Category: PFL

PFL books Claressa Shields debut for June 10

Boxing champion Claressa Shields’ MMA debut has a date and opponent.

Boxing champion [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag]’ MMA debut has a date and opponent.

The PFL announced Wednesday that Shields will make her first appearance on June 10 at the PFL 2021, Week 4 event against [autotag]Brittney Elkin[/autotag]. The fight, which will air as part of the ESPN2 main card, won’t be part of the promotion’s regular season.

Shields, who signed with the PFL last Nov. 30, is a former two-time Olympic gold medalist boxer. With her March 5 win over Marie-Eve Dicaire, Shields became the first two-division undisputed champion in the four-belt era.

Shields, 26, has trained in recent months at famed Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., spending time with the likes of former UFC champions Holly Holm and Jon Jones.

[lawrence-related id=591046,591181,570635]

“I am very excited to cement my legacy as the Greatest Woman of All Time,” Shields said in a PFL-issued statement. “I cannot wait to step into the PFL cage for the first time on June 10 and show the world that I never back down from a challenge. I have shown I am the best boxer in the world and eventually I intend to do the same thing as a mixed martial artist.”

Elkins posts an overall record of 3-6, having lost her past three fights. She hasn’t competed in MMA since January 2019. She also was Kayla Harrison’s opponent for her debut in June 2018, submitting to a first-round armbar.

[mm-video type=video id=01f0cbn96pd7229nbk playlist_id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f0cbn96pd7229nbk/01f0cbn96pd7229nbk-2e1e3575f6073b2662f95e7133b87945.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=570673]

Fight booking wire (April 12-18): Newcomer Dakota Bush steps in at UFC on ESPN 22

Use our fight booking wire throughout the week to keep tabs on all the latest matchups in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, ONE Championship and more.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

Each week, we’ll compile all the new fight bookings right here – in one spot. Worried you missed a UFC or Bellator matchup, a playoff pairing for the PFL, or a title fight scheduled for ONE or LFA?

Our fight booking wire will keep tabs on it all and will update any time we’ve got new matchups – so you’ll want to come back throughout the week to see the latest.

Here are fight announcements that have been broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie for this week, April 12-18:

Curtis Millender steps in to fight Rory MacDonald at PFL 2021, Week 2 on April 29

Curtis Millender has the biggest opportunity of his career in front of him.

[autotag]Curtis Millender[/autotag] has the biggest opportunity of his career in front of him.

On Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie that Millender will step in to fight [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] at PFL 2021, Week 2. The person requested anonymity since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Millender, who’s competed for both the UFC and Bellator, accepted the short-notice welterweight fight for April 29 after MacDonald’s original opponent, David Michaud, revealed earlier Thursday that a heart condition will likely force him to retire from MMA.

[lawrence-related id=531260]

After a three-fight stint in LFA, Millender (18-6) was signed to the UFC and made his promotional debut in February 2018, knocking out former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves. Millender got off to a 3-0 start in the UFC before losing back-to-back fights and parting ways with the promotion. He returned to Bellator for two fights and split them, beating Moses Murrietta and losing to Sabah Homasi in most recent bout last August.

MacDonald (21-6-1), a former UFC title challenger and Bellator champion, signed with the PFL in early 2020 and has waited more than a year to make his debut after the promotion canceled last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PFL 2 takes place April 29 at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., with a main card on ESPN2 and prelims on ESPN+.

With the change, the PFL 2 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN 2, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Rory MacDonald vs. Curtis Millender
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Ponet
  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Tom Lawlor
  • Chris Camozzi vs. Emiliano Sordi

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)

  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino
  • Vinny Magalhaes vs. Jordan Young
  • Cezar Ferreira vs. Nick Roehrick
  • Aleksei Kunchenko vs. Gleison Tibau
  • Nikolay Aleksakhin vs. Sadibou Sy
  • Marthin Hamlet vs. Dan Spohn

PFL’s David Michaud says heart condition has him out of Rory MacDonald fight – and likely into retirement

David Michaud was getting ready for what likely was going to be the biggest fight of his career. Now it appears his career might be over.

[autotag]David Michaud[/autotag] was getting ready for what likely was going to be the biggest fight of his career. Now it appears his career might be over.

Michaud (18-6) was set to fight former Bellator champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] (21-6-1) on April 29 in the main event of the PFL’s second show of the year as part of the start of welterweight regular season. But Thursday, Michaud posted on Twitter that a heart condition recently discovered has taken him out of the fight.

But not only that, the 32-year-old said the condition is likely to mean the end of his fighting career.

“So this is gonna be a tough post. After multiple tests on my heart including a Cardiac MRI and talking with multiple Cardiologists, I have been informed that I got a bad ticker,” Michaud posted on Twitter. “I have a Congenital bicuspid aortic valve with dilated aortic root. Unfortunately I was born with this

“because of the dilation of the aorta, fighting puts me at risk for an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta. That would be fatal under almost all circumstances. For this reason I will not be able to fight Rory Macdonald on April 29th, and unless anything changes, ever again.”

