Bruno Henrique Cappelozza Torches Stuart Austin in PFL 2 Headliner

6 Points and the 1st round finish for Bruno Cappelozza!#2022PFL2 pic.twitter.com/HcBajmTR8W

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 29, 2022

Bruno Henrique Cappelozza picked up right where he left off in 2021.

The defending Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion turned away Stuart Austin with punches in the first round of their PFL 2 headliner on Thursday at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A onetime British Association of Mixed Martial Arts titleholder, Austin (15-8, 0-2 PFL) checked out 4:24 into Round 1.

Cappelozza (15-5, 5-0 PFL) bided his time and waited for an opportunity to present itself. A jarring overhand right had Austin diving at the Brazilian’s legs out of desperation and led to his being pinned to the canvas. Cappelozza methodically floated from half guard to full mount, postured in a dominant position and dropped punches until the job was done.

Meanwhile, former Ring of Combat champion Chris Wade rebounded from an Oct. 27 decision defeat to Movlid Khaybulaev and started his 2022 campaign on the right foot with a unanimous decision over Lance Palmer in the three-round featherweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it for Wade (21-7, 9-4 PFL): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Palmer (22-6, 11-3 PFL) popped the Long Island MMA rep with clubbing left hands and occasional leg kicks but too often found himself moving backward in the face of steady aggression. Wade pressed forward behind a range-finding jab, mixed up his attacks beautifully and kept the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler off-balance for much of their 15-minute chess match.

The 34-year-old Palmer will carry a three-fight losing streak into his next outing.

Elsewhere, Team Nogueira standout Renan Ferreira melted Jamelle Jones with a front kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their heavyweight feature. Jones (12-8, 1-2 PFL) met his end 25 seconds into Round 1, the unwitting victim in the quickest knockout in the history of the PFL heavyweight division.

Ferreira (9-2, 3-0 PFL) walked the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate into a kick that resulted in shin meeting skull to devastating effect. Jamelle collapsed downward, ate a burst of power punches and lost his grip on reality before referee Jacob Montalvo could arrive on the scene.

The 32-year-old Ferreira has won three fights in a row, two of them finishes.

Finally, former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder Denis Goltsov dispatched Cody Goodale with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Goltsov (28-7, 6-2 PFL) drew the curtain 3:20 into Round 1, as he won for the third time in four appearances.

Goodale (8-6, 0-1 PFL) was out of his depth. Goltsov drew blood with one of his patented jabs, closed the distance and executed a trip takedown from the clinch. From there, he maintained top position, cut loose with ground-and-pound and prompted the stoppage with a volley of unanswered punches.

It was the 14th first-round finish of Goltsov’s career.

In other action, Brendan Loughnane (22-4, 5-1 PFL) walked away with a technical unanimous decision—29-28, 29-28, 29-28—over Ryoji Kudo (10-3, 0-1 PFL) after an inadvertent clash of heads resulted in a gash on the Japanese import’s forehead and necessitated a stoppage 3:00 into the third round of their featherweight affair; Ante Delija (20-5, 4-2 PFL) put away Matheus Scheffel (15-8, 0-1 PFL) with punches 59 seconds into the second round of their heavyweight encounter; Bubba Jenkins (17-5, 3-1 PFL) captured a unanimous decision over Kyle Bochniak (11-6, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round featherweight scrap, procuring 29-28 marks from all three members of the judiciary; Klidson Abreu (16-5, 1-1 PFL) was awarded a unanimous verdict—29-28, 30-27, 30-27—over Adam Keresh (5-1, 1-1 PFL) in a three-round heavyweight confrontation; Sheymon Moraes (14-5, 3-1 PFL) took a unanimous decision from Boston Salmon (8-4, 1-1 PFL) in a three-round featherweight tilt, drawing 30-27 scores from all three judges; and Alejandro Flores Garcia (20-3, 2-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous decision—30-27, 30-27, 29-28—over Saba Bolaghi (14-3-1, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round featherweight pairing.