Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from the 2022 PFL 4 ceremonial weigh-ins in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from the 2022 PFL 4 ceremonial weigh-ins and the fighter faceoffs. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL)
Check out the weigh-in results of 2022 PFL 1 in Arlington, Texas.
Fighters competing in the 2022 PFL season opener stepped on the scale Tuesday to record their official weight for their bouts.
The 10-fight 2022 PFL 1 card takes place Wednesday at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The first week will see lightweights and light heavyweights compete as they aim to get a strong start to the new season. [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (20-9) takes on [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (28-19) in the main event. The co-main will see 2021 PFL lightweight champion [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] (15-3) against [autotag]Don Madge[/autotag] (10-3-1). Representing the light heavyweights in the feature bout, 2021 PFL champion [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (13-5) will face [autotag]Delan Monte[/autotag] (8-1).
All fighters competing on Wednesday made weight with no issues, kicking off the season with a smooth start on the scales.
The full 202 PFL 1 weigh-in results are below:
Main Card (ESPN, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
Preliminary card (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)
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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.
#ANDNOW PFL LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!! SHOEFACE GETS IT DONE IN THE 1ST ROUND!#PFLChampionship LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN+
🌍 https://t.co/WfOt9XBfzk pic.twitter.com/jsLyYhbAw2— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 27, 2021
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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Watch the pre-fight staredowns from the 2021 PFL Championship weigh-ins in Hollywood, Fla.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] might’ve done her final PFL staredown.
The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and 2019 PFL champion squared off for the last time against her opponent [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag] following Tuesday’s weigh-ins for 2021 PFL Championship. The two competitor are set to meet in the main event of Wednesday’s 2021 PFL Championship. They fight for the women’s lightweight title along with the $1 million prize.
Harrison (11-0) is set to become a free agent following her fight with Guardado. She has yet to revel wether she’ll re-sign with PFL or go else where.
The main card for PFL Championship airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ at 8:00 p.m. ET following the prelims on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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Additionally other 18 fighters faced off including five other title bouts and four non-championship fights.
The staredowns include [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] (welterweight final), [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] (heavyweight final), [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (featherweight final), [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] (light heavyweight final), [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag] (lightweight final).
Check out the pre-fight faceoffs in the video above.
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Check out the faceoffs from the 2021 PFL Championship press conference on Wednesday.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The finalists for the 2021 PFL season got a good look at each other on Wednesday afternoon.
Ten of the 12 finalists faced off at the pre-fight press conference ahead of their respective title bouts at the 2021 PFL Championship on Oct. 27 in Hollywood, Fla.
Ray Cooper III was unable to attend the press conference in person due to travel issues, thus why there was no staredown with Magomed Magomedkerimov.
The following matchups had staredowns on Wednesday: [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag], [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag], [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Antonio Carlos Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag], [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag].
You can watch the full staredowns in the video above.
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Hear from all the 2021 PFL Championship finalists at the pre-fight press conference.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The PFL’s 2021 season is almost over as its championship finale is set to go down next month.
The event takes place on Oct. 27 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It features six championship fights, plus three non-title bouts.
You can watch the pre-event news conference for the 2021 PFL Championship on MMA Junkie today at 5 p.m. ET.
Expected to take part are PFL president Ray Sefo, as well as [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag], [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag], [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag], [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Carlos Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag], [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag], [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag], and [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag].
Watch the pre-fight press conference live stream in the video above.
According to a fellow UFC alum, Cezar Ferreira entered the PFL Playoffs with a visible injury.
One half of the 2021 PFL Playoffs light heavyweight bracket concluded in unfortunate fashion Friday.
Following a one-hour delay due to the ESPN broadcast of a high school football game, the 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 main card kicked off with UFC alum [autotag]Cezar Ferreira[/autotag] against rising Norwegian [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag].
On the first kick he threw, Ferreira (14-10) clutched the back of his other leg, and crumpled to the canvas. Injured and on his back, Ferreira covered up as best he could but the fight was waved off by the referee.
A mix of disappointment and excitement, a confused Hamlet (8-2) celebrated with his team before he expressed his lack of pride in the method of his victory.
.@Marthinhamlet is heading to the #PFLChampionship!
