In place of Budd was veteran Kaitlin Young, looking to do the unthinkable and bounce Harrison from the PFL 2022 post-season.

Young would flash her left hand early, trying to live up to her “Striking Viking” nickname. But barely a minute in, Harrison scooped up Young and slammed her to the mat. Harrison landed right in side control, and while Young worked her way to the fence, and then to her knees, Harrison threatened to take the back. Moments later, Harrison was on Young’s back, landing a series of unanswered strikes. While none were overly damaging, Young appeared unable to defend, at best simply trying to keep moving. That was enough for the ref to call it, a decision Young immediately protested.

It wouldn’t change the outcome. Another win, another finish for Kayla Harrison, who improved to 14-0 with the victory. She has 11 finishes in the span, and more importantly, the two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion now moves on to her third consecutive post-season with the company.

Harrison will face Martin Jindrova in her next fight, with maybe the only surprise being that she’s not the #1 seed overall. That honor belongs to Larissa Pacheco, who will fight Olena Kolesnyk in the playoffs.

Official Result: Kayla Harrison def. Kaitlin Young by TKO, Round 1, 2:35

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A former UFC title challenger and Bellator MMA champ, “The Red King” had been bounced from competition in 2021, his first year with the league. With one submission finish already under his belt this year, he was looking to correct that.

Looking to play spoiler, Sadibou Sy, a longtime PFL veteran.

Almost immediately off the opening bell, MacDonald pursued the takedown, snatching a leg, and attempting to transition to a double-leg takedown attempt. Sy stayed up, however, using the fence for balance while MacDonald stayed on him.

While Sy would eventually get his back off the fence, MacDonald had him back in the same position moments later. The Canadian appeared to be bleeding, despite Sy having landed little offense. When they finally went down, MacDonald wound up on bottom, but was quickly back up. Sy reversed, MacDonald reversed again.

MacDonald went right back to the grappling in round two, pinning Sy against the fence. Not a lot of action, to the displeasure of the crowd. Sy would try to reverse, and get turned around again. With just under two minutes left, they’d go back to center. Sy landed a jab, while MacDonald walked his opponent down. Sy flashed stance switches, but despite his length and a decent jab, couldn’t seem to keep MacDonald on the outside. In he came again on a single-leg attempt in the final minute. For Sy, the biggest moment of the round was landing a body kick, that seemed to dog MacDonald in the third.

The final round saw MacDonald open with a hook, then pursue a single-leg takedown. As he had through two rounds, Sy saw decent takedown defense. He’d end up reversing, and they’d go into a slow spin cycle along the fence. MacDonald then put on a body lock from the back, trying to drag Sy down — to no avail. And with two minutes to go, it was Sy planting Rory MacDonald on his back. MacDonald didn’t take long to get back up, however, using his hips to escape. But back on the feet, MacDonald landed low with a knee.

After a brief pause for Sy to recover, he landed a leg kick, followed up with a jab, and for a moment had MacDonald on the defensive. But that didn’t last long, and MacDonald would go back to walking his opponent down in the final 30 seconds.

Come the scorecards, two judges scored all three rounds for Sy, who took home the unanimous decision win. But with MacDonald already having a playoff spot locked up, both men move to the playoffs.

MacDonald, the number one seed, will face Magomed Umalatov next. Sy, meanwhile, fights Carlos Leal, who got three points in a walkover at PFL 6 when his opponent withdrew.

Official Result: Sadibou Sy def. Rory MacDonald by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Harrison (13-0), who has gone on to win back-to-back PFL championships, has spent the entirety of her fighting career with the league (save for a lone fight under the Invicta FC banner during the coronavirus pandemic). She was the hottest free agent on the market earlier this year, before returning to the promotion that gave her her start.

On Friday, at PFL 6 in Atlanta, Georgia, Harrison was back in action. Although not against the opponent she’s initially been scheduled against. With Julia Budd pulling out due to injury, Harrison was instead matched up with Kaitlin Young — a pioneer of women’s MMA, but one who lacked the championship caliber of Budd.

In the co-main event, former Bellator champ Rory MacDonald returned, looking to secure his spot as the heavy favorite in this year’s welterweight field.

PFL 6 goes down live on Friday, July 1, 2022 at 6PM ET on ESPN+, with the main card kicking off at 8PM on ESPN (TSN in Canada). Full results can be found below.