[lawrence-related id=596004]

Michaud, from South Dakota, reached the 2019 PFL welterweight playoff final, but was stopped with a second-round TKO by $1 million winner Ray Cooper III. To reach that final, he won decisions against fellow UFC veterans John Howard and Glaico Franca on the same night in October 2019.

If it indeed is the end of the line for Michaud, he’ll exit the sport with 18 career wins, including 14 stoppages.

He turned pro in 2009, and by 2012 he was on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And while things didn’t work out for him on the show, he built back up and was in the UFC by 2014. He went 2-2 in the promotion, then found himself trying to work his way back to the big leagues with fights for RFA, Titan FC, LFA and Bellator before signing with PFL for the 2019 inaugural season.

PFL officials have not yet made a formal announcement about Michaud’s withdrawal, or who will step in to fight MacDonald in the welterweight main event.

[listicle id=585992]

PFL replaces Johnny Case following arrest for alleged domestic battery

Former UFC fighter Johnny Case won’t be competing in the PFL this season after he was recently arrested in Las Vegas.

The PFL has removed [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] from its 2021 season in the wake of recent reports that the lightweight fighter was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.

The promotion announced the move Tuesday, along with Case’s replacement, Alex Martinez. It’s unclear if Case has been released from his contract or only removed from this season. A request for comment from the PFL was not immediately returned.

According to an initial report from TMZ, Case (27-7-1) was arrested last Thursday in Las Vegas and was held in jail in Clark County (Nev.). The report stated that the alleged victim is a female MMA fighter.

Online court records show Case partook in a hearing Friday and was released on bail. His bail conditions include “stay out of trouble” and “stay away from victim.”

[lawrence-related id=600612,600591,600474]

Prior to his removal, Case was scheduled to fight 2020 PFL lightweight runner-up Loik Radzhabov on the season-opening card April 23 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Case, 31, competed in the UFC from 2014 to 2017. He won his first four promotional appearances before back-to-back losses to Jake Matthews and Anthony Rocco Martin led to his UFC exit. Case competed once for PFL in 2019 (a draw) before four appearances in RIZIN, where he went 3-1.

[listicle id=600490]

Fight booking wire (April 5-11): Erik Perez books next fight for Bellator 258

Use our fight booking wire throughout the week to keep tabs on all the latest matchups in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, ONE Championship and more.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

Each week, we’ll compile all the new fight bookings right here – in one spot. Worried you missed a UFC or Bellator matchup, a playoff pairing for the PFL, or a title fight scheduled for ONE or LFA?

Our fight booking wire will keep tabs on it all and will update any time we’ve got new matchups – so you’ll want to come back throughout the week to see the latest.

Here are fight announcements that have been broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie for this week, April 5-11:

With ‘one more year, maybe two’ left, Fabricio Werdum looks to pack in fights with PFL

Fabricio Werdum is martial arts royalty, having spent 20 years competing at the highest levels of sport, but his time is nearly done.

[autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] is clearly martial arts royalty, having spent the last 20 years competing at the highest level of both MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

But at 43, the former UFC heavyweight champion knows the end is near, and it’s one reason he’s so excited to be competing for the PFL in his final run. With the promotion’s season format, he knows the schedule in 2021 is going to be a busy one.

“It’s very exciting because I fought for UFC for a long time, … I fought in Strikeforce, in PRIDE, different events in Brazil, too – Jungle Fight – and the PFL I like because, you know, I have different events to go, but I like the PFL because the season is amazing,” Werdum said. “I’m 43 years old and, uh, maybe one more year, maybe two. I don’t know yet, you know, but I like that when the guys say, ‘this season.’

“You have to fight, win, again win, win to be a champion, you
know, and they have the bonus – you win $1 million. This is amazing, you know? This for sure is good, too, but just because I want to fight more, you know? I want to fight like maybe four times in a very short time. This is my my big goal now because I did everything. I fought in the UFC, the champion. The jiu-jitsu champion, ADCC champion. My next goal now is to be a PFL champion.”

[lawrence-related id=600474,598201]

Werdum (24-9-1) kicks off his PFL run on May 6, when he faces Renan Ferreira (6-2) at PFL 2021, Week 3. The contest airs on ESPN2 from Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. If all goes to plan for Werdum, it will kick off a run to a championship that will wrap up later this year.

At that point, he’d have to decide whether his body could take the pressure of another regular-season run in 2022. He’s not sure yet whether or not that will happen, but he knows the end is coming sooner rather later, one way or another.

His wife won’t have it any other way.

