Moldavsky vs Delija

Who won Moldavsky vs Delija?

Valentin Moldavsky beat Ante Delija by knockout in the 1st round during the main event of PFL 1, on Thursday 4th April 2024 at Boeing Center in San Antonio.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Moldavsky vs Delija stats

Valentin Moldavsky stepped into the octagon with a record of 12 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Ante Delija made his way to the cage with a record of 24 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

Valentin Moldavsky's PFL record stood at 1-0-0, while Ante Delija's came in at 8-3-0.

The stats suggested Delija had a massive power advantage over Moldavsky, boasting a 46% knock out percentage over Moldavsky's 8%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested that Moldavsky and Delija would have been pretty equal, both with a 25% submission rate.

Valentin Moldavsky was the younger man by 1 year, at 32 years old.

Delija had a height advantage of 4 inches over Moldavsky. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Moldavsky was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 14 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 4 years later than Delija, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 14 less professional rounds, 39 to Delija's 53.

Moldavsky vs Delija form

Valentin Moldavsky had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Steve Mowry at Bellator 298 – Storley vs. Ward on 11th August 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Linton Vassell at Bellator 292 on 10th March 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at SAP Center, San Jose.

Going into that contest, his fight against Steve Mowry at Bellator 284 on 12th August 2022 ended in a no contest.

Before that, he had been beaten by Ryan Bader at Bellator 273 on 29th January 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Heavyweight championship fight at Footprint Center, Phoenix.

He had beaten Timothy Johnson at Bellator 261 on 25th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Delija had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3opponents and going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Maurice Greene at PFL 5 on 16th June 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Overtime Elite Arena, Atlanta, United States.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Matheus Scheffel at PFL 2022 #10 -World Championship on 25th November 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York.

Going into that contest, he had won against Renan Ferreira at PFL 2022 #8 on 13th August 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had beaten Shelton Graves at PFL 2022 #5 on 24th June 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Overtime Elite Arena, Atlanta, United States.

He had defeated Matheus Scheffel at PFL 2022 #2 on 28th April 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Ante Delija had been fighting more than Valentin Moldavsky.

Going to this contest, Valentin Moldavsky had last fought 8 months and 16 days ago, while Ante Delija's last outing had been 10 months and 11 days ago.

Moldavsky's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Delija's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 11 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Moldavsky vs Delija?

Valentin Moldavsky was a 16/25 (-160) favourite going into the contest, while Ante Delija made his way into the ring at 6/5 (+120) with oddsmakers.