Two-time champion Kayla Harrison went (virtually) face-to-face with her new opponent Aspen Ladd who it was announced was replacing Julia Budd last week.  While the other featherweights on the call had plenty to say to each other, Ladd and Harrison were cordial and never met in a war of words during the call.

Harrison, who will be making her first appearance of 2023, took the time to explain what the last twelve months outside of the cage has been like for her after having been an active competitor going back to her time as an Olympic hopeful.  An outspoken survivor of sexual abuse, Harrison has recently used her platform on social media to bring attention back to her book Fighting Back and to promote her charitable organization, The Fearless Foundation, which helps survivors of sexual abuse.

“I also believe that everything happens for a reason and I’ve been given this platform for a reason. To not use it to make a difference in the world would be a crime.  So I do want to shine a light on what child sexual abuse is. I do want to help make a difference in people’s lives and I do want to help kids not only survive but thrive and overcome. I want them to know most importantly that they’re not alone.”

Also on the call was lightweight standout Clay Collard who missed the last call where he would have been opposite defending champion Olivier Aubin-Mericier ahead of the final.  Collard, who had been eliminated from the playoffs last year, discussed the opportunity to be the one to hand Aubin-Mercier his first loss in the PFL cage.

“I just gotta be me man.  I’ve been calling it since the beginning of the year that it was going to be me and him in the finals. I’ve got my eye on him. I’ve got him figured out and I think I’m the man to beat him. I’ve just gotta be me.”

Kicking off the conversation were featherweight rivals Bubba Jenkins and Chris Wade who will meet for the third time in their careers.  The pair have split their first two meetings with Wade winning their first matchup in 2021 while Jenkins eliminated Wade from the tournament in their meeting last year.  Jenkins in particularly wasted little time in stoking the flames for the trilogy in stating:

“I’m completely focused on (Wade) for this fight.  Next time you all want to do an interview with us together maybe call me after he’s done because I can not stand hearing this dude’s voice talk.  He is a terrible interview and this is dry and I’m already ready to go to sleep.”

The PFL World Championships will take place on November 24 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

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The 2023 PFL Championship takes place Friday, November 24 at The Anthem in Washington D.C., with six title fights closing out the league’s 2023 season. In addition, Kayla Harrison is set to make her return, taking on Julia Budd.

In a press release distributed Wednesday, league officials announced that amateur standout and grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Biaggio Ali Walsh, was set to return. With a 5-1 record as an amateur, Ali Walsh has won all four of his bouts inside the PFL SmartCage to date. He’s set to take on the undefeated Joel Galarza Lopez as part of prelim action on the November card.

Also added to the final PFL card of 2023 is the third bout in the grudge match between Chris Wade (23-10) and Bubba Jenkins (21-7). Wade won the first meeting between the pair in 2021, claiming a decision in a semifinal match-up that landed him a spot in that year’s featherweight championship fight. The duo would miss each other in 2022, but collided in the 2023 regular season, with Jenkins this time coming away with a decision victory.

Despite that, it was Wade who advanced into the post-season, only to be eliminated by Gabriel Braga.

Also announced for the PFL Championship preliminary card, Khai Wu vs. Phil Caracappa at bantamweight, and Jesse Stirn vs. Josh Blyden at featherweight. The full card as currently announced breaks down as follows:

Main Card

• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Clay Collard — for the PFL Lightweight Championship
• Denis Goltsov vs. Renan Ferreira — for the PFL Heavyweight Championship
• Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina — for the PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship
• Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd
• Sadibou Sy vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov — for the PFL Welterweight Championship
• Gabriel Braga vs. Jesus Pinedo — for the PFL Featherweight Championship
• Joshua Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay — for the PFL Light Heavyweight Championship

Preliminary Card

• Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Joel Lopez
• Bubba Jenkins vs. Chris Wade
• Khai Wu vs. Phil Caracappa
• Jesse Stirn vs. Josh Blyden

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The San Antonio-based card saw longtime PFL vet Chris Wade paired up with Brazil’s Gabriel Braga, with the pair leaving it to the judges — and the judges leaving just about everyone wondering what fight they had watched. Following three hard-fought, closely contested rounds, a split decision was rendered, with scores of 30-27 for Braga, 30-27 for Wade, and 29-28 for the eventual winner, Braga.

That two judges in Texas watched fights that were apparently diametrically opposed would be surprising if it weren’t for the ongoing issues with judging in the sport. Close fights should be close, and split decisions will happen. Contrasting scorecards like that are another matter.

