Professional Fighters League (PFL) News
Kayla Harrison reveals PFL 2022 Championship Final against Larissa Pacheco will be her final tournament appearance: "It's f*cking hard"
Josh Evanoff - November 3, 2022
Former PFL tournament winner Kayla Harrison’s time at lightweight is likely coming to an end. The Judoka has been out of action since her submission win over Martina Jindrová in August. The victory moved Harrison to 15-0 in her professional career and also moved her into the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight tournament finals.
Aspen Ladd announces clash with Julia Budd for PFL debut on November 25th: "It's a fighter's dream to fight in Madison Square Garden"
Josh Evanoff - October 12, 2022
PFL featherweight Aspen Ladd is now set for her promotional debut. The 29-year-old has been out of action since her loss to Raquel Pennington in April. That bout wound up being the last in the promotion for Ladd. Following that, she had two failed bookings with former title challenger Sara McMann.
Shane Burgos claims he’s making “a stupid amount of money” with new PFL deal
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 9, 2022
Shane Burgos claims he’ll be rolling in dough soon enough thanks to his PFL deal. Burgos struck gold when he decided to fight out of his UFC contract. This led to him being a hot ticket in free agency. In the end, PFL presented Burgos with an offer that was simply too good to refuse. Burgos inked the deal and he’s now a PFL fighter.
Thiago Santos cities pay dispute as reason for sudden UFC departure to PFL: "The purse is financially better for me"
Josh Evanoff - October 5, 2022
Former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos has explained his sudden departure from the promotion. ‘Marreta’ has been out of action since his bout main event with Jamahal Hill in August. In that showdown, the Brazilian suffered a fourth-round TKO defeat. For his efforts in the ‘Fight of the Night’ outing, Santos received a $50,000 bonus.
Marlon Moraes vs. Shane Burgos booked for 2022 PFL Championship event
Cole Shelton - September 27, 2022
Marlon Moraes and Shane Burgos have their first PFL fight set and it will be against one another. According to ESPN – the broadcast partner of the PFL – Moraes officially signed with PFL and has agreed to face Burgos at the 2022 PFL Championship event. The card is set to take place at a location TBD on November 25. Both Moraes and Burgos just recently signed with the PFL after parting ways with the UFC and it will serve as Moraes’ first featherweight fight since 2011.
A.J. McKee hopeful for possible crossover bout with PFL's Anthony Pettis: "That would be kind of lit, low-key"
Josh Evanoff - September 16, 2022
Former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee is down for some crossover fights. ‘Mercenary’ has been out of action since his rematch with Patricio Pitbull in April. Their first outing nearly a year prior saw McKee win the featherweight title by first-round submission. In the rematch, the Brazilian flipped the script and regained his championship by decision.
Marlon Moraes ends retirement, set to sign with PFL
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
Marlon Moraes will be ending his retirement less than six months after announcing it. In April, Moraes announced he was retiring from MMA following a KO loss to Song Yadong back in March. It was his fourth straight loss and in March, he released a statement through his manager that he would be retiring from MMA.
PFL signs Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh
Susan Cox - September 14, 2022
The PFL has signed Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh. The Professional Fighters League signed Walsh, 24, a former collegiate football player at the University of California, to an amateur contract to compete in its tournament finals event this November.
Kayla Harrison reacts to PFL offering Cris Cyborg millions for clash: "PFL is here to make some big moves"
Josh Evanoff - August 18, 2022
PFL women’s lightweight Kayla Harrison wasn’t surprised to see Cris Cyborg get a big offer from the promotion. The Judoka is set to face Martina Jindrová later this month at PFL 9. The bout is the semifinals of the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight tournament. If Harrison wins, she’ll move on to the chance to become a three-time tournament winner for the promotion.
Rory MacDonald admits retirement was a long time coming: "It's not who I am anymore"
Josh Evanoff - August 17, 2022
PFL welterweight Rory MacDonald has admitted that his retirement has been brewing for a while. ‘Red King’ is fresh off his knockout loss to Dilano Taylor at PFL 8 last weekend. The defeat was MacDonald’s fourth in his last five contests. Following the defeat, the 33-year-old decided to hang up the gloves and call it a career.
