Mohammed Usman

PFL 3 Results: Controversy as Renan Ferreira appears to tap, but gets TKO win over Fabricio Werdum

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Tonight at PFL 3, the heavyweights got their opportunity to kick off the 2021 season. In the main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1) was making his PFL debut.

Standing in his way tonight was the massive Renan Ferreira (6-2). While a lot of attention was on the main event, there was one name that was missing from tonight’s card. That man is the defending PFL heavyweight champion Ali Isaev (9-0).

Earlier this week, PFL announced that Isaev’s fight would not happen tonight although a reason was not given. Isaev and his opponent Hatef Moeil both recieved -1 point for their fight not happening. That said, the heavyweights still put on a show in their season opener.

A fight I was incredibly intrigued by was the matchup between Mohammed Usman (7-2) and Brandon Sayles (6-1). Usman is the younger brother of current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Mohammed Usman looks like a top prospect and I was incredibly excited to watch him debut with PFL. However, Brandon Sayles looked incredibly prepared and was ready to give Usman a challenge in his debut with the promotion.

PFL 3 Heavyweight Results

Mohammed Usman was a huge betting favorite heading into PFL 3. However, it was evident from the opening bell that the odds were off. Brandon Sayles looked sensational tonight in a fight that turned out to be a lot of fun.

Sayles was incredibly light on his feet and just seemed to beat Usman to the punch all night. In the second round, Sayles dropped Usman a couple of times before getting his back. Once there, he choked Usman out to get the five-point finish. Incredible performance at PFL 3 from Brandon Sayles.

The main event between Ferreira and Werdum started out crazy as both men started with flying kicks. After the kicks, the two men ended up on the ground. The former UFC champion started out on top.

However, Ferreira was able to reverse the position and end up on top. Once Ferreira was on top, Werdum was able to lock in a triangle choke. It was incredibly deep, but Ferreira was dropping bombs on Werdum while defending.

It appeared that Ferreira tapped, but the referee never stopped it and Werdum appeared to loosen the choke. Ferreira landed bombs as he did and the fight was stopped. Ferreira gets the TKO win, but it looks like he should’ve lost by submission. Crazy finish to the third PFL event of 2021.

PFL 3 Preview: Fabricio Werdum makes his debut and Kayla Harrison returns

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Tomorrow night, PFL will host their third event of their 2021 season. The event will feature the promotion’s heavyweights and the women at lightweight. There is a lot of good action happening at PFL 3.

Kayla Harrison (8-0) is returning for her third PFL season tomorrow night. The former Olympic Gold Medalist has won the previous two Professional Fight League seasons in 2018 and 2019.

Harrison is the massive favorite to retain her PFL crown this year. Her first opponent of the 2021 season is Mariana Morais (16-10). Morais does have a lot of experience and she’s competed with some big names in the past.

Some of the names Morais has been in there with includes Jennifer Maia, Roxanne Modafferi, and Ariane Lipski. Morais is going to be very undersized at PFL 3 as she normally competes at 135 pounds. However, all the attention is going to be on Harrison and I’m expecting a dominating performance.

Larissa Pacheco (13-4) is the other lightweight to watch tomorrow night. She’s taking on Julija Pajic (2-0). Pacheco competed in the 2019 season and only lost twice. Both of those losses came to Kayla Harrison.

Outside of those two PFL losses, her other two losses came in the UFC against former champions Jessica Andrade and Germaine de Randamie. If anyone is going to give Harrison a challenge this season, it will be Pacheco.

PFL Heavyweights

The main attention tomorrow night is going to be on the PFL heavyweights. Former UFC heavyweight champion and all time great Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1) headlines the card tomorrow night. He will be making his Professional Fight League debut.

Standing across from Werdum is Renan Ferreira (6-2). Ferreira is a massive man standing 6’8 and weighing around the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds. Werdum is the massive favorite, but the size of Ferreira should give the former UFC champion a challenge.

I’m also incredibly excited to see the debut of Mohammed Usman (7-1). Usman is the younger brother of UFC champion Kamaru Usman. Mohammed Usman comes in with a lot of hype and he’s taking on Brandon Sayles (5-1).

These four fights have all my attention tomorrow night and I’m incredibly excited to see how they play out. PFL has some heavy hitters in their 2021 season and I’m very excited about this third card.

PFL announces heavyweight matchups featuring Fabricio Werdum – Renan Ferreira

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PFL is gearing up for the start of their heavyweight season. The promotion has announced it’s first round of matchups which will take place on May 6th on ESPN. Headlining the card is former UFC heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1).

PFL made a number of big signings in 2020. While the promotion held no fights last year, they went to work in gearing up for their biggest season yet. One of their biggest signings was the former UFC champion.

Werdum is coming off of a huge win against Alexander Gustafsson and the 43 year old is ready to make a run at the PFL heavyweight title. In his first matchup, Werdum will be taking on fellow Brazilian, Renan Ferreira (6-2).

Ferreira will be making his debut with the promotion. The last time he fought was in 2019 when he took on current UFC heavyweight, Jared Vanderaa. Ferreira won that fight by submission.

Ferreira is a huge heavyweight standing 6’8 and usually weighing around the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds. All six of his wins have come via TKO or submission so you know that he’s not going to make Werdum’s PFL debut easy.

Other PFL heavyweight matchups

There are several other key matchups in this initial heavyweight round for PFL. One guy to watch would be the 2019 champion Ali Isaev (9-0). The Dagestani heavyweight will be taking on Hatef Moeil (10-4).

Moeil will enter PFL having won six fights in a row including wins over James McSweeney and Ricco Rodriguez. Another heavyweight I have my eyes on is Mohammed Usman (7-1). Usman is the younger brother of UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.

Mohammed Usman will be making his PFL debut against Brandon Sayles (5-1). UFC veteran Justin Willis (8-2) also makes his return for this upcoming season in PFL. Willis hasn’t fought since his loss to Curtis Blaydes. That loss in 2019 snapped an eight-fight win streak.

In his debut, Willis will be taking on Russian contender, Denis Goltsov (25-6). Goltsov lost to Isaev in the semi-finals of the 2019 season. This is arguably the matchup I’m the most excited about. The 2021 PFL heavyweight season should be a good one and I’m excited for it to get going.