Professional Fighters League (PFL) News

Adam D Martin - October 28, 2021

PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison is non-committal to joining the UFC following the expiration of her PFL contract. Harrison defeated Taylor Guardado via second-round submission in the women’s lightweight finals at the PFL Championship on Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Harrison dominated the fight from beginning to end by utilizing her dominant grappling game to get her opponent to the mat and finally submit her. It was the second straight tournament championship victory for Harrison in PFL, and the fight also marked the end of her contract with the promotion. Now that she has fought out the final fight of her deal, Harrison is headed towards free agency for the first time.

Harry Kettle - October 28, 2021

Jake Paul taunted Claressa Shields last night in the wake of her first mixed martial arts defeat at PFL 10. In what was just her second professional MMA contest, Shields battled it out with Abigail Montes and came up on the wrong end of a split decision loss. It marks her first pro defeat in combat sports with her boxing record currently sitting at 11-0.

Harry Kettle - October 28, 2021

Ray Cooper III and Kayla Harrison were amongst the newly crowned millionaire champions on PFL 10 last night. It was another thrilling evening of PFL action on Wednesday with six champions, and six $1 million payouts, being made from the prelims all the way up to the main event. The usual contenders were in the mix with everything from dramatic decisions to world-class finishes being on display for the masses to enjoy.

Adam D Martin - October 27, 2021

Hip-hop artist Wiz Khalifa says that he is open to staking an MMA fight with PFL in the future, saying “I could see myself getting in the ring.” Khalifa recently became an investment with PFL, which holds its tournament championship on Wednesday. Khalifa is a huge MMA and combat sports fan himself, so when he had the opportunity to join the PFL family, he took it. But for Khalifa, this is not just about making a business investment or getting his name out there to more MMA fans. Instead, this could be the start of him potentially competing himself.

Drake Riggs - October 25, 2021

FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison will be a free agent after this Wednesday’s PFL 2021 Championship. Appearing during the fight week’s media day, Harrison answered the usual round of questions – lastly focusing on comments from Dana White earlier in the day.

Drake Riggs - October 14, 2021

PHOENIX — Julia Budd is making the move to the PFL after a championship run with Bellator. The first and former women’s featherweight champion in Bellator history suffered a single defeat in her run with the promotion when facing Cris “Cyborg” Justino in January 2020. Budd (15-3) rebounded with two wins over Jessica Miele and Dayana Silva.

Harry Kettle - October 14, 2021

PFL star Claressa Shields has insisted she isn’t homophobic after questioning DC Comics’ decision to make Superman bisexual. It was revealed earlier this week that in an upcoming comic book story, Jon Kent – the son of Clark Kent – will be involved in a romantic relationship with a man. That led to quite the divide within the community regarding whether or not it was a good or bad move and based on her comments, Shields clearing wasn’t happy about it.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

Former UFC fighter Brendan Loughnane was among the alternate fighters named for the upcoming PFL $1 million tournament finals. Loughnane competed once in the Octagon in 2012, losing a decision to Mike Wilkinson. After putting in the work on the regional scene, Loughnane made his way to Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. However, while he did win a decision over Bill Algeo, White passed on signing Loughnane to a UFC contract due to shooting for a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the fight. In a cruel twist of fate, Algeo would later be signed to the UFC.

Drake Riggs - October 1, 2021

FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison is as dominant of a force as anyone in MMA in 2021. But with great success comes great detractors – or at least several in abundance. Beginning her run in June 2018 and now 11-0 in her professional MMA career, the Judo master has found the fans to be a lot more vocal than she’d experienced prior.

Drake Riggs - September 1, 2021

Ray Cooper III is just one win away from pocketing yet another million-dollar PFL championship. The PFL went without a season in 2020 before picking back up in 2021 where multiple big-name additions entered the fold. Going forward in the world, eventual normalcy will restore the idea of cross-promotion in the sport to its fullest — PFL CEO Peter Murray has seemingly opened up to the idea as this year’s finals draw near.

Drake Riggs - August 26, 2021

Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Ronda Rousey were never too fond of one another. A super-fight between the two all-time greats was something fans fantasized about for years as the two went from Strikeforce to the UFC. However, it never came to fruition.

Harry Kettle - August 26, 2021

Bellator champion Cris Cyborg has given her thoughts on a potential superfight with PFL star Kayla Harrison. While both women are doing their own thing in their respective promotions, this feud certainly has a “sharks circling each other” feeling to it right now. Cyborg and Harrison have proven themselves to be amongst the most dominant female stars in the sport alongside Amanda Nunes and while fighting “The Lioness” in the UFC could happen in the future, right now Harrison’s future is up in the air as she comes towards the end of her PFL deal.

Drake Riggs - August 19, 2021

Lightweights Kayla Harrison and Genah Fabian battled it out in the main event of PFL 8 to advance to the finals and a shot at a million dollars. To reach the semifinals, the former two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist and PFL champion in Harrison dispatched of Mariana Morais and Cindy Dandois in effortless fashion. New Zealand’s Fabian, on the other hand, picked up a unanimous decision win over Laura Sanchez before finishing Julija Pajic via strikes in round two.

Drake Riggs - August 17, 2021

The 2021 PFL season could be Kayla Harrison’s last. A two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist, Harrison has had no issues whatsoever transitioning the world of MMA. Even before she amassed a 10-0 record, fans and pundits alike pondered what it might be like seeing her take on the very best the sport has to offer – perhaps next year could be when we find out.

Drake Riggs - August 16, 2021

Kayla Harrison calls it as she sees it. The PFL held a media call over Zoom on Monday to promote this weekend’s upcoming event headlined by Harrison and New Zealand’s Genah Fabian. The winner will advance to the playoff finals for their opportunity at 1 million dollars against either Larissa Pacheco or Taylor Guardado.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Boxer-turned-MMA fighter Claressa Shields will make her second walk to the PFL cage later this year when she faces a promotional newcomer. The Washington Post revealed that Shields will take on Abigail Montes at the PFL Championship on Wednesday, October 27. Montes is 2-0 as a professional MMA fighter and is just 21 years old. She has previously competed in the Combate Americas and iFF organizations in her native Mexico, where she has defeated both of her opponents.

Drake Riggs - August 2, 2021

Russia’s Marina Mokhnatkina is on her way to the PFL. After achieving everything she could in Sambo, her intentions are clear: conquer MMA. Mokhnatkina made the move to Florida’s Sanford MMA in February 2021 after initially negotiating with the neighboring American Top Team. The male-dominated gym originally greeted the 33-year old with skepticism, but she was quickly welcomed after her skills were displayed. Now, Mokhnatkina is the lone woman training at the gym daily.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

Welterweight contender Ray Cooper III blasted MMA judges ahead of the PFL semifinals, saying “they don’t know what the hell they’re doing.” The winner of the $1 million grand prize in the PFL season two welterweight tournament, Cooper takes on Rory MacDonald in the semifinals of the promotion’s third season in August. The only reason the bracket is the way it is is that MacDonald lost a controversial split decision to Gleison Tibau in his second regular-season fight. It was an extremely controversial call by the judges, and MacDonald has publicly blasted the judges himself. Now, his opponent Cooper is coming to his defense as well following the bad decision.