PFL 3 2021 Full Card Announced, Including Werdum’s Debut, Harrison’s Return

Kayla Harrison, PFL star, at Invicta FC 43
Kayla Harrison vs. Courtney King Credit: Dave Mandel/Invicta FC

The PFL’s 2021 schedule continues to fill out, with the full card for this year’s PFL 3 revealed on Tuesday. Among the notable names in action, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, who headlines the card opposite Renan Ferreira.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Olympic gold medalist and last year’s women’s lightweight winner, Kayla Harrison, will return to action against Mariana Morais.

Werdum (24-9-1) had two runs with the UFC, and also competed for both Pride and Strikeforce. The Brazilian grappling standout won the UFC heavyweight title in 2015, in what was widely considered a massive upset against Cain Velasquez. “Vai Cavalo” had entered the fight as an interim champ, after finishing Mark Hunt in his previous fight.

While Werdum would lose the title in his first attempt to defend it, that loss looks a little better in hindsight, given it came against Stipe Miocic. Werdum is 4-3 since losing his belt, a stretch which included a lengthy suspension from USADA. In his last outing, in July 2020, the former champ defeated Alexander Gustafsson via arm-bar.

Renan Ferreira (6-2), a fellow Brazilian, serves as the other half of the main event. He last competed in August 2019, picking up a win over current UFC heavyweight Jared Vanderaa.

Harrison (8-0) fought once in 2020, competing outside of the PFL for the very first time. On loan as the promotion shut down for the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Harrison instead competed for Invicta FC, where she virtually slaughtered Courtney King in a bloodbath last November.

The judoka had been scheduled to compete for Titan FC in December, but a bad weight cut led to the hospitalization of opponent Jozette Cotton. Harrison will face Mariana Morais (16-10) at PFL 3. The Brazilian will be making her promotional debut, and has won three straight.

This year’s PFL 3 card will take place May 6 at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. All six regular season events will be held at the venue.

PFL 3 2021 Full Card

ESPN 2 Card

Fabricio Werdum vs. Renan Ferreira
Kayla Harrison vs. Mariana Morais
Ali Isaev vs. Hatef Moeil
Genah Fabian vs. Laura Sanchez

ESPN+ Card

Mohammed Usman vs Brandon Sayles
Denis Goltsov vs. Justin Willis
Larissa Pacheco vs. Julija Pajic
Ante Delija vs. Bruno Cappelozza
Cindy Dandois vs. Kaitlin Young
Olena Kolesnyk vs. Taylor Guardado