Popov vs Williams

Who won Popov vs Williams?

Oleg Popov beat Karl Williams by split decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of PFL 2025 World Tournament, on Thursday 1st May 2025 at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Oleg Popov.

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).

Popov vs Williams stats

Oleg Popov stepped into the octagon with a record of 19 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Karl Williams made his way to the cage with a record of 10 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Oleg Popov's 5th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2024. Karl Williams marked his 2nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2022.

Oleg Popov's PFL record stood at 4-1-0, while Karl Williams' came in at 1-1-0.

The stats suggested Popov had an advantage in power over Williams, with a 47% knock out percentage over Williams' 30%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Popov had an advantage over Williams, with a 16% submission rate over Williams' 0%.

Oleg Popov was the younger man by 2 years, at 33 years old.

Williams had a height advantage of 2 inches over Popov.

Popov was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2015, 9 years and 6 months later than Williams, whose first professional fight was in . He had fought 18 more professional rounds, 49 to Williams' 31.

Popov vs Williams form

Popov had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Denis Goltsov at PFL 2024 Championships on 29th November 2024 by submission in the 1st round at The Mayadeen, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had won against Linton Vassell at PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs on 2nd August 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Davion Franklin at PFL 4: 2024 Regular Season on 13th June 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Before that, he had defeated Steve Mowry at PFL 1: 2024 Regular Season on 4th April 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at Boeing Center, San Antonio.

He was victorious against Gokhan Saricam at Bellator Dublin on 25th February 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, United Kingdom.

Karl Williams had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Jhonata Diniz at UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Spivac 2 on 10th August 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Justin Tafa at UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Namajunas on 23rd March 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Chase Sherman at UFC Fight Night – Rozenstruik vs. Almeida on 13th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Spectrum Center, Charlotte.

Before that, he had defeated Lukasz Brzeski at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili on 11th March 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Miles Amos at PFL Challenger Series 1 on 18th February 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Orlando.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Oleg Popov had been fighting more than Karl Williams.

Going to this contest, Oleg Popov had last fought 5 months and 9 days ago, while Karl Williams' last outing had been 8 months and 28 days ago.

Popov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Williams' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 2 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What time did Popov vs Williams start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 12:15 AM UTC , which was 8:15 PM EST or 5:15 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:15 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Popov vs Williams?

Oleg Popov was a 4/11 (-280) favourite going into the contest, while Karl Williams made his way into the ring at 21/10 (+210) with oddsmakers.