Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out a live video stream of the 2024 PFL 6 ceremonial weigh-ins including featherweights and welterweights.
2024 PFL 6 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Thursday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
The weigh-ins take place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The same venue hosts Thursday’s event (ESPN/ESPN+).
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 6.
PFL champion Renan Ferreira is playing the waiting game for Francis Ngannou.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – PFL champion [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] is playing the waiting game for [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag].
Ferreira (13-3-3) is expected to welcome Ngannou (17-3) back to MMA, after the former UFC heavyweight champion laced up the boxing gloves in his two most recent fights.
“I’ve been ready for this fight ever since the Bader one was done,” Ferreira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter backstage during 2024 PFL 4. “I’ve sat down with PFL, we’ve looked at my contract, we’re passed that conversation. So, at this point, we’re just waiting on a final (word) on the date and then off we go.”
Ferreira won the 2023 PFL heavyweight title with a TKO of Denis Goltsov, and followed that up with a 21-second finish of Ryan Bader in February. He’s ready to prove he’s the No. 1 heavyweight when he collides with Ngannou.
“I feel like Francis is a big name. He’s done a lot. He has a lot of big names on his resume,” Ferreira said. “I feel like a win against him puts me at the very top.”
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Ferreira doesn’t put too much stock into Ngannou’s knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in their boxing match in March. He expects Ngannou to try and bounce back with a vengeance.
“Francis went out there and fought a specialist of the modality of boxing so, no harm there,” Ferreira said. “It’s an admirable loss. I feel like he’s now going to go back to his roots in MMA, and come with everything he’s got to go back to the winning column.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following 2024 PFL 4 and UFC on ESPN 58.
Following UFC on ESPN 58 and 2024 PFL 4, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings required updating.
The PFL event in Uncasville, Conn., saw the rapidly rising [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag] stop her opponent, Chelsea Hackett, in the first round. The undefeated flyweight is making waves and enters the honorable mentions for the first time.
In the feature bout of the UFC event in Las Vegas, undefeated flyweight [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] picked up the biggest win of his career thus far in a TKO over Alex Perez. Entering the week at No. 11, the 24-year-old from Japan leaps up to No. 7, placing him in the mix with former champions and title contenders.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
After a gruesome shot to the testicles, Tim Johnson clinched a PFL playoff spot in abrupt fashion.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Tim Johnson[/autotag] clinched a playoff spot in abrupt fashion at 2024 PFL 4.
Johnson (18-9) scored a first-round TKO of Danilo Marques on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena, but had to deal with some adversity first.
In an all-time unusual sequence, Johnson absorbed a groin shot, but tagged Marques simultaneously. This resulted in both fighters crashing to the canvas. After he utilized his time to recover, Johnson charged at Marques and dropped him with a right hand. Johnson finished Marques off moments later with ground-and-pound.
“I haven’t been hit in the groin like that ever,” Johnson told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the fight at Mohegan Sun Arena. “In practice, in a fight, that was a instant. I ate two good kicks from Danilo. He started the fight with a body kick and that really – I thought I was going to go down.
“It took a lot for me to stay on my feet. It was a instant pain, didn’t even know I rolled, didn’t even know that I landed a shot until everybody was talking about it afterwards. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. I don’t like that.”
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Johnson will meet Denis Goltsov in the 2024 PFL heavyweight semifinals. He got his wish of making the playoffs, and now hopes to have a longterm future with PFL.
Johnson parted ways with Bellator shortly before the two brands merged and was brought back for this fight as a short notice replacement.
“Hopefully no injuries or (anything) too bad and things line up score wise,” Johnson said, prior to the playoff clinch. “Maybe sneak my way into the tournament. I got to skip half of it.
“So, don’t have to wait till next season to maybe sneak my way into a million dollars. Maybe I can do it this year. Hopefully I found a home (with PFL), and I’m able to stay here. Give it actual real try one more time.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 4.
Maui native Sumiko Inaba was happy to put on for her island at 2024 PFL 4.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Sumiko Inaba[/autotag] was happy to put on for her island at 2024 PFL 4.
Inaba (7-1) defeated Saray Orozco by split decision in a flyweight bout this past Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The 33-year-old Maui-based fighter rebounded from her first-career loss to Denise Kielholtz at Bellator 301.
