Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
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 your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 12-18.
After a vicious first-round finish, heavyweight Abraham Bably was voted by fans and a celebrity panel to take the PFL contract.
The PFL’s Challenger Series returned for the third week of 2023, with athletes gunning for a PFL contract that could either serve as a developmental deal or earn them a spot directing into the regular season to compete for its $1 million prize.
2023 PFL Challenger Series 3 took place Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and aired live on fubo Sports Network. The event featured four heavyweight bouts.
The big men brought the pain throughout the card. Louie Sutherland and Abraham Bably finished their opponents with vicious strikes, while Danilo Marques put his opponent to sleep. In the lone decision of the evening, Isaiah Pinson emerged victorious after a back-and-forth three-round war.
After the conclusion of the bouts, the four winners were narrowed down to Sutherland and Bably to determine which fighter would be awarded a PFL contract with the help of a live fan vote.
The celebrity panel this week consisted of Olympic Gold Medalist and WWE superstar Kurt Angle, along with former UFC champions Vitor Belfort and Frank Mir. The panel, along with the fans, chose Bably, awarding the first contract winner of the 2023 series that did not require a tie-breaking vote from Ray Sefo.
Official results for 2023 PFL Challenger Series 3 include:
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The lineup is set for the PFL’s third and final set of playoff fights next month in London.
The lineup is set for the PFL’s third and final set of playoff fights next month in London.
Two-time women’s lightweight season winner and No. 2 seed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (14-0) will headline the card against No. 3 [autotag]Martina Jindrova[/autotag] (6-2) in one of two semifinal fights in the division.
The other half of the bracket features No. 1 [autotag]Larisa Pacheco[/autotag] (17-4) vs. No. 4 [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (7-4). Pacheco, who lost to Harrison in the 2019 final, finished both her regular season fights in the first round for 12 points to earn the top seed. Harrison and Jindrova finished the regular season with 9 points, while Kolesnyk had 6 for the fourth playoff spot.
The event also features the two semifinal playoff bouts at featherweight. No. 1 seed [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (22-7) takes on No. 4 [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (22-7) and No. 2 [autotag]Ryoji Kudo[/autotag] (11-3-1) meets No. 3 [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (18-5).
The PFL’s third set of playoff fights take place Aug. 20 at Copper Box Arena in London. The four-fight main card of playoff matchups airs on ESPN. A four-fight set of prelims and four fights after the main card stream on ESPN+.
The playoffs open two weeks prior in New York with lightweights and light heavyweights. Then welterweights and heavyweights meet Aug. 13 in Cardiff, Wales.
“Heading to London is huge for the expansion of the league,” PFL president Ray Sefo stated. “We are bringing our brand of MMA to the U.K. and I’m sure they are going to be as excited as I am to see elite fighters like Kayla Harrison, Chris Wade and Brendan Loughnane compete with so much on the line.”
Harrison won the second of her two judo Olympic gold medals at the 2012 Games in London. Now she returns to the city a decade later.
In addition, the PFL announced the signing of muay Thai standout Dakota Ditcheva (5-0), a prized free agent from Manchester, England. The three-time muay Thai world champion is unbeaten early in her MMA career and is considered one of the sport’s top female prospects. Her mother, Lisa Howarth, was a world kickboxing champion.
“We are excited to add Dakota to the global PFL talent roster,” Sefo stated. “Dakota’s outstanding skill set and ability, along with her natural charisma, fit perfectly with the PFL brand of MMA. We believe the PFL is uniquely placed to take her journey forward on a global scale. Coming from a line of elite muay Thai practitioners, we have confidence in Dakota to go to the very top with the PFL and continue her family’s legacy.”
The PFL 2022 Playoffs 3 card includes:
POSTLIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
MAIN CARD (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
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