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BREAKING: The PFL Europe Championships in Lyon are headlined by Abdoul Abdouraguimov taking on Laureano Staropoli on Saturday 14th December!@LazyKingMMA is one of the most exciting and polarising characters in the sport,… pic.twitter.com/quCzaATnGC
— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 30, 2024
A welterweight clash pitting Abdoul Abdouraguimov against Laureano Staropoli will serve as the main event for the PFL Europe Championships on Dec. 14.
The promotion announced the booking on Monday. The PFL Europe final takes place at LDLC Arena in Lyon, France, and features championships bouts at welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight. The event will stream on DAZN in France and the U.K.
“France has quickly become one of the biggest MMA destinations in the world, not only due to the high-level athletes that are being produced by the country, but the incredible fans that bring world-class atmosphere every single time we visit. It was an easy decision to bring the PFL Europe Championships here, and there was no better time to make our debut in Lyon,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “Our PFL Europe Championships will see the continent’s best mixed martial artists compete for our prestigious title and a $100,000 prize, and with everything on the line, we know the fans are in for a night of MMA that will be talked about for years to come.”
“The Lazy King” has lost just once in 20 professional outings. The former Ares Fighting Championship middleweight title holder is 2-0 so far under the PFL banner. He debuted in the organization with a first-round submission of Brad Wheeler in September 2023 before taking a split verdict over Jack Grant at the first PFL Europe 2024 regular season event on March 7.
After a 2-4 stint in the UFC from 2018 to 2021, Staropoli won four consecutive outings, including a corner stoppage of Boundjou Baba Nadjombe in his PFL debut in September 2023. In his last outing, the Argentina native suffered a first-round submission defeat to Murad Ramazanov at PFL 3 on April 19.
