PFL 3 was another solid night of action for the fledgling Professional Fighters League. Be sure to check out highlights of the action from Washington, D.C. below!
The Professional Fighters League debuted the final two weight classes of its 2018 season on Thursday night at PFL 3. Those were welterweight and middleweight, arguably two of the deeper divisions in MMA. There were some particularly big names at 170lbs hitting the cage, including former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger Jake Shields, UFC standout Rick Story, plus Abubakar Nurmagomedov, cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Yet while all three were considered top picks to capture the crown come season’s end (plus the playoffs, of course), only one of the three had his hand raised on Thursday. That was Rick Story, as ‘The Horror’ made it a horrible night for opponent Yuri Villefort.
Shields, meanwhile, found himself finished by Ray Cooper III, son of Ray Cooper Jr., who Shields twice fought earlier in his career. The biggest upset, however, was seeing Abubakar Nurmagomedov finished by Pavel Kusch. That very easily served as the upset of the evening.
The evening was not without its share of controversy, either. Andre Lobato was announced the winner of his bout against Rex Harris, and was partway through a post-fight interview with Bas Rutten when a scoring error was proclaimed. Rex Harris was then awarded the win by split decision, a horrible error that was no doubt crushing to Lobato.
Check out the scorecard for the bout:
Meanwhile, a gallery of the night’s action is available below!
