Tag: 2021 PFL Championship

2021 PFL Championship results: Movlid Khaybulaev grinds out Chris Wade to earn $1 million

Movlid Khaybulaev outwrestles Chris Wade to remain undefeated and earn $1 million in the featherweight final.

The main card opener was the third of six championship bouts on Wednesday evening, pitting [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] against Chris Wade.

With $1 million and a title on the line, there was little room for error on such a big stage. Khaybulaev (19-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 PFL) leaned on what he does best over the course of 25 minutes, grinding out Wade (20-7 MMA, 8-3 PFL) with smothering wrestling to earn the unanimous decision victory with all three judges turning in scores of 50-45.

2021 PFL Championship took place Wednesday at Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. The main card aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

The fighters spent the opening moments of the bout trying to find the range as they exchanged quick strikes. Khaybulaev would get his opponent’s attention with a hard right hand before initiating a clinch against the fence. Wade defended a couple of trip attempts and separated briefly, but Khaybulaev would engage again seconds later and complete a takedown.

Wade did well to prevent damage and brought the fight back to the feet again, but Khabuylaev took the fight to the mat again and ended up on the back until the round came to a close.

Early in the second, Wade offered an array of kicks in the center of the cage, but Khaybulaev evaded successfully. After a clinch along the fence that stalled, the two were separated by the ref. Back in space, both fighters let the strikes fly for a few moments, landing clean punches.

Khaybulaev returned to the clinch work, but Wade stifled his progress, eventually breaking free. A cut over Wade’s right eye was opened in the closing moments of the round from a knee strike.

Khaybulaev continued to keep the pressure high early in the third round by wrestling with Wade, bringing him to the canvas, and taking his back briefly. Wade would eventually reverse positions to put Khaybulaev’s back against the fence, but the clinch stalled and was broken up by the referee.

Undeterred, Khaybulaev went right back to the wrestling to score more control time until the third round came to a close.

The fourth round began just like the previous frame with Khaybulaev quickly getting control of Wade and bringing the fight to the mat. The dominant wrestling of Khaybulaev left Wade searching for answers to change the course of the fight.

Khaybulaev continued his effective gameplan in the fifth round, utilizing his wrestling skills to keep Wade neutralized. Wade threatened a tight armlock and a kneebar, but ultimately nothing would come of it, and the fight would conclude after Khaybulaev dominated the control time to earn the victory.

Khaybulaev, 31, remains undefeated through 20 professional fights. This year he defeated Lazar Stojadinovic, Lance Palmer, Brendan Loughnane, and now Wade, in route to becoming the 2021 PFL featherweight champion and taking home the $1 million prize.

For Wade, 34, his strong 2021 PFL run comes to an end in the championship bout. This season, he defeated Anthony Dizy, Arman Ospanov, and Bubba Jenkins to reach the last fight, but Khaybulaev was just too much to overcome on Wednesday evening.

The up-to-the-minute 2021 PFL Championship results include:

  • Movlid Khaybulaev def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – featherweight final
  • Antonio Carlos Junior def. Marthin Hamlet via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:49 – light heavyweight final
  • Raush Manfio def. Loik Radzhabov via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 49-46) – lightweight final
  • Jordan Young def. Omari Akhmedov via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:32
  • Julia Budd def. Kaitlin Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Don Madge def. Nathan Williams via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:15

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2021 PFL Championship results: Antonio Carlos Junior snatches choke, $1 million prize

A former UFC fighter, “Shoeface” became PFL champion Wednesday in Florida.

[autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] saw his moment to snatch a choke, and with it a $1 million prize, in the 2021 PFL light heavyweight championship bout Wednesday in Hollywood, Fla.

In front of a passionate crowd in his adopted home state of Florida, Junior (13-5) submitted Norway’s [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] (8-3) with a rear-naked choke at 3:49 of Round 1.

2021 PFL Championship took place at Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel. The main card aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

After a handful of patient sequences from both men, Junior resorted to his bread and butter: the ground game. A successful takedown attempt from “Shoeface” landed him on the back of Hamlet. As Hamlet attempted to spin out of the body lock, he stood up.

