MMA athlete Marthin Hamlet (31) got off to a perfect start to his PFL season when he beat Mohammad Fakhreddine (38) after one minute in the first round.

Hamlet took command from the start in the match broadcast on DAZN, and the former national team wrestler didn’t spend many seconds before beating Fakhreddine. The veteran from Lebanon gets up, but is knocked down again by the powerful Hamlet.

The 31-year-old athlete controlled his opponent’s back and applied a “face crank”, which Fakhreddine couldn’t avoid. He finally had to “come out” when the pressure on his face became too great. Then the clock struck 1.05 in the first half.

Joshua Silveira also secured six points, having won midway through the first round against Sam Kei. 2022 champion Rob Wilkinson won on points against former UFC fighter Thiago Santos, but ended with “only” three points.

Hamlet is in the PFL MMA tournament for the third time, and the winner earns a million dollars. The Tønsberg fighter is in the final in 2021, but did not advance from the base series after his knockout loss against Silveira last summer.

After his first match at light heavyweight in the 2023 season, Hamlet is top of the standings. There are bonus points for completing the match, and if that happens in the first half you get three bonus points in addition to the three points for a win.

Hamlet and Silveira both have six points, and the next round is June 8 in Atlanta. The four best teams in the standings after the preliminaries are finished will advance to the semifinals. Hamlet’s next opponent is unclear.