PFL 6: Harrison vs. Young Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Kayla Harrison def. Kaitlin Young by TKO, Round 1, 2:35
Sadibou Sy def. Rory MacDonald by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ray Cooper III def. Brett Cooper by TKO, Round 1, 0:24
Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Dilano Taylor by TKO, Round 2, 3:26
Larissa Pacheco def. Genah Fabian by TKO, Round 1, 2:39
Magomed Umalatov def. Jarrah Al Silawi by KO, Round 1, 3:33

Preliminary Card

Nikolai Aleksakhin vs. Carlos Leal Leal receives three points after Aleksakhin withdraws
Marina Mokhnatkina def. Abigail Montes by split decision (30–27, 27–30, 30–27)
Martina Jindrova def. Zamzagul Fayzallanova by TKO, Round 1, 4:04
Olena Kolesnyk def. Vanessa Melo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post PFL 6 2022: Harrison vs. Young Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

That’s his second submission in as many wins with the Professional Fighters League.

As he moves on to the second fight of the season, opposite PFL veteran Sadibou Sy, MacDonald (23-8-1) says his approach was to take every fight as if gold was on the line.

“I’m looking to be the PFL champion, that’s a goal that I’m setting out for,” MacDonald stated during Wednesday’s PFL 6 media day. “So whoever it is along the way, if they’ve made a name for themselves or not, every fight for me is a title fight. That’s what motivates me.”

MacDonald also opened up about the nerves he feels before fights, when asked about fighters like Donald Cerrone openly taking about that very subject.

“You get the nerves, but they’re good nerves. I don’t necessarily get fearful, but I have the natural nerves that well up inside you, those butterflies that tell you you’re about to do something dangerous,” MacDonald admitted. The nerves, however, aren’t necessarily a bad thing. “I thrive on that, I enjoy those feelings,” he added. “It’s something that I expect to be there every single time.”

As far as his recent finishes, MacDonald credits them at least in part to his recent move to Austin, Texas.

“I changed all my training up. I moved to Austin, I moved my training to Austin. I feel like that’s reinvented my mindset, my approach. It’s just got me in my best shape, best mind frame that I’ve ever been in,” explained MacDonald. “So I feel like the style, the techniques that I’ve been working on just drive me to go for the finish. Whether that be in the first round or in the last, I’m looking to put these guys away.”

The move to Austin, where he trains with retired UFC veteran Tim Kennedy, had been planned even before COVID hit, MacDonald revealed, “but COVID kind of blocked travel for a while. Then I was in Florida, because I’d established a relationship with Henri Hooft and the guys there.” After his first season in the PFL, with things opened up, he decided to check out Texas. “I just fell in loved with it. I felt like that was where I needed to be. The more I kept going and going, I just kept getting better, seeing improvements. It’s just been the best thing for me.”

Watch the full PFL 6 media day appearance from Rory MacDonald above. The event takes place this Friday, June 1, 2022 at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, GA.

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League officials provided weigh-in results via press release, noting that the main and co-main event fighters, as well as the rest of the card, hit the limit for PFL 6. The card consists of welterweight fights on the men’s side, and lightweight on the women’s.

PFL 6’s main event underwent a late change over the past week or so, with Julia Budd forced off the card due to injury. In her place is Kaitlin Young, a pioneer on the women’s side of the sport who picked up a win in her first fight of the season.

Harrison, a two-time gold medal winner in Judo at the Olympics, is undefeated through thirteen pro fights.

The co-main event features former Bellator MMA champ and UFC contender Rory MacDonald, up against Sadibou Sy.

Full results from Thursday’s PFL 6 weigh-in can be found below.

PFL 6: Harrison vs. Young Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Women’s Lightweight: Kayla Harrison (155.6 lbs) vs. Kaitlin Young (155 lbs)
Welterweight: Rory MacDonald (170.8 lbs) vs. Sadibou Sy (170.2 lbs)
Welterweight: Ray Cooper III (170.4 lbs) vs. Brett Cooper (170.4 lbs)
Welterweight: Magomed Magomedkerimov (170.8 lbs) vs. Dilano Taylor (170.8 lbs)
Women’s Lightweight: Larissa Pacheco (154.6 lbs) vs. Genah Fabian (156 lbs)
Welterweight: Jarrah Al Silawi (170.4 lbs) vs. Magomed Umalatov (170.4 lbs)

Preliminary Card

Welterweight: Nikolai Aleksakhin (170.2 lbs) vs. Carlos Leal (170 lbs)
Women’s Lightweight: Marina Mokhnatkina (154 lbs) vs. Abigail Montes (154.8 lbs)
Women’s Lightweight: Martina Jindrova (154.8 lbs) vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova (155 lbs)
Women’s Lightweight: Olena Kolesnyk (155.6 lbs) vs. Vanessa Melo (154.4 lbs)

The post PFL 6: Harrison vs. Young Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Harison will instead face Kaitlin Young, but there was something of an outcry from fans on social media— who for some reason placed the blame on Harrison. The fighter who remained in the fight.

That led to Harrison clapping back, which she also caught some flak for.

“Y’all act like I’m the one who pulled out of the fight. Best wishes to Budd on a speedy recovery,” she posted in a brief message on Twitter. Cue complaints.

