CHICAGO – Timur Khizriev took victory and 3 points in the opening round of the PFL 2024 featherweight season, but is convinced there is room for much more.
Friday, Khizriev (15-0) defeated veteran Brett Johns by unanimous decision on the preliminary card of the PFL 2024 Week 3 at Wintrust Arena. While it was a clean win, Khizriev doesn’t think he performed at his best against Johns (20-4) and has an idea why that happened.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely happy with my performance,” Khizriev said in Russian through a translator in his post-fight interview. “Obviously a win is a win, but I felt like I wasn’t quite there. My normal energy wasn’t there and I think it was partly because of Ramadan. I was fasting and the last day was especially difficult for me. Normally I don’t have problems with weight loss and this time I had a bit of difficulty, so I don’t think I’m fully recovered.
“But again, we’re moving forward and hopefully the next fight will be more interesting.”
Johns chose a fight-heavy approach, something that didn’t surprise Khizriev. Khizriev just thought he would have been more dangerous on the ground when it came to fighting Johns, which leaves him with a bitter taste despite maintaining his unbeaten record and moving forward with three points heading into the final fight of the season.
“No, I wasn’t surprised he fought,” Khizriev said. “I actually felt like this was the only chance he really had. With the striking, I think he realized he had no chance with me.
“I’m just not too happy with the way I was on the floor today and I know he has wrestling. I know he fought good guys like (Aljamain) Streling and you know, I was waiting for that. But again, it wasn’t the best performance, but we’ll have another chance.”
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to PFL 2024 Week 3.