That proved to be a mistake as Junior, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt maintained control and sunk in a standing rear-naked choke. The two fighters tumbled backward and the choke became deeper. Hamlet tapped shortly thereafter.

Junior, 31, wins a PFL title and a $1 million prize in his first season with the promotion. Prior to his UFC departure in early 2021, Junior competed 13 times under the promotion’s banner and compiled a 7-5 record with one no contest.

Once in PFL, Junior defeated Tom Lawlor and competed in a “no contest” against Vinny Magalhaes which ended in a groin strike. In the opening round of the playoffs, Junior defeated Emeliano Sordi via unanimous decision.

As for Hamlet, the 29-year-old went 1-1 in the 2021 PFL regular season before he won in the playoff semifinals against Cezar Ferreira, a fight that ended in controversial fashion.

The up-to-the-minute 2021 PFL Championship results include:

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2021 PFL Championship results: Raush Manfio tops Loik Radzhabov in classic slugfest

The 2021 PFL lightweight championship bout turned in one of the promotion’s best fights of the season.

One million dollars was on the line when [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] and [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag] stepped into the 2021 PFL Championship cage Wednesday – and the two men fought like it.

With the stakes higher than ever, Manfio (15-3) and Radzhabov (15-3-1) battled it out for a full 25 minutes. Although most men had their moments, Manfio earned a unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 49-46) victory from the judges to win the 2021 PFL featherweight championship and $1 million prize.

2021 PFL Championship took place Wednesday at Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. The main card aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

For five full rounds, the two fighters slugged it out. The fight seldom hit the canvas. Instead, both men bit down on their mouthpieces and hurled punches at one another. While the fight began fairly even as each fighter connected on head and body punches as well as leg kicks, Manfio pulled away as the fight progressed.

In Round 4, Manfio really pulled away. As Radzhabov seemingly gassed, the Brazilian appeared to get stronger, faster, and more explosive. He marched down Radzhabov and landed hellacious body punches and kicks. Somehow, a scratched-up, scraped-up Radzhabov stayed in the fight – and even found a second wind in Round 5.

Both men were exhausted when the final horn sounded. The limited-attendance in-person audience went bananas as both men attempted to signal their victory but also compose themselves after the 25-minute cardio-drainer. After brief tallying from the judges, Manfio was declared the victor.

“This is a dream come true,” Manfio said in the cage after the fight. “Only God could make this in my life (and) Jesus Christ. He opened the door up and now I am here with a million dollars, more than happy to provide for my family.”

After two regular season wins against Joilton Lutterbach and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, Manfio defeated Clay Collard in the opening round of the playoffs to advance to the $1 million championship.

For the second straight season, Radzhabov finds himself one win short of a PFL championship and the $1 million prize money. In 2019, the Tajikistan fighter lost a unanimous decision to multi-time winner Natan Schulte.

The up-to-the-minute 2021 PFL Championship results include:

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2021 PFL Championship results: Julia Budd cruises, wins debut over Kaitlin Young

The former Bellator champion displayed her heavy grappling skillset in her PFL debut.

[autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] is off to a good start under the PFL banner.

At 2021 PFL Championship, Budd (16-3) made her promotional debut in a non-championship preliminary card fight against veteran pro [autotag]Kaitlin Young[/autotag] (12-12-1) and won via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

2021 PFL Championship took place Wednesday at Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. The main card aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

Using her strength and grappling in vintage fashion, Budd showed a similar dominant skillset to what she showed for much of her Bellator tenure as champion. In each round, Budd took Young to the canvas. All three rounds ended with Budd on top.

Budd’s takedowns and heavy top game were interspersed with striking exchanges. While Young landed a couple of shots, she was never able to muster up anything significant enough to earn a round on a judge’s scorecard as Budd swept with 30-27s.

The 2021 PFL Championship bout marked Budd’s promotional debut after signing with the promotion earlier this year. Budd entered PFL on back-to-back victories over Jessy Miele and Dayana Silva in Bellator and extended her winning streak to three with Wednesday’s performance.