One fight later, #1 light heavyweight seed Josh Silveira made sure the judges were not required. Towards the end of the opening round of his semifinal with Ty Flores, Silveira initiated a clinch that allowed him to fire knee after knee until Flores was simply done; at least six knees landed before it came to an end. The son of American Top Team coach Conan Silveira was eliminated in the semifinal round a year ago; this year, the former LFA double champ has landed in the million dollar finale, opposite Kasanganay.

Likewise, Jesus Pinedo left nothing to chance in his PFL 7 main event scrap with Bubba Jenkins, the second featherweight semifinal of the event. Pinedo, who had missed weight for the fight, rocked Jenkins repeatedly in the opening round. It was only being saved by the bell after being dropped that allowed Jenkins to make it back to his corner. The battering would continue in the second, but a key reversal on the ground allowed Bubba to get on top — for a time anyway. Back on the feet, Pinedo would again begin lighting up the American wrestler, with the ref eventually waving off the fight as Jenkins stumbled and struggled to avoid taking damage.

Your first two 2023 PFL finals are set as follows:

• Josh Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay — light heavyweight
• Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga — featherweight

The post Judges Get Wacky in Braga-Wade, But Featherweight, Light Heavyweight Finals Set Following PFL 7 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The event features both the featherweight and light heavyweight semifinals, with the possibility of a third showdown between Jenkins and Chris Wade looming at 145lbs. In the light heavyweight division, meanwhile, American Top Team standout Josh Silveira was in action, paired up with Ty Flores, while former UFC middleweight Impa Kasanganay looked to continue his Cinderella story against Marthin Hamlet.

In non-playoff action, Bellator vet Keoni Diggs was paired up with Elvin Espinoza, while UFC alum Anthony Ivy was set to face Carson Hardman.

Full results from the 2023 PFL 7 official weigh-in, which took place Thursday in San Antonio, can be found below.

Main event featherweight Jesus Pinedo came in over the 146lb cutoff for his fight with Bubba Jenkins during Thursday’s official weigh-in, per PFL officials. Keoni Diggs also hit the scales at 156.4 for his lightweight bout.

PFL 7: Jenkins vs. Pinedo Weigh-In Results

Main card

Featherweight: Bubba Jenkins (145.8) vs. Jesus Pinedo (146.4)* — semifinal bout
Light Heavyweight: Josh Silveira (204) vs. Ty Flores (205) — semifinal bout
Featherweight: Gabriel Alves Braga (145.8) vs. Chris Wade (146) — semifinal bout
Light Heavyweight: Marthin Hamlet (206) vs. Impa Kasanganay (203.8) — semifinal bout
Lightweight: Elvin Espinoza (155.6) vs. Keoni Diggs (156.4)**

Preliminary card

Welterweight: Thad Jean (171) vs. Ali Omar (171)
Women’s Flyweight: Desiree Yanez (125) vs. Lisa Mauldin (125.2)
Welterweight: Anthony Ivy (171) vs. Carson Hardman (168.2)
Women’s Flyweight: Chelsea Hackett (125.8) vs. Ky Bennett (124.8)
Light Heavyweight: Billy Elekana (205.4) vs. Chuck Campbell (205.8)

* Pinedo misses weight, bout moves forward at a catchweight with Pinedo forfeiting 20% of his purse

** Diggs misses weight, bout moves forward at a catchweight with Pinedo forfeiting 20% of his purse

The post 2023 PFL 7: Jenkins vs. Pinedo Weigh-In Results — Two Fighters Heavy, Including Headliner appeared first on Cageside Press.

Taking place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, PFL 4 is a new look card at least where the light heavyweight division was concerned. The weight class was decimated by drug test failures stemming from the promotion’s first three events in Nevada in April, with defending champ Rob Wilkinson, Thiago Santos, Krzysztof Jotko, and Will Fleury among those hit with suspensions and out of the season.

On the flip side, featherweight came out of that carnage relatively unscathed, with top talents like returning champ Brendan Loughnane, fellow former 145lb champion Movlid Khaybulaev, Chris Wade, and Bubba Jenkins all set to carry on in the tournament.

Weigh-ins for the 2023 PFL 4 card take place Wednesday in Atlanta, full results can be found below.

2023 PFL 4: Loughnane vs. Pinedo Weigh-In Results

Main card

Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane (146) vs. Jesus Pinedo (146)
Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (146) vs. Tyler Diamond (145.8)
Light Heavyweight: Marthin Hamlet (205.8) vs. Sam Kei (206)
Featherweight: Bubba Jenkins (146) vs. Sung Bin Jo (145.8)
Light Heavyweight: Josh Silveira (205.6) vs. Delan Monte (205.8)

Preliminary card

Featherweight: Gabriel Alves Braga (144.4) vs. Marlon Moraes (145.6)
Light Heavyweight: Daniel Spohn (206) vs. Ty Flores (211.2)*
Featherweight: Chris Wade (145.4) vs. Ryoji Kudo (145.6)
Light Heavyweight: Impa Kasanganay (204) vs. Tim Caron (205)
Light Heavyweight: Andrew Sanchez (205.6) vs. Taylor Johnson (205.2)
Women’s Featherweight: Abigail Montes (145.8) vs. Brandy Hester (145)
Featherweight: Alexei Pergande (145.8) vs. Akeem Bashir (146)

*Flores missed weight by 5.2 pounds. Fight will go on, but Flores docked a point in the standings.

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“I miss them so much. It was amazing to compete so close to home, to have all my people there, to drive to my fight. It was an experience that I’ll never forget,” Wade (22-9) told Cageside Press in a recent interview, asked about the 2018 and 2019 east coast trips the promotion made. “I thought we’d come back around over here, be a little closer, come back to the island but it’s been a few years since we have.”

Instead of Long Island or even Atlantic City, the PFL will be back in Atlanta, Georgia at the Overtime Elite Arena early next month, with the 2023 PFL 4 card kicking off the second half of the league’s regular season. Wade is matched up with Ryoji Kudo, who was a virtual unknown until he knocked out Alejandro Flores to make the post season last year.

“I’m expecting more of the same. More of what we saw in that fight with Flores,” Wade said regarding his match-up with the Japanese featherweight. “He’s the kind of guy that, for him to be successful, he’s got to come forward, he’s got to blitz you, and he’s got to try to finish you with that right hand or that left hook. He’s not really the fanciest fighter, but he’s a tough, tough dude and he’s going to swing. He knows he needs points, he knows he needs to swing, and I expect him to try to do so.”

“With that being said, there’s opportunity in the fire. So for me, I’m looking at it like, he’s got to take a bunch of risks as well and he’s going to be leaving himself open plenty of times to also be hurt.”

While Kudo needs points to make it to the playoffs, so does Chris Wade himself. “The Long Island Killer” has made it to at least the semifinals in every single PFL season, and in 2021 went to the featherweight final. This year, however, he’s on the bubble.

“When you get put in this situation, you say ‘unfortunately’ but it is what it is. It’s the reality,” said Wade, who plans on a fast start against Kudo with an eye on scoring six points. “We both have to go in there and look for bonus points. The game plan does have to be structured around that. I have to be ready and prepared to sprint right out of the gate. I’m looking at this fight as a five minute fight. it’s a one-round, five minute fight with a couple five minute extensions attached to it.”

And so Wade will “be prepared to step on that gas pedal for the entire first five minutes. And if he survives it somehow, just leave nothing left of him so that hopefully you can put it away in the second right away.”

In his first fight of 2023, Wade dropped a unanimous decision to rival Bubba Jenkins, evening their career series at 1-1. It was an off night, with the fighter beset with issues outside the cage leading into the bout. But what fans see, of course, is only the end result, not the work that goes into a fight.

“Everything is magnified in fighting. Fighting is the hardest thing to do in the world. I wrestled, and I can even tell you, everyone’s like ‘wrestling is the toughest thing you could do.’ No, it isn’t,” Wade observed. “Wrestling is tough, but even in wrestling, if you had that bad tournament, if you had that bad match, if your personal life has effected that for whatever reason, two or three weeks later, you can easily get it right at a different tournament and you can avenge that loss a lot of times immediately. In the fight game, you get to compete quarterly at best, and a lot of times you never even get to cross that same athlete again. They just think they have your number for the rest of time after that.”

It’s a similar situation with the fans as well, added Wade. “It almost becomes this case of ‘well, sucks for them’ because it’s so long in between that they don’t care to even think about that.” A pitcher in baseball going through “sh*t at home” can get absolutely shelled and give up seven runs, and everybody forgets quickly, noted Wade. “In fighting, they always remember until you get back in there and you prove them wrong.”

Watch our full interview with 2023 PFL 4’s Chris Wade above. Wade faces Ryoji Kudo at the event at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, GA.

The post 2023 PFL 4: Chris Wade Sees “Opportunity in the Fire” Against Ryoji Kudo appeared first on Cageside Press.

The London, England-based card featured both the women’s lightweight and men’s featherweight semifinals. And while Harrison was a heavy favorite on the ladies side, she was not the number one seed in the tournament.

Instead, that honor went to Larissa Pacheco, who had twice fallen to Harrison in past seasons. Pacheco faced Ukraine’s Olena Kolesnyk at PFL 9 in one semifinal, while Harrison was booked opposite #3 seed Martina Jindrova.

On the featherweight side of things, a competitive playoff crop saw Chris Wade facing England’s own Brendan Loughnane. In the other semifinal fight, PFL staple Bubba Jenkins was up against Ryoji Kudo. Japan’s Kudo had been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, knocking out Alejandro Flores to make the playoffs, after putting up a good fight against Loughnane earlier in the year.

PFL 9: Harrison vs. Jindrova goes down Saturday, August 20, 2022 at the Copperbox Arena in London, England. Full results from the event can be found below.

PFL 9: Harrison vs. Jindrova Weigh-In Results

Late Card (ESPN+)

Marcin Held def. Myles Price by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 2:37 – Lightweight Showcase Bout
Abraham Bably def. Louie Sutherland by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – 2023 PFL Europe Qualifiers – Heavyweight
Magnus Iversen def. Tayo Odunjo by TKO, Round 1, 4:36  – 2023 PFL Europe Qualifiers – Welterweight
Ali Taleb def. Darius Mafi by technical submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 1:58 – 2023 PFL Europe Qualifiers – Bantamweight

Main Card (ESPN)

#2 Kayla Harrison def. #3 Martina Jindrova by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 3:17 – 2022 Women’s Lightweight Semifinal
#4 Brendan Loughnane def. #1 Chris Wade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – 2022 Featherweight Semifinal
#1 Larissa Pacheco def. #4 Olena Kolesnyk by TKO, Round 1, 2:09 – 2022 Women’s Lightweight Semifinal
#3 Bubba Jenkins def. #2 Ryoji Kudo by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:49  – 2022 Featherweight Semifinal
Dakota Ditcheva def. Hassna Jaber by KO (knee to the body), Round 1, 0:58 – 2023 PFL Europe Qualifiers – Women’s Flyweight

Early Card (ESPN+)

Simeon Powell def. Joao Paulo Fagundes by TKO (leg kicks), Round 2, 1:56 – Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout
Stuart Austin def. Sofiane Boukichou by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) – Heavyweight Showcase Bout
Zebenzui Ruiz def. Raphael Uchegbu by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) – Bantamweight Swing bout
Aleksandrs Čhižhovs def. Omar Hussein by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:12

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Early on during a head-to-head interview with the media on Tuesday, a question was posed to the featherweight pair about whether they’d share a beer after their fight.

“Nah, I don’t like this guy mate,” Loughnane shot back immediately. “There’ll be no f*cking beers or brews for him.”

Wade was on a similar page. “It’s not too often that I become friendly with the guys that I compete with,” the American stated. “It’s not something I feel is important in fighting.”

That was the start to a number of back-and-forth exchanges. But before things completely devolved, Wade summed up the situation rather succinctly.

“Calling it personal and then calling it fighting, I think they’re very close things,” Wade explained. “Listen, we both want the same thing. We want that belt, we want that strap, we’re in each other’s way. So you’re damn right it’s personal. I’ve got a family over here, he’s got a family over there. He thinks he’s the man and that he’s the best, I disagree. I think it’s my division.”

Wade has made it known that he has some issues surrounding both his pay with the PFL, and the fact that he missed out on a chance to fight at home in New York as part of last week’s card. Instead, he’ll head to London to face Loughnane, which puts Wade in enemy territory.

The American believes the league gave Loughnane an easy path to fighting at home. “The last fight [Loughnane had], they had to sign a guy that was 0-2 in his last two fights so that they could make sure this guy gets a win, so that he’s actually here to perform,” claimed Wade. “Because otherwise, it was probably going to be [Sheymon] Moraes.”

Loughnane pointed out that his original opponent had pulled out on three day’s notice. “Do I pick my opponents?” the Brit questioned.

“I think you might,” Wade shot back, adding that Loughnane had claimed earlier in the year that he would face Wade then. “In two years, you haven’t fought [Lance] Palmer, you haven’t fought Bubba [Jenkins], you haven’t fought me. How’d you pull that off, Brendan?”

“The guy I fought is in the semifinal,” Loughnane replied. Ryoji Kudo, who Loughnane defeated during the regular season, is indeed in the playoffs. He faces Bubba Jenkins in the other semifinal match-up.

If the distaste for one another wasn’t clear, Wade underscored it moments later.

“Something that you don’t understand, you’re playing on like ‘oh he’s whining,’ this and that. My money stuff with the PFL, that’s got nothing to do with you. I will f*cking fight you for free in the road, do you understand me?” he fired at Loughnane. “In the road. I will fight you with nobody watching. And whoever comes out, they hang out at the bar and have drinks. If you want it, let’s change the rules. You want to change the rules? Let’s throw soccer kicks at each other when we’re down. Let’s throw elbows. Let’s do it.”

There will be no soccer kicks, nor elbows (the PFL does not allow them during tournaments), but there should be a heated fight between Chris Wade and Brendan Loughnane come PFL 9 on August 20.

The post PFL 9: Bad Blood Palpable Ahead of Chris Wade-Brendan Loughnane Semifinal Showdown appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Professional Fighters League hits up the Copper Box Arena in London on August 20, 2022 with the third of three playoff cards that also sees stops in New York City and Cardiff, Wales.

However although the two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion will get top billing, Harrison doesn’t top the leader board at 155 pounds this year. That honor goes to Larissa Pacheco, who earned two first-round stoppages this season and 12 points in the process.

Harrison (13-0) went to a decision in her first fight of the year against Marina Mokhnatkina, before pummelling Kaitlin Young to earn a first-round TKO at PFL 6 earlier this month. That leaves Harrison with nine points, and has earned her a semifinal match-up with Martina Jindrova (6-2). Like Harrison herself, Jindrova earned nine points in the 2022 regular season.

Pacheco (17-4), meanwhile, is paired up with Ukraine’s Olena Kolesnyk (7-4), who went 2-0 in 2022 with two decisions. That’s a drastic improvement for the 32-year old “Cannon,” who went 0-2 last year.

The mean’s featherweight semifinals, also taking place in London on August 20, will see Brendan Loughnane up against Chris Wade, while Ryoji Kudo draws Bubba Jenkins.

PFL officials announced the full London card on Wednesday, with the following fights set:

• Kayla Harrison vs. Martina Jindrova
• Chris Wade vs. Brendan Loughnane
• Larisa Pacheco vs. Olena Kolesnyk
• Ryoji Kudo vs. Bubba Jenkins
• Dakota Ditcheva vs. Hassna Gaber
• Louie Sutherland vs. Abraham Bably
• Tayo Odunjo vs. Magnus Onyeka
• Ali Taleb vs. Kenji Bortoluzzi
• Simeon Powell vs. Nemanja Uveric
• Stuart Austin vs. Sofiane Boukichou
• Marcin Held vs. Myles Price
• Aleksandrs Chizovs vs. TBA

The post Kayla Harrison Leads the Way in Third PFL 2022 Playoffs Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Two-time champ Lance Palmer had been left out of the playoffs last year. Wade, formerly a lightweight, had reached new heights — but had been turned back by Movlid Khaybulaev at the PFL 2021 Championship.

With Khaylulaev out for the 2022 season, however, the field at 145lbs was wide open.

It was a listless, low-action affair for the better part of three rounds on Thursday. We weren’t even a minute in when Chris Wade poked the eye of Lance Palmer, bringing about a brief halt to their fight in Arlington, Texas.

Back underway, Palmer landed a left hand; the punch would be a go-to for Palmer, and another would land moments later. Wade then jabbed his way in, backing Palmer up to the fence, and mixing in a front kick as well. With just under two minutes left in the round, the left hand from Palmer would land again, and while Wade appeared no worse for the wear, it was a punch he was going to need to watch out for.

The biggest takeaway: Wade was controlling the fight, pressing the pace. Whether Palmer would get away with laying back and countering remained to be seen.

Round two opened with a reserved pace; a little bit of a chess match ensued. Palmer caught a kick, which led to a brief rush but nothing came of it. Back to the chess match they went, Wade pushing forward, Palmer looking to counter. It was single strikes, single kicks for the most part, with the wrestling skill of the pair seemingly cancelling each other out.

The third round saw the biggest opportunity for a finish in the fight to that point come about two minutes in: going to the ground, Palmer had a chance at a guillotine, but Wade made it back to his feet. That was probably the biggest moment of a mostly uneventful fight, which would go to the scorecards after 15 minutes. Palmer would lunge in with another left at the end of the round; it was Wade, however, who walked out with the unanimous decision win.

Official Result: Chris Wade def. Lance Palmer by unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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