Professional Fighters League (PFL) News

Adam D Martin - June 23, 2021

Boxer-turned-MMA fighter Claressa Shields returns to the PFL cage in August when she competes for the second time in mixed martial arts. Shields made her MMA debut earlier this month when she finished Brittany Elkin via third-round TKO for a successful first foray into mixed martial arts. It wasn’t an easy fight for Shields, who struggled with her takedown defense for the first two rounds of the fight as Elkin dominated her on the mat. However, Shields was able to conserve her gas tank, and when Elkin started to get tired in the third round of the fight, Shields started to unload massive ground and pound on her opponent and pick up the first win of her MMA career.

Adam D Martin - June 22, 2021

Veteran Gleison Tibau vowed to knock Rory MacDonald out in a future PFL rematch, saying that “he already wanted the fight to be over.” Tibau won a highly controversial split decision over MacDonald in the main event of PFL 5. Most fans and media believed that MacDonald did enough to win the decision, but two of the three judges gave the split nod to Tibau instead. Some fans have suggested it’s one of the worst decisions they have ever seen, but if you ask Tibau, he’s confident he won.

Adam Martin - June 20, 2021

Former UFC lightweight contender Gleison Tibau admitted that it was a “big surprise” for him that he defeated Rory MacDonald in PFL. Tibau earned one of the biggest upsets of the year so far in MMA when he won a controversial split decision over MacDonald at PFL 5 last Thursday in New Jersey. The decision was extremely controversial, with many fans and media declaring it a “robbery” after two of the three judges scored the bout in favor of the Brazilian. Most thought that MacDonald did enough to win at least two of the three rounds and earn the decision, but the judges had other plans as they awarded the longtime UFC veteran Tibau the decision.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

Rory MacDonald reacted following the “clear robbery” in his PFL 5 fight with Gleison Tibau, saying “I think that this should be looked into.” MacDonald was competing in PFL for the second time following a submission win over Curtis Millender in his promotional debut in April. Against Tibau, MacDonald used a game plan of sticking and moving on the outside to outpoint Tibau and take home a decision. He also used his grappling in the first round effectively. However, when the judges’ scorecards were read after the three rounds, it was Tibau winning the split decision, not MacDonald.

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2021

Multiple MMA fighters reacted on social media after Gleison Tibau pulled off an upset win over Rory MacDonald at PFL 5 last night. The two men battled it out as part of the final push towards the welterweight playoffs in the PFL. The overwhelming expectation heading into the bout was that MacDonald would blow the doors off of Tibau and while it wasn’t quite so convincing, many did believe he was the one who should have his hand raised.

Drake Riggs - June 17, 2021

Claressa Shields is officially an MMA fighter following a successful PFL 4 debut against Brittney Elkin this past Thursday. Inevitably, fans are expecting a clash of Olympic gold medals pitting Shields against the 9-0 Kayla Harrison. Currently looking to claim yet another PFL crown through the lightweight tournament, Harrison recently shared her thoughts on the boxing legend’s victory.

Adam D Martin - June 17, 2021

PFL star Claressa Shields says she wants to be the Bo Jackson of MMA and boxing, saying that “I believe I am the greatest woman of all time.” Jackson was an incredible two-sport athlete who is still the only person to ever be named to a Pro Bowl team in the NFL and an All-Star team in MLB. Many consider Jackson to be one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, and many athletes have come up behind him who have wanted to accomplish what he did, which is being great at two professional sports. Of course, it’s hard enough to be an elite athlete in one sport, but Jackson proved you can be elite in two, and that’s exactly what Shields is hoping to do herself.

Drake Riggs - June 14, 2021

Claressa Shields made a successful MMA debut this past Thursday night at PFL 4. The 26-year old Flint, Michigan native is 11-0 as a professional boxer with two Olympic gold medals to her name. Shields now comfortably gets ready to build some momentum in her new sport.

Adam D Martin - June 9, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has been pulled from Thursday’s PFL 4 card due to illness, and will now fight at PFL 6 instead. Pettis was set to fight Alex Martinez in his second regular-season fight for PFL after losing a unanimous decision to Clay Collard in his promotional debut in April. However, AG Fight is now reporting that Pettis is out of the fight due to illness. Instead, defending PFL lightweight champion Natan Schulte will now fight Pettis’ opponent Martinez on Thursday night, and Pettis will return on June 25 when he takes on Schulte’s opponent Raush Manfio.

