After coming up short in last year's PFL heavyweight season, a loss to Denis Goltsov that snapped a long winning streak, Oleg Popov has avenged himself and become 2025 heavyweight PFL World Tournament champion with a split decision win over Alexandr Romanov in Hollywood, Florida.
Popov focused on low kicks and right hands, while Romanov answered with pressure, landing knees and short punches on the inside. Both men had their moments early on, trading strikes and battling for control in tight clinch battles.
Though Popov did more work in the first three rounds, Romanov surged late in round four with a furious flurry. Popov weathered the storm, however, and came back with strong strikes in the fifth.
One judge scored the bout for Romanov 48-47, while the other two scored the bout for Popov 48-47 and 49-46 to give the Fedor Emelianenko protegee the heavyweight title.
Oleg Popov Captures World Tournament Title With Split Decision Win Over Alexandr Romanov
Popov made it to the finals with victories over Karl Williams and Rodrigo Nascimento.
Romanov, a UFC veteran who started his career 16-0, advanced to the final with a win over Tim Johnson and a no contest with former Bellator interim champion Valentin Moldavsky (Romanov advanced through a judges' decision)