belt
line.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Campos
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-8 Campos
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-8 Campos

Round 2

Duragrin tries to get the foul called between rounds to allow
himself a little more time to recover, but Villar is not hearing it
and clocks the two in. Duragrin starts off extremely aggressively,
swinging wildly to close the distance and get his hands on the
Spanish fighter. Duragrin slows himself down to pursue a takedown,
transitioning from a double to a body lock and throw, one in which
he is able to slip around and take Campos’ back. Duragrin gets his
hooks in but would rather shift around to get on top, and he
slithers over to full mount only to get pulled back to half guard.
Duragrin attempts his own arm-triangle choke, maintaining heavy
shoulder pressure until Campos bucks him to the side. Duragrin
rolls over to snag hold of a guillotine choke, and Campos wisely
presses forward to relieve the pressure on his neck by keeping
Duragrin’s back stuck on the cage wall. Campos sits comfortably in
the choke position while not overly concerned, looking to establish
himself on top. Duragrin responds with 12-to-6 elbows to the thigh,
striking any target with his free hand until Campos breaks out of
the choke entirely.

Duragrin attempts to reclaim the guillotine, and Campos is able to
get out of it and stand up. Duragrin immediately mat returns him
with a textbook double, scooping Campos up off the ground and
dumping him down. Duragrin hangs on when Campos stands up once
more, clinging to him from behind while kneeing his man in the back
so the thigh. When Campos turns around, Duragrin completes another
double. Campos scrambles like a madman, ultimately giving up his
back with Duragrin securing both hooks. Duragrin softs up Campos
from behind with strikes to both sides of the head, slowing only to
pursue a rear-naked choke that is nowhere close. Duragrin readjusts
his grip, and he cannot get it under the chin so the local is not
in danger. Campos uses his feet to push off the fencing, even
locking his toes in the cage illegally to leverage himself around
and sneak on top. Duragrin snags an armbar off his back, and he
releases it to belt Campos in the face with an upkick as the horn
sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Duragrin
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Duragrin
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Duragrin

Round 3

The two men touch gloves, and this time it is Campos who comes out
hot. Duragrin counters him smoothly with a hip toss, and Campos
bounds back up to press Duragrin back to the cage wall. Duragrin
defends himself by putting himself to the fence and snagging a
guillotine choke with one arm. Campos is solely focused on the
double-leg entry, ignoring the arm wrapped around his neck because
the other is not remotely fastened. Duragrin sprawls and is dragged
to his seat, and he finds himself looking for answers hacking away
with feeble elbows that have little effect. Campos controls and
smacks Duragrin on the side of the head with a fierce elbow,
prompting Duragrin to burst out of the position and counter with
his own level change.

The Frenchman is able to ground Campos for a second, but he cannot
hold him there. Duragrin opens up a tiny cut on Campos’ right cheek
with one of his flailing strikes while asserting a position change,
and he keeps getting mat returns but Campos bounces up every time.
Campos fights his way out with a sharp elbow, and his follow-up
left hand drives Duragrin back. Duragrin ducks a big swing of a
left hand to clinch up, and Campos reverses him and jams him up
against the wall. Duragrin spins him around and starts working the
body, absorbing knees and elbows from the Spanish fighter until
Duragrin swings so wildly that he slips to the floor. Duragrin
climbs back upright and goes for a few punches, but he is met with
thudding elbows on the temple that rock him and send him to his
seat. Duragrin is able to survive the assault by shelling up, and
he steels himself and swings back with a vengeance. Campos knees
him in the guts, and Duragrin scoops him up and deposits him to the
floor with seconds to spare. Campos kicks him off and time expires,
with the local man walking off grinning as if he knows his hand is
about to get raised.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Campos (29-27 Campos)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Campos (29-27 Campos)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Campos (29-27 Campos)

The Official Result

Nacho Campos def. Mathys Duragrin via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)

Round 1

Spain is well-represented through this fight card, and that
includes this next scheduled 165-pound “contract weight” affair.
Black Panther Gym rep Mora (10-6, 2 NC; 0-0 PFL) makes his
promotional debut against Italian SBG Ireland product Pacella (6-3,
3-2 PFL), who is the far more experienced in the PFL cage of the
two. Gloves are touched before they are traded, as referee Jesus
Arjona stands by.

Pacella comes out firing, hoping to take the enthusiasm out of the
crowd, and the ensuing melee leads to Mora falling to his back
while launching a kick. Pacella lords over him slapping him with
low kicks until Arjona stands him up, and Pacella gets back to
chasing after the Spanish fighter. Mora skirts around the outer
edge of the cage, setting up a counter but getting popped by the
Italian with a big right hand. Mora quickly clinches up his man,
sliding his leg between Pacella’s to trip him up. Pacella regains
his footing and breaks off with an elbow, and he is quick to
pressure once separated. Pacella chases Mora down and nails him
with a low kick, ripping a left to the body and a right upstairs
shortly thereafter. Mora’s counters may be infrequent but they have
some pop on them, with Pacella’s midsection glowing red and his
nose leaking from a few shots up top.