Adam D Martin - June 7, 2021

Boxer-turned-MMA fighter Claressa Shields called teammate Holly Holm the “cheat code” ahead of her upcoming PFL and mixed martial arts debut. Shields makes her official professional MMA debut this Thursday at PFL 4 when she takes on Brittany Elkin in a non-tournament women’s lightweight bout. Shields is one of the best women’s boxers on the planet but she has said for a few years now that MMA was her goal, and she will finally make her debut in mixed martial arts later this week against Elkin.

Adam D Martin - June 3, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming slated PFL 6 fight with Brandon Sayles. MMAFighting.com first reported that Werdum has been forced out of the tournament, though details of his withdrawal are scarce at the moment. According to the report, it is unknown at this time if Werdum will remain part of the PFL heavyweight tournament. There has also not been a replacement opponent given to Sayles yet for his upcoming fight.

Adam Martin - June 1, 2021

Heavyweight Renan Ferreira called the matchmaking in PFL “very shady” and claims the promotion favors rival Fabricio Werdum. Ferreira picked up the biggest win of his career when he finished Werdum with strikes in a big upset at PFL 3 last month, but the result of the contest was overturned to a No Contest. The New Jersey Athletic Control Board ruled that Ferreira had tapped out to a submission attempt from Werdum moments before the finish happened. Ferreira remains adamant that he never tapped, but video evidence appeared to be inconclusive either way. Regardless, the result of the fight was overturned, which means Ferreira gets one point instead of six in the PFL heavyweight bracket. Werdum also gets one point due to the overturned result.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

PFL heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum reacted after his controversial TKO loss to Renan Ferreira was overturned to a No Contest. Werdum lost via first-round knockout to Ferreira last Thursday at PFL 3, but the finish was marred in controversy as it appeared as though Ferreira had tapped out seconds before he pounded Werdum out. Immediately, Werdum protested the stoppage and said that Ferreira had tapped out. Werdum’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed that Team Werdum would be filing an appeal and they did just that, and it was successful. On Monday, the result of the fight was overturned to a No Contest so Werdum had the loss removed from his record.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board has overturned Renan Ferreira’s controversial win over Fabricio Werdum at PFL 3. Werdum headlined the card and just seconds into the fight, he got the fight to the ground. He then threatened a triangle choke and it looked like it was tight, but Ferreira landed ground and pound and got the first-round KO win over Werdum.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

Brazilian heavyweight Renan Ferreira fired back at his countryman Fabricio Werdum following his recent controversial win in PFL. Ferreira scored the biggest win of his MMA career to date when he knocked out Werdum in the first round of their PFL regular season fight, but the finish was controversial as it appeared as though Ferreira had tapped to a triangle choke seconds beforehand. Werdum was upset about the finish and his team has already appealed the result of the contest. Fans online for the most part seem to agree there was a tapout, but the referee missed it and Ferreira didn’t acknowledge it, thus leading to Werdum not getting his hand raised.

Adam D Martin - May 7, 2021

PFL heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum talked about the phantom tap by Renan Ferreira, saying he didn’t want to pull a Rousimar Palhares. Werdum lost via a first-round TKO after Ferreira landed a number of hammer fists on him from top position and finished him with ground and pound. However, replays after the fight showed that a triangle choke that Werdum had locked in moments earlier had caused Ferreira to tap out. The referee didn’t see the tapout and the fight continued, with Werdum losing by knockout. Considering what it means to win and lose in the tournament for the $1 million dollars, this is a big loss for Werdum and he is filing an appeal with the commission.

Adam D Martin - May 7, 2021

Fabricio Werdum released a statement following his controversial loss at PFL 3, saying that “when your opponent gives up we have to respect.” Werdum took on Renan Ferreira in the main event of Thursday’s PFL 3 event. In the first round of the fight, Werdum was able to get a takedown and get the fight to the floor. He began searching for submissions and appeared to have a triangle choke locked in. On replay, it appeared as though Ferreira tapped, and Werdum slightly loosened the grip, but the referee did not see any tap and the fight continued on. A few seconds later and Werdum was being stopped with strikes as Ferreira smashed him with hammerfists from the top as he picked up a massive upset win in the PFL 3 heavyweight regular season.

Christopher Taylor - May 6, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has already filed an appeal following his controversial loss to Renan Ferreira at PFL 3. Werdum (24-10-1 MMA) was making his PFL debut in tonight’s event headliner against a fellow Brazilian in Ferreira (7-2 MMA).