Dana White says "big mistakes were made over here" in letting Shane Burgos hit free agency and sign with PFL
Cole Shelton - August 16, 2022
Dana White says the UFC made a big mistake in letting Shane Burgos hit free agency and eventually sign with the PFL. Before Burgos’ UFC Long Island fight against Charles Jourdain, he made it known that it was the final fight of his deal. After the event, White even said the plan was for the UFC to re-sign Burgos but the fan-favorite featherweight wanted to test free agency, and ultimately signed with the PFL.
Pros react after Rory MacDonald suffers TKO loss to Dilano Taylor at PFL 8: "Prob time for him to find another profession"
Chris Taylor - August 13, 2022
Former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald collided with Dilano Taylor in the headliner of today’s PFL Playoffs 2 event in Wales. Taylor (10-2 MMA) had stepped up on short notice for the welterweight semi-final bout, this after MacDonald’s original opponent Magomed Umalatov was forced to withdraw from the event due to Visa issues.
PFL CEO Peter Murray reveals Claressa Shields to return in November
Josh Evanoff - August 4, 2022
PFL women’s lightweight Claressa Shields will return to the cage before the end of the year. The 27-year-old has been out of the cage since her decision defeat to Abigail Montes last October. The victory set her to 1-1 in the MMA cage, as he had previously signed to the PFL in 2020. She debuted with an impressive knockout defeat of Brittney Elkin in June 2021.
Anthony Pettis believes more fighters should test free agency: "As fighters, you’re supposed to take care of yourself"
Josh Evanoff - August 3, 2022
PFL lightweight star Anthony Pettis believes fighters should be more open to fighting outside the UFC. ‘Showtime’ is set to return to action this Friday against Stevie Ray at PFL 7. The bout is set to be the semifinals of the lightweight tournament. The winner will advance to face the winner of Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and Alex Martinez for one million dollars.
Anthony Pettis on last year of PFL contract, believes winning lightweight title will cement him as “one of the best of all time"
Cole Shelton - August 2, 2022
Anthony Pettis is glad to be rematching Stevie Ray. Pettis and Ray fought at PFL 5 in June and heading into the fight it was an odd one for ‘Showtime’ given that he already had his playoff spot booked. With that, he says the plan going into that fight was to play it safe and not get hurt which ended up costing him as Ray got the second-round submission win.
Anthony Pettis admits complacency led to submission loss to Stevie Ray: "I don’t think it will happen again"
Josh Evanoff - July 29, 2022
PFL lightweight star Anthony Pettis has discussed his loss to Stevie Ray last month at PFL 5. Heading into the main event, ‘Showtime’ had already secured its spot in the playoffs. One month prior, he defeated Myles Price by first-round submission, handing him a bid. With that playoff spot in mind, Pettis decided to take the safe approach at PFL 5.
Anthony Pettis pockets $750k, Kayla Harrison makes second most as PFL salaries from Atlanta events revealed
Cole Shelton - July 6, 2022
Anthony Pettis and Kayla Harrison led the salaries from the recent PFL event in Atlanta. For the longest time, many fans have wondered how much PFL is paying their key fighters as salaries have not been revealed. However, when the promotion went to Atlanta, the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission revealed the purses to MMAJunkie and Pettis led the way making $750K with Kayla Harrison coming up the rear in second at $500K.
PFL's Larissa Pacheco blasts Kayla Harrison for GOAT talk: "Her fights are boring, they are not interesting to watch"
Josh Evanoff - July 1, 2022
PFL women’s lightweight Larissa Pacheco believes most of Kayla Harrison’s success is due to marketing. Since the Judoka burst onto the MMA scene in 2018, she’s been one of the faces of the PFL. Harrison went on to win two PFL women’s lightweight tournaments from that time forward and became one of the hottest names in the sport.