“It feels so good,” Inaba told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the fight at Mohegan Sun Arena. “After that last one, like, coming in here and just getting that win especially for back home. Maui’s been through a lot and I feel like we all won in that fight. … (PFL) is different from Bellator, but getting the switch up and just a whole new change and coming home with a win it feels so good.”
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Inaba is not part of this year’s tournament, but looks forward to throwing down with the flyweight talent pool next season.
“Just getting my feet wet with this one and watching the tournament play out this year, it’s amazing,” Inaba said. “There’s so many tough girls and just watching tonight play out I think it’s going to be awesome. I’m ready for the next tournament. If anything happens I’m ready to jump right back in. I’m good right now.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 4.
Taila Santos reflects on her win over Jena Bishop to advance to the women’s flyweight playoffs at 2024 PFL 4.
[autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag] admits she might’ve underestimated her opponent this past Thursday at 2024 PFL 4.
The former UFC title challenger fought and defeated Jena Bishop by split decision. Santos (21-3) had plenty of success in the first two rounds, but then was pushed in the grappling department by Bishop in the third. Although victorious and off to the playoffs, Santos didn’t expect to have that much difficulty with Bishop.
“Maybe I wasn’t considering her that high level before fighting her, but now feeling it and fighting her and understanding what she’s about, she’s one of the best out there,” Santos told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at 2024 PFL 4. “The best? We don’t know because there are some girls I haven’t fought, but for sure she’s up there.
“There’s Liz (Carmouche), Dakota (Ditcheva), who’s being pushed really hard by the PFL. We still don’t know how good she is, but similar with Jena. I wasn’t expecting her to be as good as she was.”
This is Santos’ first season with the PFL and her second bout with the promotion since leaving the UFC, surprisingly. The Brazilian is happy with her decision to part ways with the UFC.
“I don’t think there’s much of a change besides my mental well-being because here I feel a lot more comfortable compared to where I was before, and the schedule helps a lot,” Santos said. “Just knowing when you’re fighting there’s a lot more stability than where I was before and that makes a world of difference, just knowing where you’re going.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4/a>.
Liz Carmouche went above and beyond to be in the field anyway, so she wasn’t about to start resting on her laurels against Kana Watanabe.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] went a little above and beyond to be in the field anyway, so she wasn’t about to start resting on her laurels against Kana Watanabe.
Carmouche (22-7), Bellator’s women’s flyweight champion, submitted Watanabe (13-3-1) with just seven seconds left in their fight at PFL 4 this past Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. With just 3 points from her opening fight of the season, Carmouche knew the difference between a 4-point finish in the third round and a 3-point decision could be the difference between fighting for $1 million and a title in August and November, or sitting home.
“Initially, before she stood up, I felt like when she brought her hand under that she actually tapped, but I wasn’t sure if it was her trying to grab her own arm or an actual tap,” Carmouche said of her armbar finish. “I knew the ref didn’t pull me off, so I was like, ‘Whatever I have to do, I’ve got to get this arm. I’ve got to take it home with me.’ That’s all I know.
“I’ve lost so many decisions (thinking I won on) the points card, I won every element of fighting, and it still went to the other opponent. So no way was I walking out of there thinking that I won – I just knew that I had to finish that fight. And even just for my advancement, I knew how important it was to secure an actual finish.”
Had Carmouche not gotten Watanabe to tap and gone to the scorecards and lost a decision, she’d have missed the postseason. And even a mere decision win instead of the finish would have drastically reshaped the women’s flyweight playoff field.
Her 4 points for the finish meant Carmouche had 7 for the season, good for the No. 3 spot. That left Jena Bishop with 6 at No. 4 and set to take on top seed Dakota Ditcheva in the semifinals. Carmouche is matched up with No. 2 Taila Santos.
But a decision win would have meant the potential for her to be No. 4, leaving Ditcheva as her semifinal opponent instead of Santos. Ditcheva was a 40-1 favorite in her win over Chelsea Hackett to secure the top spot.
Early against Watanabe, the fight was on the canvas enough that Carmouche may have figured she’d be in for a 3-point grind.