“At this point, I get backlash for how I brush my hair. Everyone has an opinion— there’s just a lot of negativity in this world, that’s all I’m going to say,” Harrison (13-0) said during Wednesday’s PFL 6 media day.

That was not literally all the two-time Olympic gold medallist had to say, however, as she would go on to express her frustration with that negativity. “Sometimes I lose the ability to block it out, and I find the urge to snap back. That was just me telling them ‘shut the hell up, I didn’t pull out of the fight, I’m not going to pull out of a fight.’ It is what it is.”

“It just gets frustrating, it’s the same thing over and over again. People just make assumptions, or they don’t read anything, and just want to talk trash,” Harrison continued. “It gets a little bit frustrating. I’m here, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight whoever they put in front of me. I can only control the controllable. I can only control me, and my reaction to things.”

With all that in mind, it would seem Harrison has a small amount of regret even responding to her critics. “That’s on me, I shouldn’t have said anything, it’s just a bunch of negative people making noise. I’m excited to fight, I’m excited to fight Kaitlin Young, July 1, it’s going to be a good fight, and that’s all there is to it.”

When it comes to Young, Harrison recognizes her as a pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts. “I think she’s just a veteran of the sport. She’s tough, she’s gritty, she’s composed, and I’m looking forward to sharing the cage with her. She’s a pioneer of the sport, she’s like I said, she’s a veteran. I have a lot of respect for her, and we’re going to put on a hell of a show.”

It’s not Young, but Larissa Pacheco, however, who Harrison picked as the toughest challenge in the tournament this year.

Watch the full PFL 6 media day appearance from Kayla Harrison above. The event takes place this Friday, June 1, 2022 at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, GA.

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On Thursday, ESPN was first to report that Budd was out of her fight with Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo. The match-up on paper had looked to be the biggest test of Harrison’s career, which has seen her go a perfect 13-0 since her debut in 2018.

Budd’s withdrawal comes about as the result of an undisclosed injury. In her place steps Kaitlin Young (12-12-1), a trailblazer among female fighters who competed for EliteXC and Invicta FC before retiring in 2014.

After a stint as Invicta’s matchmaker, Young returned to the cage in 2018, going 3-1 through her first four fights with Invicta and then the PFL. However, she’s lost her last two, including her season opener against Budd this year.

The loss of Harrison vs. Budd brings back memories of the PFL’s 2019 season, which saw former Strikeforce and Invicta FC bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman part of the field. Kaufman was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals, and the highly anticipated match-up between herself and Harrison never came to pass.

Young remains a battle-tested veteran, but she lacks the championship pedigree that Budd brought to the anticipated match-up. Budd could still make the post-season, as she was awarded three points due to Genah Fabian missing weight for their fight earlier this year — but some key names will need to lose next month.

PFL 6 takes place July 1, 2022 at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The PFL’s biggest star is scheduled to face her toughest assignment to date on July 1.  The promotion has announced that defending champion Kayla Harrison will be taking on former longtime Bellator featherweight champion Julia Budd in the headliner of their sixth event of the 2022 season.

OFFICIAL: #2022PFL6 Matchups are SET!

Women's Lightweights and Welterweights wrap up the final event of the 2022 PFL Regular Season!@espnmma | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/ukwTkxwsSx

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 1, 2022

After running roughshod over the competition in recent years, two-time Olympic champion Harrison (13-0) has been vocal about seeking more stern competition in order to raise her profile in the greater MMA landscape.  She gets her wish in Budd (16-4) who defended the Bellator title three times between 2017 and 2019 and is easily the most decorated opponent Harrison has faced.  Upon Budd’s signing last year, a bout between the two became one of the most anticipated fights that the promotion could put on.  While many expected the fight to take place in either the playoffs or the finals, the booking comes after Budd dropped her first bout of the season to Genah Fabian in May.

Co-headlining the event will be former Bellator champion and UFC veteran Rory MacDonald who faces Swedish product Sadibou Sy.  MacDonald returns following an impressive return to form in his season opener against Brett Cooper last month in which he won by first round submission.  Sy enters the bout with MacDonald after recording a first round split-decision against Nikolay Aleksakhin.

Defending champion Ray Cooper III is scheduled to face the aforementioned Brett Cooper on the main card following a disheartening showing in May.  One of the PFL’s most exciting and touted fighters, Cooper III missed weight by 5.4 pounds and went on to have an uncharacteristically poor showing against Carlos Leal.  Though he has made no official statement, it has been speculated that he entered the bout with an injury that led to both his performance and severe weight miss.  Notably, Cooper III posted a photo several days ago with a cast on his right hand as the fight is a month away.

Other notable action on the card includes former champion Magomed Magomedkerimov against Joao Zeferino and former finalist Larissa Pacheco against Genah Fabian.

The event is scheduled to take place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and is the final event before the playoffs begin in August.

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