With the defeat, Young has now lost back-to-back fights and three of her most recent five outings.

The 2021 PFL Championship results include:

  • Julia Budd def. Kaitlin Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Don Madge def. Nathan Williams via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:15

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2021 PFL Championship live and official results

Check out the results of 2021 PFL Championship taking place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

The final event of the 2021 PFL season takes place on Wednesday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and MMA Junkie will keep you updated with live results throughout the event.

The 2021 PFL Championship event features 10 fights, including all six divisional finals for a $1 million grand prize. In the main event, undefeated Kayla Harrison meets Taylor Guardado for the women’s lightweight title. And in the co-headliner, Magomed Magomedkerimov and Ray Cooper III will rematch for the welterweight title.

Full results of 2021 PFL Championship include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Kayla Harrison vs. Taylor Guardado – women’s lightweight final
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov  – welterweight final
  • Abigail Montes vs. Claressa Shields
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija – heavyweight final
  • Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Chris Wade – featherweight final

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)

  • Antonio Carlos Junior  vs. Marthin Hamlet – light heavyweight final
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Jordan Young
  • Raush Manfio vs. Loik Radzhabov – lightweight final
  • Julia Budd vs. Kaitlin Young
  • Don Madge vs. Nathan Williams

Julia Budd ‘ready to take over PFL,’ explains why signing was an easy decision

Having reached the pinnacle in Bellator, Julia Budd was ready to move on with her career.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Having reached the pinnacle in Bellator, [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] was ready to move on with her career.

A former Bellator women’s featherweight champion, Budd (15-3) decided it was time for a new chapter when she signed a contract with PFL. She will serve as an alternate for the 2021 PFL Championship and also has a fight booked against Kaitlin Young on Wednesday.

“It was an easy choice for me,” Budd told MMA Junkie at Monday’s media day. “The way that they’re doing the league is just something that’s exciting. It feels kind of like a new start for me, and I was a proud Bellator fighter for seven years, became a four-time world champion there, and I was ready for a change, and I’m ready to take over PFL.”

She continued, “It was pretty much after my last fight. We asked to be released early to get in as a potential alternate for the 2021 season. That was pretty much in May that our mind got switched to being a part of this league and seeing what we could do, and that Cyborg rematch wasn’t really being presented, and that would have been the make or break probably. But at the end of the day, this is where my path led me, and I’m just excited to be here and to be a part of this team.”

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Budd, 38, is coming off back-to-back wins since her title loss to Cris Cyborg in January 2020 at Bellator 238. She explains that the tournament format is what appealed to her most, where she doesn’t have to worry about getting fights booked.

“The league format, knowing when you’re fighting,” Budd said. “That’s huge. I heard a lot of athletes talking about that and then that end goal. Kind of like, ‘OK, I know exactly what I got to do for step one, step two, step three. Win, win, win, gain as much points as possible, and then get that championship fight at the end. I think that clear trajectory as an athlete is very exciting.”

The 2021 PFL Championship event takes place Wednesday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. The main card airs on ESPN2/ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

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2021 PFL Championship ceremonial weigh-ins live video stream (5 p.m. ET)

Check out the fighters stepping on the scale and their faceoffs at the 2021 PFL Championship ceremonial weigh-ins.

The 2021 PFL Championship ceremonial weigh-ins take place Tuesday, and you can watch a live video stream right here on MMA Junkie beginning at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

The ceremonial weigh-ins are being held at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. The same venue hosts Wednesday’s event, with a main card that airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

The 2021 PFL Championship event features 10 fights, including all six divisional finals for a $1 million grand prize. In the main event, undefeated [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] meets [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag] for the women’s lightweight title. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] and [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] will rematch for the welterweight title.

You can watch the full ceremonial weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs in the video above.

