Aussie Wilkinson goes down in PFL semi-final

Australian light heavyweight Rob Wilkinson has gone down to Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov by unanimous decision in the semi-finals at PFL 8 in Florida.
The judges ruled it in the Turkmenistani fighter’s favour 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
He will now qualify for the final in his first PFL tournament.
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The Aussie could not get into a rhythm with Yagshimuradov’s speed and power causing him problems even though he tried to push forward and blitz his opponent often.
Yagshimuradov landed the more telling shots and looked for more takedowns, landing a few, while Wilkinson was aggressive and landed more volume, yet could not land as clean as the MMA fighter from Turkmenistan.
Wilkinson won the 2022 PL light heavyweight tournament, but a failed drug test following his win over Thiago Santos in 2023 saw him removed from the tournament.
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Rob Wilkinson. Getty
Wilkinson, 32, admitted to the doping violation and was banned for the entire 2023 season.
He qualified for the 2024 semi-finals with a TKO win over Tom Breese and a decision victory over Josh Silveira.
Yagshimuradov, qualified for the semi with a TKO win over Jakob Nedoh and a decision over Simon Biyong.