Professional Fight League

PFL 6 Preview: Kayla Harrison and Anthony Pettis make their second appearances of 2021

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MMA, PFL

Tomorrow night the PFL returns for their sixth event of 2021. The card will see a mix of weight classes competing, but in the main event, the women’s lightweight division will be the focus.

Two-time defending PFL lightweight champion and former Olympic Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison (9-0) returns to the cage. She will be looking to pick up her second win of the season as she takes on Cindy Dandois (16-6).

Dandois is a veteran who has fought for all of the big promotions during her career. She dropped her PFL debut earlier this year, but she will be looking to pull off the massive upset tomorrow night.

Standing in her way might just be one of the best women’s fighters in the world. Kayla Harrison has been nothing short of dominant in her professional fighting career thus far. The former Judo Gold Medalist is progressing in her career and she keeps getting better.

After her first round win in her 2021 PFL season debut, Harrison said that she was the baddest woman on the planet. While that title still belongs to Amanda Nunes, Harrison is on her way to making it interesting.

Other matchups at PFL 6

In addition to the women’s lightweight division, the men’s lightweights will be on display in the co-main event of PFL 6. Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (24-11) will be making his second appearance with The Professional Fight League.

Pettis will be taking on Raush Manfio (12-3). The former UFC champion was a massive signing for PFL for the 2021 season, but he dropped his season debut to Clay Collard. Now, Pettis will look to get back on track tomorrow night.

Lance Palmer (22-4) will also be competing tomorrow night at PFL 6 as he takes on the undefeated Movlid Khaybulaev (16-0-1). There are a ton of great matchups tomorrow night as PFL goes head-to-head with Bellator on Friday night.

I’m looking forward to this card and you can see the full lineup below.

Anthony Pettis out of PFL 4

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PFL 4 has seen a big shakeup. Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (24-11) was set to take on Alex Martinez (8-0, 1 NC) in the co-main event tomorrow night. However, that fight has now been called off.

AG.Fight was the first to report this morning that Pettis was forced to withdrawal from the fight. Pettis has come down with an illness that will keep him from competing tomorrow night. This was set to be Pettis’ second appearance with PFL.

The former lightweight champion lost to Clay Collard in his promotion debut back in April. Pettis had some highlight moments, but also almost got finished during that contest. This fight with Alex Martinez was set to be an opportunity to bounce back.

Pettis has now been moved to PFL‘s card on June 25th and he’s received a new opponent. Showtime will now be taking on Raush Manfio (12-3) on June 25th. Manfio won by split decision at PFL‘s first event of the 2021 season in April.

PFL 4 Updated Card

With Anthony Pettis off the card and out of the co-main event slot, there’s been some shifting around with tomorrow night’s card. Obviously, the main event between Claressa Shields and Brittney Elkin is still on. 

However, we have a new co-main event of the evening. Alex Martinez keeps his spot in the co-main event, but he will now be taking on former PFL lightweight champion Natan Schulte (20-4-1) tomorrow night.

Entering PFL 1 back in April, Natan Schulte had been almost perfect inside the Professional Fight League cage. In ten career fights with the promotion, Schulte was an impressive 9-0-1 and he won the title in both 2018 and 2019.

However, Schulte lost by unanimous decision to Marcin Held back in April in a big upset. Now, the former two-time PFL champion will look to bounce back against the undefeated Alex Martinez tomorrow night.

Previewing Claressa Shields’ PFL Debut

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Tomorrow night, the greatest women’s boxer in the world will make her PFL debut. Claressa Shields (11-0 boxing, 0-0 MMA) will make her highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut tomorrow night in the headliner of PFL 4.

Shields will be making her debut against Brittney Elkin (3-6). In reality, Claressa Shields is arguably the greatest women’s boxer of all time. She’s a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and she’s held nine world championships in boxing across two weight divisions.

Simply put, she’s the best. A crazy thing about her is the fact that she’s just 26 years old. Still young in her professional career, Shields decided last year that she wanted to conquer all of combat sports. With that, Shields signed a deal with PFL and will be making her debut tomorrow night.

To show that she’s not taking this lightly, Shields has been training at Jackson-Wink alongside the likes of Jon Jones, Holly Holm, and Michelle Waterson. Shields has leaned on former UFC champion Holly Holm a lot during this transition to MMA and she’s looking for that to pay off at PFL 4.

While the record might not be impressive, Brittney Elkin is a great first test for Claressa Shields. Elkin stands 5’11 and she’s fought in PFL before. She’s also fought in Bellator and shared a cage with the best PFL has to offer in Kayla Harrison.

PFL 4 Preview

PFL 4 is going to be fascinating to see how Shields does in the cage. One thing we know for sure is that Brittney Elkins has no chance to win this fight if they are standing. We don’t see people with the hand skill of Claressa Shields in MMA ever.

The last time we saw someone at this level of boxing crossover was James Toney. However, Toney was far past his prime and he went in there against one of the greatest to ever do it in Randy Couture. Not too mention one of the best grapplers in the history of the heavyweight division.

Of course, Toney was smashed by Couture. I don’t see the same happening to Shields at PFL 4. Shields is young and she’s an incredible athlete. I’m expecting to see some all-around skills from her tomorrow night. I expect her takedown defense to be tested and I also expect some kicks to come her way.

That said, Shields will be able to take advantage of the smallest openings with her hands. I’m expecting something massive to land and I think she’ll get it done in the first round. Expect Claressa Shields to make a statement in her first PFL appearance.

Prediction: Claressa Shields by KO – Round 1

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 Results: Kayla Harrison and Larissa Pacheco dominate in 2021 season opener

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MMA, PFL

Tonight at PFL 3, we saw the women’s lightweight division kick off their season. All eyes were on the two-time defending champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison (8-0).

Harrison took on Mariana Morais (16-10) in the co-main event of the evening. Another matchup I was really looking forward to was the matchup between the 2019 runner-up Larissa Pacheco (14-4) and Julija Pajic (2-1).

Pacheco has only lost to Kayla Harrison and former UFC champions in her career. She’s extremely dangerous and I think she’s the one lightweight in this tournament that can hang with Kayla Harrison.

She proved that tonight at PFL 3. It was clear that Pajic had no business being in there with Pacheco. Pacheco dropped Pajic just seconds into the fight with a beautiful left hook. From there, Pacheco was methodical in beating Pajic up on the ground.

Finally, just about a minute into the round, the referee called a stop to the action. A dominant six-point finish for Larissa Pacheco at PFL 3. As mentioned, many people think she can be a threat to Kayla Harrison and she showed why tonight.

Harrison continues PFL dominance

As mentioned, the co-main event of the evening featured the two-time PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison. In eight professional fights, nobody has been able to stop Kayla Harrison. Harrison is hoping to pick up her third PFL championship in 2021.

Standing in her way was Mariana Morais who has been in there with UFC caliber talent. While Harrison was the massive favorite at PFL 3, Morais was expected to provide a little bit of a challenge.

However, like all of the opponents before her, Morais had no answer for Harrison. Harrison immediately pressured Morais and was able to get a body lock. Once she got the body lock, she was able to take Morais down and she immediately got the mount.

After Harrison got the mount, it was over in seconds. The two-time PFL champion makes her 2021 season debut in incredibly impressive fashion with a first round TKO.

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.