Below is the full 2021 PFL Championship lineup:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Kayla Harrison vs. Taylor Guardado – women’s lightweight final
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov – welterweight final
  • Abigail Montes vs. Claressa Shields
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija – heavyweight final
  • Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Chris Wade – featherweight final

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4:30 p.m. ET)

  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Marthin Hamlet – light heavyweight final
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Jordan Young
  • Raush Manfio vs. Loik Radzhabov –lightweight final
  • Don Madge vs. Nathan Williams
  • Julia Budd vs. Kaitlin Young

Laying the groundwork, Claressa Shields says she got better on mat for second PFL fight

The decorated boxer-turned-MMA-fighter says she might even display offensive grappling in her PFL return.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] survived on the ground long enough to capitalize on the moment in her professional MMA debut when she rallied to defeat Brittney Elkin in June.

The experience provided her with numerous pieces of information: what she did wrong, what she did right, and what she needs to do differently.

Ahead of her second pro MMA fight Wednesday at the 2021 PFL Championship event, Shields (1-0) thinks her time spent at Jackson Wink MMA in recent weeks will pay off.

“It’s always the ground game,” Shields told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight media day Monday. “It’s always adding more to my offensive arsenal. It’s not just defensive ground game but also offensive ground game stuff. Then, also, too, you’ve got to fix the mistakes that happened in the first fight.”

For the first two weeks of training camp in preparation for Abigail Montes (2-0), Shields focused on the mistakes she made the first time around. After that, it was about rounding out her game as a whole.

“(We looked at) how I could have a better IQ when they’re going for a takedown and things of that nature,” Shields said. “We fixed that first before we actually started getting ready for Abigail.”

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Known for her projected self-confidence (in addition to her decorated boxing background, of course), Shields revealed it’s not just her who thinks she’ll be better this time around. During recent Brazilian jiu-jitsu sessions, Shields has been receiving compliments from those around her.

“I was live rolling in jiu-jitsu last week and somebody was like, ‘It looks like you’re a blue belt,'” Shields said. “I was like, ‘What the hell? No, (I’m) not a blue belt. It takes three years to get there, so don’t do that.’ But I know I’m definitely learning to where I understand it, and I know what I’m doing.”

2021 PFL Championship takes place Wednesday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+.

Check out Claressa Shields’ full pre-fight comments in the video above.

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Kayla Harrison responds to Dana White: ‘I really am gonna be the greatest of all time. He’s gonna see.’

Kayla Harrison had a strong message for Dana White after the UFC boss warned about her jumping ship.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] is determined to reach the pinnacle of MMA regardless of what anyone has to say, and that includes UFC president Dana White.

Harrison, the 2019 PFL women’s lightweight champion, responded to White’s recent comments to TSN suggesting she should stay in PFL and warning her of the talent level in the UFC.

“If I was her, I’d stay right where she is and keep picking off the people over there,” White said. “… I would stay there and keep fighting the type of women she’s fighting there before I would come here and fight an Amanda Nunes. That’s for damn sure.”
White’s comments come as undefeated Harrison (11-0), who is teammates with Nunes at American Top Team, nears free agency. Harrison made it clear Monday that she’s not bothered by White’s words.

“Thanks for the advice, Uncle Dana, I appreciate you,” Harrison said. “My job is going to focus on Oct. 27. I really don’t care what other people have to say about me or my career, my choices or my options. I’m going to do what’s best for me, and that’s it.”

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The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist is not surprised to hear those comments from the UFC president. She actually expects that kind of banter from him.

“That’s what he does,” Harrison said. “That’s his job. I’m gonna talk about how I’m the greatest of all time, and he’s gonna talk about, ‘Well, calm down. No, you’re not.’ This is a game. This is a business. The difference is I really am gonna be the greatest of all time. He’s gonna see.”

Harrison faces Taylor Guardado in the main event of Wednesday’s PFL Championship at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The two are competing for the women’s lightweight title and the $1 million prize. The bout against Guardado is Harrison’s final fight on her PFL contract.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3203: Guest Kenny Florian, UFC/Bellator recaps, PFL preview, more

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,203, the fellas welcome guest [autotag]Kenny Florian[/autotag] to help break down Wednesday’s PFL Championship fights. Plus, they look back at Bellator 269 and UFC Fight Night 196 and discuss the latest MMA news.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.