Mora keeps strafing either direction, not falling into a pattern so
he can get cornered. This leads to Pacella swinging wildly to try
to pin him down, but Mora is leagues away in time. Mora counters
with a step-in knee to the abdomen, and he sticks out a jab as
Pacella wipes his nose several times. Pacella winds up with a huge
right hand that skims the temple, and he misses with a subsequent
windmilling swing. Mora connects with a stern calf kick, and
Pacella responds in kind. Mora slips and counters with a right hand
over the top, but Pacella is able to catch up with him and push him
to the wall. Pacella settles for a few knees to the body and a
quick elbow up top, and he scores a few more before breaking off.
Mora skirts away and pitches out a high kick that gets blocked, and
he gets on his bike away from Pacella. A missed front kick from
Mora is where the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Pacella
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Pacella
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Pacella

Round 2

The second stanza picks up right where the two left off, with
Pacella chasing and Mora countering. Mora gets off a high kick and
ducks down with a responsive double, where he lifts the Italian up
but cannot deposit him on his seat. Pacella leans against Mora
while Mora frames off with knees, and Mora is able to break off and
scurry to the side. Pacella times a solid kick to the ribcage, and
he shrugs off a knee to blast the local man in the temple with a
right hand. Mora falls over and snatches up a leglock, but Pacella
wants nothing to do with it and stands up. Arjona allows Mora to
get up without being nailed on the way, and Pacella ducks the
overhand right that he sees coming from a mile away on the restart.
Pacella crowds Mora with elbows, and a huge right and left rock the
Spanish man and send him collapsing to the mat. Pacella fights off
a few upkicks to climb into the guard of his opponent, where he
thumps Mora up with a few more elbows.

The elbows from Pacella have busted up Mora’s nose, in the style of
“an eye for an eye” only involving snouts, and Mora can only look
to Arjona for a referee standup. Pacella stays busy while on top
smacking Mora around, dropping down punches and the occasional
slashing elbow. Mora responds with elbows from off his back, but
Pacella’s are much heavier and far more frequent. Mora looks to set
up an armbar when under fire, and he hooks his toes in the cage for
leverage but gets them slapped away by Arjona. While Mora is able
to push Pacella off of him for a moment, Pacella dodges the upkicks
flying at his melon to crowd Mora back down in his guard. Pacella
postures up and jackhammers Mora with punches and elbows, standing
up to let the rest of the round elapse. Mora surprises him with a
few tripping kicks, and the bell rings.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Pacella
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Pacella
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Pacella

Round 3

The athletes touch gloves, and Mora hops right on his bike to
circle away as Pacella plods towards him. Mora goes left and right
to stay away from Pacella’s big swings, but Pacella is able to
catch up with him and drive home a left to the liver that would
make Bas Rutten smile. Mora’s reply of a high kick careens off the
guard harmlessly, but his body kick gets under the elbows and
pauses Pacella. Pacella gathers his thoughts with his right hand a
bit lower to protect his vital organs, and he starts jabbing the
body of his opponent. Mora constantly moves until he stops to
strike, and this opens Pacella up to kick him and chase with a pair
of hooks. Mora keeps moving, but he does not throw very often and
usually commits to single strikes. Mora puts his back to the cage
and stumbles, and Pacella is able to clip him with a hook or two.
Pacella pressures him back to the chain links, squeezing him with
his shoulder and offering an elbow up close.

Arjona intervenes when Mora is found to have grabbed the inside of
Pacella’s gloves, and he resets them rather than potting them back
in the position Pacella held. Pacella takes advantage of this by
clinching again, and Mora turns him around and grabs the cage.
Arjona yells at him to knock off all the fouling, and Mora gathers
all his remaining strength to throw Pacella on the floor. Both of
them hit the deck on their faces, and they have to take a second to
shake out their collective cobwebs before climbing back up. Pacella
swings his way after Mora, bullying him to the wire and kneeing him
a few times in the side. Mora grabs the fence a few more times to
hold Pacella in place, and Arjona calls time to give Mora a hard
warning with a couple seconds left in the match. Nothing happens on
the restart, and both men raise their hands in the air when it is
over.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Pacella (30-27 Pacella)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Pacella (30-27 Pacella)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Pacella (30-27 Pacella)

The Official Result

Claudio Pacella def. David Mora via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-26, 30-27)

Round 1

On paper, this appears to be another matchup of Spain vs. Italy
like the bout preceding it. This one will have fans a bit more
conflicted, however, as while Giordano (4-2, 0-0 PFL) is a Spanish
fighter through and through, foe Schisano (5-1, 0-0 PFL) trains in
the “The Bull Skin.” Look it up. The bantamweights will have
referee Bryan Miner watching over them for as long as this one
lasts, as these two PFL newcomers would like to make a splash in
the next 15 minutes or fewer. With nine stoppages in nine combined
wins, it might not make it to the final bell.