Wishing a speedy recovery to @cezarmutante #PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/UjqCUTHC1b
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 28, 2021
Shortly after the result was announced in the cage, PFL fighter [autotag]Chris Camozzi[/autotag] accused Ferreira of a dive. Camozzi competed in a prelim showcase matchup earlier on the card when he defeated Cory Hendricks.
“Huh,” Camozzi wrote in a tweet. “That’s a dive by Cezar. I saw him at the weigh-ins, black and purple leg. My coaches saw it too. He showed up for a show paycheck @PFLMMA can’t believe they cleared him to fight.”
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Follow along with live and official results of 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 featuring Brendan Loughnane vs. Movlid Khaybulaev in the main event.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 takes place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday and you can follow along with live and official results on MMA Junkie.
The main card airs on ESPN 2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET following prelims exclusively on ESPN+ starting at 7 p.m. ET.
The final week of the PFL Playoffs will determine the finalists for the featherweight and light heavyweight seasons.
In the main event, [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (21-3) takes on undefeated [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] (17-0-1) in a semifinal matchup of the 145-pound season. The other semifinal bout takes place in the co-main event, as former UFC fighter [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (19-6) takes on [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (16-4).
The semifinals of the PFL light heavyweight season take place on the main card with [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (11-5) taking on 2019 PFL champion Emiliano Sordi (23-8-1), and [autotag]Cezar Ferreira[/autotag] (14-9) facing [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] (7-2).
The full 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 results are below:
Main Card (ESPN2, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
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Watch the 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 weigh-ins live at 5:00 p.m. ET.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The last week of the 2021 PFL playoffs is underway, and you catch the weigh-ins for the event on MMA Junkie.
All 20 competitors are set to step on the scale to make the required limit for their respective bouts at Thursday’s 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 weigh-ins at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
In the main event, Brendan Loughnane takes on undefeated Movlid Khaybulaev in a semifinal matchup of the featherweight season. The other bout of the 145-pounds season goes down in the co-main event, as former UFC fighter Chris Wade takes on Bubba Jenkins.
Additionally, the semifinals of the PFL light heavyweight season go down on the main card with Antonio Carlos Junior taking on 2019 PFL champion Emiliano Sordi, and Cezar Ferreira facing Marthin Hamlet.
Watch the live weigh-ins in the video above.
Main Card (ESPN2, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
Preliminary card (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Check out the video highlights from Thursday’s 2021 PFL 5, where the postseason was cemented at welterweight and light heavyweight.
The PFL returned Thursday with postseason spots on the line in the welterweight and light heavyweight divisions.
There was a big surprise in the 2021 PFL 5 main event when [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] upset former Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] with a split decision. MacDonald derided the result as a robbery after the fight – but courtesy of a first-round finish in his first fight of the season, he still had enough points to reach the playoffs despite the loss. Tibau’s win was worth 3 points, which wasn’t enough to make the postseason.
[autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] found himself in an interesting situation, too. He took a unanimous decision from [autotag]Nikolay Aleksakhin[/autotag] in the welterweight co-main event – but couldn’t earn any points in the standings because he missed weight. In fact, he was docked a point for that infraction. But because not enough fighters below him in the standings did enough to pass him, he still will fight in the four-man bracket to go after a second $1 million prize.
Joining MacDonald (6 points) and Cooper (5) in the welterweight postseason will be top seed [autotag]Joan Zeferino[/autotag] (8) and No. 4 seed [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] (5).
In light heavyweight fights on the main card, [autotag]Chris Camozzi[/autotag] upset [autotag]Cezar Ferreira[/autotag]. But Ferreira’s 6-point finish in his first fight remained enough to get him to the postseason, and Camozzi’s 3 points from his unanimous decision wasn’t enough to get him in after a loss in his opening fight. And [autotag]Emiliano Sordi[/autotag] fought to a draw with [autotag]Dan Spohn[/autotag], worth just 1 point each. But that was enough to give Sordi 4 points – and a tiebreaker over Cory Hendricks, who had a 4-point finish of [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] on the prelims.
Despite the loss, Hamlet still made the playoffs with 5 points. Joining him are [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (7) atop the 205-pound table, Ferreira (6) and Sordi (4).
Check out the highlights from 2021 PFL 5Â in the video above.
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