HIGHLIGHT | Sergio Pettis lands ‘KO of the Year’ candidate with spinning elbow finish at PFL Champions Series 3

PFL star Sergio Pettis added to what’s been a wild year of spinning back elbow knockouts on Friday in Dubai.

Friday’s PFL headliner between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes for the PFL lightweight championship was the main attraction, but it was Sergio Pettis who stole the show on the undercard.

Pettis and former Bellator title challenger Magomed Magomedov helped kick off the action on Friday in Dubai. It was a massive fight in the bantamweight division as both contenders looked to make strong cases for a title shot.

Pettis, who has had an up-and-down run in the cage since departing from the UFC in 2019, looked to make a statement against the surging Magomedov. The result was one of the wildest finishes in PFL history.

Anthony Pettis loses his mind online after Sergio Pettis’s horrific spinning back elbow knockout

After a back-and-forth opening round between Pettis and Magomedov, Pettis countered Magomedov in Round 2 with a brutal spinning back elbow that knocked his rival out cold.

ANOTHER SPINNING ELBOW KO FOR SERGIO PETTIS 😱#RoadToDubai | LIVE NOW | Streaming on the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/AhNzNI5gj2

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 3, 2025

After Sergio’s knockout, his former UFC champion brother Anthony went wild on X.

“SERGIO!!!” Anthony posted.

“Don’t ever sleep on a Pettis!!!! You have a new superstar [PFL].”

Pettis has won back-to-back fights since returning to PFL action earlier this year. He defeated Raufeon Stots by unanimous decision before the knockout victory over Magomedov.

Magomedov lost a split decision to then-Bellator bantamweight champ Patchy Mix last year, before a victory over Sarvarjon Khamidov in his PFL debut in June. The Pettis knockout loss was the first time he’d been knocked out since 2015.

Later in the card, Corey Anderson earned the inaugural PFL light heavyweight championship in an instant classic against Dovlet Yagshimuradov.

Follow along here at BJPenn for all the latest from an eventful night at PFL Champions Series 3 in Dubai.