They clap hands, and both men lay claim for the center of the age.
Giordano peels off first, pitching out a body kick and swinging
with a pair of hooks out of range. Schisano replies with a chopping
kick that sends Giordano off-balance, and he walks through a head
kick to punch his way in. Schisano bullies Giordano to the cage
wall, where a clinch ensues with multiple knees from the Italian.
Giordano is able to break free and offer a high kick on the break,
but it is his one-two that actually lands cleanly. Giordano ducks
in to deliver an uppercut to the jaw, and Schisano responds with a
pair of punches that knock “El Humilde” back. Schisano loads up
with his heavy right hand, and he follows one with a quick left
that makes Giordano have to retreat. Giordano sets up and whiffs
with a spinning back kick, and he darts away from the counters only
to spring forward with his own swings. Schisano backs him off
further with a left hook on the chin, and he keeps Giordano honest
with his power.

Giordano potshots him as he circles away, looking to pepper the
Italian man with jabs and the occasional body kick. Schisano keeps
powering forward with wide swings, working the body when planting
his foot and cracking Giordano with a left hand. Giordano beats on
the front leg with a kick, and Schisano looks at him with a
frustrated expression. Schisano connects when working his way in,
but Giordano beats him to the punch figuratively and literally with
a speedy left hand. Schisano rings his bell with a huge right hand,
and Giordano replies with a jump knee that grazes the cheek.
Giordano connects with a calf kick, and Schisano shrugs at him and
throws fire. Both men spin with strikes, with Schisano’s kick
landing while he ducks the back fist soaring at him shortly
thereafter. The round ends in the clinch.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Giordano
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Giordano
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Schisano

Round 2

The two touch gloves, and Schisano goes right to chasing down his
opponent. Every time he gets hit back, he showboats or motions to
his opponent, even going so far as to put his hands on his hips to
motion that they should just brawl. Giordano stays on his bike, not
biting on the offer and instead sticking to his strategy of
countering with distance strikes on the outside. This leads to
Giordano putting up numbers while Schisano largely hits air as he
loads up. Schisano spins for a back fist, and his momentum pushes
him close enough to allow him to grab hold and throw Giordano to
the floor. Giordano works his way up and pops Schisano with a few
short shots to back him off, and he gets back to his preferred
kickboxing range.

Body kicks are traded, with Schisano frustrated and mocking
Giordano when he connects. Schisano spurs into action with a few
spins, and then puts his hands back on his hips dismissively.
Giordano is able to potshot him, staying out of the range of the
huge hurled hands and prodding Schisano with attacks. Schisano
smiles at him after taking a clean punch upstairs, and Giordano
makes that grin grow larger as he busts him in the chops a few more
times. Schisano keeps his hands on his hips to welcome Giordano in,
and Giordano cracks him with a right hand that busts open his
cauliflower ear. Schisano chambers and fires kicks from both sides,
with the sheer impact off the guard giving Giordano some pause.
Schisano marches forward fearlessly, taking a one-two on the chin
and laughing it off. This allows Giordano to work him a few more
times, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Giordano
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Giordano
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Giordano

Round 3

The third round opens with a half-hearted hug and a clap of hands,
and Giordano reintroduces himself with a left hand and takedown
shot. Giordano presses his foe to the wall and throws him to his
knees, but Schisano powers his way back to his feet quickly even
with Giordano behind him. Giordano looks to yank Schisano to the
floor and strip away his footing, and the shorter, stockier man
keeps himself upright despite the efforts. Schisano breaks out, and
Giordano fires off a pair of elbows that blow the hair back.
Schisano sits down on a clubbing right hand to the temple, and he
uses his momentum to tie the Spanish fighter up and hold him on the
wall.

Giordano separates and chops down the front leg, blocking a body
kick that comes his way. The pace slows between the two, with both
men flagging after their exchanges. Schisano punches his way into a
level change, and Giordano puts his back to the wall and leans
against it to stay on his feet. Giordano is able to get free thanks
to a sharp left hand, and he tries a jump knee and lands to pitch
two punches that miss the mark. Schisano ducks into a straight
right hand, leaning back to watch a high kick soar past him but not
largely waiting. Schisano ducks a spin and swarms his man with two
punches, and Giordano grabs him from behind to take the fight down.
Schisano grabs the fence to stay upright as Miner admonishes him,
and the horn blares to conclude the match.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Giordano (30-27 Giordano)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Giordano (30-27 Giordano)
Mike Pendleton scores the round: 10-9 Giordano (29-28 Giordano)