A special night of elite mixed martial arts concluded at the ING Arena as PFL Europe Brussels spotlighted both established European contenders and emerging homegrown heroes. Leading the charge was Belgium’s own Patrick “The Belgian Bomber” Habirora (7-0), who sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy with a spectacular first-round TKO over veteran Danny “Hot Chocolate” Roberts (18-9).

Habirora floored Roberts with a head kick and sealed the win with hammer fists at the 4:32 mark of the opening round, maintaining his unblemished record and solidifying his place as one of Europe’s most exciting welterweight prospects.

Lapilus, Atangana, and Campanella impress

In the co-main event, Taylor “Double Impact” Lapilus (22-4) of France put on a technical clinic against Ali Taleb (12-2), using superior grappling to earn a clean 30-27 unanimous decision. Lapilus is now 9-1 in his last ten bouts, aiming for dominance at 135 pounds.

Elsewhere, Boris “The Modern Gladiator” Mbarga Atangana (6-0) needed only 56 seconds to overpower Bruno Santos (3-4) with brutal ground and pound. The Cameroon native and Team Sendo member is rapidly gaining a reputation for his devastating finishes.

Mahio Campanella (8-1) also advanced in the 2025 PFL Europe Bantamweight Tournament, defeating Matiss Zaharovs (7-4) via unanimous decision. He joins Gustavo Oliveira (11-2) and Jan Cieplowski (9-0) in the September semifinals. Oliveira delivered a highlight-reel spinning elbow KO, while Cieplowski stunned Julien Lopez with a first-round finish.

Belgian showcase and more breakout moments

Local favorite Gaetano Pirrello (17-7-1) scored a slick ninja choke submission against compatriot Salvatore Liga (5-1) in a quick featherweight bout. Movsar Ibragimov (7-0) submitted Gerardo Fanny with a Von Flue choke, and Ibragim Ibragimov (10-0) dominated Mathys Duragrin to stay unbeaten.

Chequina Noso Pedro handed Khamzat Abaev his first loss, while Paulina Wisniewska (6-0) made a statement with a first-round RNC over Jessica Cunha. Wales’ Levi Batchelor (3-0) stunned late with a third-round Ezekiel choke win over Fahdi Khaled.

Salvo Guidice opened the night by submitting Brice Belghazi in the third round. Other notable wins included Adam Meskini‘s TKO over Tiziano Ferranti, and Dean Garnett advancing in the tournament with a decision over Tuomas Gronvall.