“It’s so hard man, to us like a fighter, to stop the fight,” Werdum said. “Because every time I say to my wife – four years ago I said, ‘No, I’ve stopped. This is the last one, last one, last one,’ every time, and I never stop, and it’s so hard to stop doing (the thing) you like. This is my my life. I love to fight, you know? Why do I have to stop? i stand now because i’m 43, almost – yeah I think that I want to be a champion like at 44.

“I’m very excited for the the very quick fights and the end, like one more belt, you know? This is amazing. One more belt for my career.”

To hear the full interview with Werdum, check out the video above.

[vertical-gallery id=323657]

PFL taps two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis to head new athlete advisory board

The PFL has signed NFL legend Ray Lewis to head up its newly formed athlete advisory board in 2021.

The Professional Fighters League continues to make big-name acquisitions, with their latest new signing arriving to help lead the promotion’s newly created athlete advisory board.

PFL officials confirmed Thursday that Baltimore Ravens legend and two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis will head up the group to “partner on efforts to advance the sport of MMA globally, identify and recruit new talent as well as further evolve the PFL’s fighter-first culture and mission.”

The board will feature a collection of iconic names from the world of sport, including MMA champions, with more board members set to be announced in the coming months.

“MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world, and I was drawn to PFL because of its unique season format that is a true meritocracy where each competitor controls their own destiny, no different than in the NFL,” Lewis said in a statement.

“Having spent my entire career as a professional athlete and around other professional athletes, I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is to establish an athlete-focused culture in order to be successful. I truly believe in PFL’s long-term vision and look forward to partnering with CEO Peter Murray and the Athlete Advisory Board.”

[lawrence-related id=597733,592560,590586]

The Super Bowl XXXV MVP and 13-time Pro Bowler will join UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture on the board, with PFL CEO Murray hailing the arrival of both men to the promotion’s new group.

“Ray’s leadership and advocacy for athletes combined with Randy Couture’s legacy and commitment to MMA will ensure the PFL stays true to its fighter-first philosophy and advances the sport,” he said.

[listicle id=587389]

[listicle id=585992]

[listicle id=585647]

David Michaud doesn’t see Rory MacDonald’s decline the way some are saying

David Michaud hesitant to say that Rory MacDonald is no longer the same fighter he used to be.

[autotag]David Michaud[/autotag] doesn’t agree with some of the critics who say Rory MacDonald has regressed.

The PFL welterweight is preparing to take on one of the best fighters in his division and nothing less April 29. Michaud (18-6) meets MacDonald (21-6-1), a former Bellator welterweight champion and multiple-time UFC title challenger, at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., as part of the first round of the PFL welterweight season.

Critics in the past have claimed that McDonald had taken a step back in his career. He went 3-2-1 in Bellator after leaving the UFC in 2016. The two defeats come to current Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima and current Bellator middleweight title holder Gegard Mousasi.

Michaud doesn’t put too much stock on those defeats and won’t take MacDonald lightly ahead of their April 29 date.

“He’s been through some wars and I think that’s why guys are expecting that chin to start going away eventually. But his last fight was for the Bellator championship and he was the Bellator world champ for a long time,” Michaud told MMA Junkie. “So it’s not like he was out there getting knocked out by bums. I think he’s only been finished by Robbie Lawler, which you know, that’s one of the best guys at 170.

“So he’s not out here taking bad loses and he’s not losing guys who aren’t top level. I mean. he lost to Douglas Lima, OK? Who’s going to ever sit there and say Douglas Lima is not one of the best in the world? So I don’t think he’s lost what people say he’s lost. I’m just excited to get back in there and try my hand with him.”

(MacDonald has been stopped three times vs. Carlos Condit, Lawler and Mousasi).

[lawrence-related id=592122]

Michaud thinks this is the highest profile fight of his career since MacDonald is the biggest name in the PFL’s 170-pound division. However, the MMA Lab product thinks many others may be at MacDonald’s level, skill wise.

“If I didn’t get to fight him, it would’ve been a big fight either way,” Michaud said. “I think welterweight in PFL is the deepest division and there’s a lot of really good guys. There’s a couple of guys in here still that have wins over me. There’s Magomed Magomedkerimov, the returning champ – there’s plenty of tough fighters. Rory is definitely the biggest name and it was someone I wanted to fight for sure.”

[vertical-gallery id=477026]

 

 

Fight booking wire (March 15-21): Johnny Eduardo off Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 22

Use our fight booking wire throughout the week to keep tabs on all the latest matchups in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, ONE Championship and more.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

Each week, we’ll compile all the new fight bookings right here – in one spot. Worried you missed a UFC or Bellator matchup, a playoff pairing for the PFL, or a title fight scheduled for ONE or LFA?

Our fight booking wire will keep tabs on it all and will update any time we’ve got new matchups — so you’ll want to come back throughout the week to see the latest.

Here are fight announcements that have been broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie for this week, March 15-21: