Harrison, 30, was already a lock for the playoffs. That didn’t seem to change her approach any.

Not surprisingly, before long, Harrison had her opponent down and on her back Friday. And once there, Harrison was in her world. The two-time Olympic gold medalist managed to tie up Dandois, and rain down some heavy ground n’ pound, landing to the head. Once the opportunity presented itself, Harrison transitioned to an arm-bar — and in short order, was in position and wrenching the limb back. Shortly after, Dandois was forced to tap, giving Harrison her tenth win as a professional.

With a playoff spot already in her grasp, Harrison is now officially in the post-season — as the second seed. Competing earlier in the evening, Harrison’s nemesis, Larissa Pacheco, scored a stunning knockout of Olena Kolesnyk that left her opponent limp on the canvas.

With that win, Paccheco locked up the first seed for the post-season. That will see her paired up with Taylor Guardado in the semifinals. Harrison, meanwhile, is set to face Genah Fabian next. As it stands, Harrison has defeated Pacheco twice, both times in the 2019 season. So maybe “nemesis” is too strong a term. Still, those two wins represent the only time Harrison has gone the distance in her career. And the pair could very well meet again in the 2021 finale.

Official Result: Kayla Harrison def. Cindy Dandois by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:44

The post PFL 6: Kayla Harrison Submits Cindy Dandois, Headed to Post-Season appeared first on Cageside Press.

Pettis was a household name. Manfio, a fighter that even dedicated MMA fans would need to reference on Tapology or Sherdog. But more importantly, Pettis needed a win to make the playoffs. That’s a position “Showtime” admitted ahead of the fight was his own doing.

Not surprisingly, Pettis opened the affair with a few kicks, of the leg kick and push kick variety. He’d land a right hand while countering Manfio’s own attack. A spinning attack from Pettis followed. “Showtime,” frankly, was fighting like a man who needed a finish, and needed it early. Manfio, however, refused to make it easy, keeping the pressure on, working leg kicks, and avoiding the flashy attacks of Pettis, including a rather choreographed spinning back fist attempt.

The second saw Pettis putting the pressure on early, firing a right hand over the top. A low blow landed by Manfio halted the action just seconds into the round, unfortunately. After a few moments to recover, Pettis fired a low kick, then a front kick that just missed catching Manfio flush in the face. As the round wore on, Pettis found his range, and his punches began to connect more consistently. Manfio fired a kick, far from out of the fight. In the final minute, Pettis was hit low again in an exchange of kicks.

Manfio had his best moment early in the third. A right hand landed, and Pettis was sent to his back. Manfio let his opponent back up, then went on the attack. He put Pettis up against the fence and swarmed. A massive knee then dropped Pettis, who was looking defeat in the face. He’d survive, make it back up, eat another knee, but stay standing. Pettis’ left eye was swelling, and suddenly, the emphasis was less on a finish and more on survival.

In the end, there would be no finish. And no playoffs for Pettis, with two judges awarding the fight to Manfio in a split decision.

Official Result: Raush Manfio def. Anthony Pettis by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

The post PFL 6: Anthony Pettis Out of Playoffs, Upset by Raush Manfio appeared first on Cageside Press.

Heading into Friday’s card, Harrison had stated that she had sympathy for the mother of six, who was embarking on her final run in MMA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo did not want to be the woman to put the final nail in Dandois’ coffin. Yet as luck would have it, that was exactly the match-up Harrison found herself in at PFL 6.

Harrison and Dandois topped the card, but there were a number of interesting match-ups in Atlantic City, NJ on Friday. Officially, it was women’s lightweight and heavyweight divisions in action, but after pulling out sick earlier this month, Anthony Pettis was in the co-main event opposite Raush Manfio. Defending featherweight champ Lance Palmer was also set to face Movlid Khaybulaev — and both Pettis and Palmer were in must-win, must-finish territory.

At heavyweight, meanwhile, Renan Ferreira was taking on short-notice replacement Carl Seumanutafa, and Brandon Sayles was hoping to keep his 100% win finish rate alive against Denis Goltsov.

Full results from PFL 6, 2021 can be found below. Note: women’s lightweight Olena Kolesnyk missed weight by 1.6lbs at Thursday’s weigh-in. As a result, she has been docked one point, fined twenty percent of her purse, and is ineligible to win additional points if she is victorious on Friday. Opponent Larissa Pacheco earns three points in a walkover win, but can earn more with a finish.

PFL 6: Harrison vs. Dandois Results

Main card

Kayla Harrison def. Cindy Dandois by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:44
Raush Manfio def. Anthony Pettis by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Movlid Khaybulaev def. Lance Palmer by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Denis Goltsov def. Brandon Sayles by TKO, Round 3, 1:24

Preliminary card

Bruno Cappelozza def. Muhammed DeReese by knockout, Round 1, 2:21
Larissa Pacheco def. Olena Kolesnyk by knockout, Round 1, 4:48
Ante Delija def. Chandler Cole by TKO, Round 1, 4:39
Genah Fabian def. Julija Pajić by TKO, Round 2, 4:16
Renan Ferreira def. Carl Seumanutafa by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Taylor Guardado def. Laura Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mariana Morais def. Kaitlin Young by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Jamelle Jones def. Klidson Abreu by TKO, Round 1, 1:43

The post PFL 6: Harrison vs. Dandois Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dandois (16-6-) had her four-fight win streak snapped in May when she lost a unanimous decision to Kaitlin Young. The fight also marked the Belgium fighter’s PFL debut.

In her second PFL fight, she faces the 2019 PFL Women’s Lightweight champion, Harrison. Everything since starting her MMA career in 2009 has led to this fight. A win over Harrison would be astronomical, and Dandois knows this.

“It would mean a lot to me because I’m trying to set an example for my children; we have been through a very, very rough time lately. I’m still pushing myself and trying to get the best out of me and to show them that they can overcome anything, you know. They can hunt their dreams no whatever what,” Dandois said during PFL 6 media day on Tuesday. “So if I am able to take the win, it would mean a lot to me because it will show that hard work really shows off.”

Both Harrison and Dandois come from a judo background, with Harrison being the more accomplished athlete in that field. “Battlecat,” thinks the match-up will be more interesting because of it.

“We both have a judo background, indeed, so that makes it very interesting. I do think Kayla has better judo than I do. I know that. But on the other hand, uh, I’m not scared to fly. I’m not scared to be taken down. I’ve been grappling many, many years, so I have slick tricks on the ground, and I think I should that in my career. Most of my wins have come by submission, so it’s going to be very interesting,” Dandois said.

Watch the full PFL 6 media day scrum with Cindy Dandois above. The event takes place this Thursday, June 24, in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

The post PFL 6’s Cindy Dandois Not Afraid Of Kayla Harrison’s Judo: “I’m Not Scared To Be Taken Down” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Losing is not something the two-time PFL featherweight champion Palmer often does. But this season’s PFL 1 was the first time he was handed defeat since March of 2017, when the league was still branded as the World Series of Fighting. That night, he lost a unanimous decision to former college wrestling foe Bubba Jenkins.

“Coming off of the loss in April, it was just, I know that wasn’t me in there as far as mentally and physically, so I don’t take too much out of that fight. Obviously, it’s a loss on my record, but coming in this fight [with Movlid Khaybulaev] it’s super motivating,” Palmer said during PFL 6 media day on Tuesday.

Palmer is motivated to be fighting his next opponent Khaybulaev who is undefeated at 16-0-1. He finds excitement in the challenge.

“I’m excited about it. The way it played out to be able to fight Movlid on this card is awesome. I’m excited, and I’m happy that the PFL was able to make it happen,” Palmer said.

He added to his excitement when a reporter asked about getting a finish to make the playoffs.

“I have to get a first-round finish [to get into the playoffs]. But regardless of that, I’m just excited for the fight Obviously, getting a win would be huge for me, just because he is a great opponent. I’m going to go out and have fun in there and just enjoy it. Enjoy the fight; enjoy the process leading up to it. I really haven’t really enjoyed- you know, the last one I didn’t really enjoy any of the process leading into it,” Palmer said.

“As far as the playoffs and the points and all the stuff goes, I’m not too worried about that. I just want to go out and get a win and be able to enjoy it. If I make the playoffs, that’s great; if I don’t, that’s great too. We’ll figure out the future when that time comes.”

Watch the full PFL 6 media day scrum with Lance Palmer above. The event takes place this Thursday, June 25, in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

The post PFL 6: Lance Palmer Is Very Excited And Motivated To Fight Movlid Khaybulaev appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sayles (6-1) was a +315 underdog going into his fight with Mohammed Usman in May but ended up being the first man to stop Usman, earning himself five points and placing him third in the standings.

“Man of War” finds himself the underdog yet again in his second PFL fight, this time against Denis Goltsov (26-6). Sayles has a 100% finish rate in his six wins- three by submission and three by TKO. His opponent Goltsov has only lost via finish. Sayles is looking to keep his 100% as he always looks for the finish.

“My plan is always to try and finish my opponent. How I implement that throughout the fight, is how he adjusts because you know, it is a chess match, from second to second,” Sayles told Cageside Press during the PFL 6 media day on Tuesday. “A lot of times, people think that your game plan is to go out there and knock them out, well, perfect world, absolutely. But in a realistic world, you got to have different strategies and be able to adjust to how your opponent is adjusting to you, on a move by move basis, you know.”

“You go out there, put your best foot forward, and you try to put on a show but also finish the fight, every time.”

Watch the full PFL 6 media day scrum with Brandon Sayles above. The event takes place this Friday, June 25, in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

The post PFL 6: Brandon Sayles Plans To Keep His 100% Finish Rate Against Denis Goltsov appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I think what I’ve been doing is perfect. I’ve been focusing on my boxing, my basics,” Pettis told media outlets ahead of this week’s PFL 6 card, during a media day promoting the event. “When we get into that fight, I’ve got to watch his boxing honestly. I think I’m doing the right things.”

For Pettis, one of the Professional Fighters League’s biggest signings, what ailed him weeks ago was a stomach bug. That’s what scrapped a planned bout with Alex Martinez, pushing Pettis’ second PFL fight back to this Friday.

“Man I just got sick. Right before the press conference, before we went downstairs, my stomach was feeling sour,” Pettis revealed. “Then we go down to the press conference, we do the square off, I’m like ‘I’m not nervous, I’ve done this so many times, there’s no way I’m nervous.’ I go back to my room, started throwing up, and I had to call it. I think it was like a stomach bug, a flu or something, I just didn’t feel right. And once I started throwing up, I just couldn’t recover from that.”

The change-up means Pettis now faces Raush Manfio this Friday night. He’ll need a finish to make the league’s post-season, which has one fewer round this year.

“It’s kind of a little nerve-wracking, where you’re thinking about, now I need a finish. Not only do I need a win, I got to finish,” admitted Pettis. “But based on my last performance, I’m putting that on myself. I know I need to finish.”

Points involved or not, Pettis didn’t like how he looked in his last fight, he stated. “I took that personal. I went back to work, and I fixed little details that I needed to fix. I forgot that Aaron Rogers has a coach that shows him how to grab the ball properly. There’s things that you have to have reminded on a daily [basis], and I feel like I detached from that a little bit in that first camp. And in this camp, I’m back to having fun with the process.”

Watch the full PFL 6 media scrum with Anthony Pettis above. The event takes place this Friday, June 25 in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

The post PFL 6: Anthony Pettis Reveals Reason Behind Cancellation of Martinez Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Harrison (9-0), the PFL’s biggest star at this point, actually stated that Dandois was the one girl she didn’t want to fight. Yet here she is, preparing for the veteran regardless, as they headline the final regular season card this Friday.

Far from being worried about the match-up, Harrison was concerned that Dandois had recently lost her mother, and was on her last run in MMA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo didn’t want to be the one to put the final nail in Dandois’ MMA coffin. But that feeling is gone now that fight week has arrived.

“I mean it’s business week, it’s fight week. All the human emotions kind of have to go away, and you’ve got to become The Terminator,” Harrison told Cageside Press during the PFL 6 media day this week. “So it’s just business.”

On the match-up, Harrison stated that “I think that she’s just a game fighter. She’s been around the block, she’s very experienced, she’s a veteran of the sport, she’s fought in pretty much every promotion. I know she’s got some funky submissions and stuff like that. I know she has a judo background, I’ve seen her do a couple throws in her fights. It will be interesting to feel maybe someone try to throw me for the first time in five years.”

“I think it’s going to be a good fight,” she added. “I’m excited to showcase some of my new skills, and continue to dominate.”

And while Harrison brought up the idea of Dandois trying some judo throws, she doesn’t feel like her opponent will find much success there. “I see them being pretty one-sided. God bless Cindy, but I think she should expect to be on her back.”

Harrison also gave her thoughts on fellow crossover star Claressa Shields. While Harrison herself jumped to MMA from judo, Shields, also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, made the transition from boxing earlier this month. While she earned a TKO win, her debut wasn’t as smooth as Harrison’s own.

“We all knew she was going to have some holes, we all expected that. I think it was impressive that she was able to come back and dig deep and find a win,” observed Harrison. “But that’s what winners do, they find a way. I was impressed with her perseverance.”

“She’s got a long way to go. I know she’s young, I know she’s hungry, I know she’s motivated, so I’m excited to watch her journey,” Harrison added.

Watch the full PFL 6 media day scrum with Kayla Harrison above. The event takes place this Friday, June 25 in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

The post PFL 6: Kayla Harrison Says She has to be The Terminator During Fight Week appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Atlantic City, NJ-based show will see Harrison (9-0) taking on the well-traveled Cindy Dandois (16-6) in the main event. The lightweight pairing is the only women’s bout on the main card, with three heavyweight fights rounding out that portion of the event.

Among the big men in action, former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1, 1NC) returns — after having his PFL debut loss overturned by the New Jersey Athletic Commission.

Initially a TKO defeat at the hands of fellow Brazilian Renan Ferreira, replay showed Ferreira tapping to a Werdum triangle choke earlier in the sequence. The bout now stands as a No Contest, with both men receiving a single point towards the post-season. Ferreira (6-2, 1NC), for his part, meets Ali Isaev (9-0) in the PFL 6 co-main event. Werdum fights Brandon Sayles earlier in the night.

The full PFL 6 card can be found below. The event airs live on ESPN+ and ESPN2, and TSN in Canada.

Main Card

Kayla Harrison vs. Cindy Dandois
Ali Isaev vs. Renan Ferreira
Denis Goltsov vs. Mohammed Usman
Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Sayles

Preliminary Card

Bruno Cappelozza vs Muhammed Derees
Larissa Pacheco vs. Olenda Kolesnyk
Genah Fabian vs. Julija Pajic
Ante Delija vs. Hatef Moeil
Taylor Guardado vs. Laura Sanchez
Kaitlin Young vs. Mariana Morais

The post PFL 6 Topped by Kayla Harrison vs. Cindy Dandois appeared first on Cageside Press.