Cageside Press was on-site at Madison Square Garden for the PFL 2018 Championship’s pre-fight press conference.
All 12 PFL finalists plus Kayla Harrison and her opponent Moriel Charneski were available for questions earlier today inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Kayla Harrison made it known that despite the huge fight between Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes happening this weekend, that she is, in fact, “the baddest woman on the planet.” This claim came after stating that the pressure of this fight does not nearly compare to the pressures of the Olympic stage.
Her opponent, Moriel Charneski, is used to the underdog role, having fought Rose Namajunas, Leah Letson, and Pam Sorenson in the past. However, she is “an underdog with bite.”
Vinny Maghalaes broke down how much $1,000,000 will mean to him (or something like that). The jiu-jitsu expert crunched the numbers and said after taxes and paying his team/manager, he’ll have $300,000 and $250,000 of that will go to his wife, which drew a laugh from those in attendance.
Sean O’Connell, who was on the brink of retirement after his time with the UFC came to an end last year, said 2018 was the best year of his life. In addition to making the tournament finals as a sixth seed in the light heavyweight division, O’Connell got married this year, and expanded his broadcasting career as a radio DJ with some television appearances for PFL. O’Connell was a broadcaster on a card he fought on in the regular season, and made it clear that that won’t be happening again. O’Connell added that PFL has treated him greatly, and that nobody takes care of their fighters like they do.
Headliner Ray Cooper had plenty of family and friends in attendance from Hawaii and stated that he’s enjoyed his experience in New York, aside from the cold weather.
The full seven-fight card for the PFL 2018 Championship is as follows:
- Welterweight Final: Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov
- Heavyweight Final: Josh Copeland vs. Philipe Lins
- Light Heavyweight Final: Vinny Magalhaes vs. Sean O’Connell
- Lightweight Special Bout: Kayla Harrison vs. Moriel Charneski
- Lightweight Final: Rashid Magomedov vs. Natan Schulte
- Featherweight Final: Lance Palmer vs. Steven Siler
- Middleweight Final: Abus Magomedov vs. Louis Taylor
The card takes place on New Year’s Eve at 7:00 p.m. EST inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