“I always find a way,” Carmouche said. “She came out and I was like, ‘Wow, I wasn’t expecting her to shoot.’ I expected her to immediately clinch – I thought for sure that’s what she’s going for. The shot was not what I expected. I was definitely down there like, ‘Well, we weren’t really working on this.’ I’m spending way too much time thinking about ‘Wow, this is not where we’re supposed to be’ and I’m like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get your head back in this. You’ve got to do this. You came here to finish this fight and to advance in the playoffs the right way. Let’s do this. We’re not just going to be an alternate fight. We’re going there to get this belt. So come out and find a way to finish it.'”
Check out Carmouche’s full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 4.
It’s not often an upset win in a nationally televised main event is bittersweet.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – It’s not often an upset win in a nationally televised main event is bittersweet, but that’s what it likely felt like for [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] this past Thursday.
Vassell (24-9) outworked Valentin Moldavsky (13-4) in the PFL’s heavyweight headliner for a decision win and 3 points. But because he lost his first fight of the regular season, Vassell fell short of the four-man playoffs – where $1 million is up for grabs.
But Vassell said he’ll stay ready – just in case one of the fighters who did make the postseason cut winds up out come August. Stranger things have happened, particularly at heavyweight, is his theory.
And the icing on the cake was his win over Moldavsky was the rubber match in their trilogy, and he owns a pair of wins.
“We all know what happens. Heavyweights are pulling out left, right and center, aren’t they?” Vassell told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the fight at Mohegan Sun Arena. “I’m gutted that I’m not through (to the playoffs), but I’m more happy that I got the win. I finished the trilogy, so we’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks, I guess.
“I’m going to sit back, obviously enjoy my win for a little bit. I’ll go back to training. I’ve got some friends that are fighting. Muhammad Usman is fighting soon, so I’ll go back and help him. I’ve got Emiliano Sordio fighting as well. So I help my teammates out and maybe get a call from PFL. You know, we’ll see. Maybe get a superfight or something. But I’ll go back and lick my wounds for a bit and then go back to training.”
Vassell thinks if he can’t find his way into the playoffs through the back door in a fluke, the kind of “superfight” he’s thinking could be against Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, who beat Vassell in a 2017 title fight – but at light heavyweight.
“If I’m not in the tournament, then maybe Ryan comes over to PFL – could do a superfight or something like that,” Vassell said.
Check out Vassell’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 4.
Check out the video highlights from PFL Week 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The 2024 playoff push got underway in the PFL on Thursday, and the first two sets of brackets are set.
Heavyweights and women’s flyweights were on tap at PFL Week 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and the playoffs will have names both new and familiar.
Check out the video highlights from Thursday’s ESPN broadcast in the video above.
Dakota Ditcheva doesn’t put too much stock into being a massive favorite.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag] doesn’t put too much stock into being a massive favorite.
Ditcheva (12-0) secured her spot as the No. 1 seed in the women’s flyweight playoffs when she finished Chelsea Hackett (4-3-1) by Round 1 TKO in the 2024 PFL 4 co-main event Thursday at Mohegan Sun.
Ditcheva was a 40-to-1 favorite at one point during her fight vs. Hackett, but the 25-year-old thinks the odds are little over exaggerated – even though she continues to live up to the hype with her third-straight first-round finish.
“I saw the odds yesterday, and I get frustrated with it because I’m like the only fight that odds are stupid numbers,” Ditcheva told MMA Junkie and other reporters in the post-fight scrum. “MMA is a sport where one punch can change anything.
“I know Chelsea got stopped in her first fight, but she’s still a good, high-level fighter and the odds probably went against her because she’s lost before and I won so many times. My odds are just stupid.”
That being said, Ditcheva is happy to come out unscathed as she preps for a step up in competition during the playoffs. She credits Hackett for wanting to fight her.
“I’m happy with it,” Ditcheva said on her performance. “Fair play to Chelsea – not many people call out high-level people, and I’d like to say I’m a high-level fighter. So fair play to her for being a game fighter.
“But I’m not really surprised by the performance, to be honest. I feel like I always take every opponent serious and some people, I think, underestimate me. I don’t know why. But I’m happy with it anyway.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4.
