Tag: PFL News (Professional Fighters League)

Cris Cyborg: Ronda Rousey ‘More Dangerous’ Than Kayla Harrison

Cris CyborgCris ‘Cyborg’ Justino has somewhat surprisingly labeled Ronda Rousey as a “more dangerous” fighter than Kayla Harrison. A super-fight between the two WMMA legends was often talked about and at one point seemed to be on the cards. Unfortunately, it never came off and almost certainly never will with Rousey being out of the sport […]

Cris Cyborg

Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino has somewhat surprisingly labeled Ronda Rousey as a “more dangerous” fighter than Kayla Harrison.

A super-fight between the two WMMA legends was often talked about and at one point seemed to be on the cards.

Unfortunately, it never came off and almost certainly never will with Rousey being out of the sport for some time now.  

Over the past few years, another Olympic judoka has risen to prominence. Kayla Harrison has amassed a perfect 11-fight MMA record and has been tearing through the PFL’s 2021 lightweight tournament.

The two-time gold medal winner eased into the final at PFL 8 when she scored a first-round TKO over Genah Fabian, who didn’t land a single strike in the fight.

Post-fight, Cyborg took to social media to confirm she is ready to fight the PFL starlet at 155lbs. Harrison has just one fight left on her current contract with the promotion before she becomes the most sought-after free agent in MMA. Cyborg is hoping Bellator will be able to convince Harrison to sign on with them, at least for one fight.

“I think it’s going to be a great fight for me,” Cyborg said when appearing on The MMA Hour. “She doesn’t need to come in at 145, we can fight at 155. She said [it was] the last fight on her contract, too, I saw and I believe maybe she’s going to sign with the UFC, but she can make more money than Amanda Nunes in PFL.

“I don’t know it’s going to be worth [it], but maybe we can do one fight, champion vs. champion. Scott Coker can be my co-promoter, maybe in the future. It’s a great fight.”

Cyborg thinks that the former Strikeforce and UFC bantamweight champion, Rousey, would’ve presented a much sterner test than Harrison.

“I was supposed to fight Ronda Rousey before and I was training for a camp,” Cyborg explained. “The first thing you train in judo is learn to fall. Because when you’re going to fight judo, maybe you’re going to fall yes, but you have to know what to do after.

“I believe Ronda Rousey was more dangerous than Kayla. Her transitions were fast, her technique was fast and I know [Kayla] got a gold medal in the Olympics. But I think it’s a different level about the speed, about the transitions for the submissions.”

Do you agree with Cris Cyborg? Would Ronda Rousey have been a tougher fight than Kayla Harrison?

Rory MacDonald Speaks Out for First Time Since PFL Playoffs Exit

Former Bellator champion and 2021 PFL welterweight semifinalist Rory MacDonald is planning on a major comeback after a brief setback in his career; losing to Ray Cooper III in the PFL Playoffs and ending his first season with the league on a sour note. MacDonald fell to Cooper by unanimous decision in the PFL welterweight […]

Former Bellator champion and 2021 PFL welterweight semifinalist Rory MacDonald is planning on a major comeback after a brief setback in his career; losing to Ray Cooper III in the PFL Playoffs and ending his first season with the league on a sour note.

MacDonald fell to Cooper by unanimous decision in the PFL welterweight semifinals, getting dominated on the ground and appearing unable to showcase his diverse striking in the fight. Cooper came out with plenty to prove and ultimately won the fight off of pure grit and toughness.

Many around the MMA community believed that MacDonald was the clear favorite to win the welterweight championship in his first PFL season, but he’ll have to wait until next season to get that chance. MacDonald sounded optimistic about his fighting future and plans on coming back as a stronger fighter after the experience of losing back-to-back outings.

“Happy to be home with my family after spending 6 weeks apart,” MacDonald posted on his Instagram. “Being away from them for that long really affected me & showed me how much we need to be together for me to be at my best.”

“I’ll be taking a few weeks off to enjoy relaxing at home with family and use the time to start planning my comeback for my 2nd season in [the PFL].”

MacDonald had quite the roller coaster ride in his first season with the PFL in 2021. After earning a dominant submission win over Curtis Millender to open up the regular season, he lost a controversial decision to Gleison Tibau in the regular-season finale before ultimately losing to the defending champion, Cooper in the opening round of the playoffs. MacDonald signed with the league after a long tenure in Bellator which included a reign as the promotion’s welterweight champion.

After an unfortunate end to his rookie season in the PFL, MacDonald will look to get back on track and prove to the rest of the league that he still has what it takes to be one of the PFL’s biggest stars.

Do you think Rory MacDonald is still an elite MMA fighter?

VIDEO | Kayla Harrison Scores First Round Win Over Genah Fabian

Kayla HarrisonKayla Harrison advanced to the lightweight tournament final with ease at PFL 8. The two-time Olympic Judo gold medallist spent the opening minute against Genah Fabian feeling out the distance before shooting in and clinching up against the fence. Harrison landed a few short shots before pulling her opponent to the floor. Harrison soon transitioned […]

Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison advanced to the lightweight tournament final with ease at PFL 8.

The two-time Olympic Judo gold medallist spent the opening minute against Genah Fabian feeling out the distance before shooting in and clinching up against the fence. Harrison landed a few short shots before pulling her opponent to the floor.

Harrison soon transitioned to mount and reigned down ground strikes. Eventually, the referee waved off the bout and the 31-year-old walked away with the eleventh win of her career.

Do you think Kayla Harrison will be victorious in the PFL lightweight final?

Kayla Harrison Defends Genah Fabian Following ‘Disrespectful’ Question From Reporter

Kayla HarrisonPFL (Professional Fighters League) lightweight standout, Kayla Harrison recently came to the defence of upcoming PFL 8 semi-finalist opponent, Genah Fabian, after disrespectful comments from a reporter, who labelled the New Zealand kickboxer as a “pretty woman“, before asking the latter if she intended to engage with Harrison or just stick on the outside. Clashing […]

Kayla Harrison

PFL (Professional Fighters League) lightweight standout, Kayla Harrison recently came to the defence of upcoming PFL 8 semi-finalist opponent, Genah Fabian, after disrespectful comments from a reporter, who labelled the New Zealand kickboxer as a “pretty woman“, before asking the latter if she intended to engage with Harrison or just stick on the outside.

Clashing in the lightweight tournament semi-final on August 19. at PFL9, the victor between two-time Olympic gold medalist, Harrison and striking ace, Fabian will meet with either Larissa Pacheco or Taylor Guardado in the tournament’s final — with a $1 million check on the line for the eventual tournament winner. 

Appearing during a media call on the Zoom platform, Harrison leaped to the defense of upcoming foe, Fabian, who was forced to inform the reporter of the correct pronunciation of her first name, questioning the reporter why he would mention the Kiwi native’s looks before then asking a completely unrelated, “disrespectful” question.

“Hey, I got a question for you,” Harrison asked the reporter before Fabian could reply to his question. “If you were interviewing a guy, would you say to him after pronouncing his name wrong, would you say, ‘Hey, by the way, you’re a really handsome guy, but oh, you can fight, too.’ Would you say that to a guy? No. You just base how you talk to them based off of their skill and based off of them as a human being. Not, ‘Oh, you’re a beautiful man.’ I mean that’s pretty disrespectful. She’s a professional.” (H/T MMA Junkie)

Taking to her official Twitter account following the incident, Harrison reached out to the reporter in question, informing him how she didn’t think he was a bad guy, and that she was sending him positive vibes off the back of the exchange.

“To the reporter I called out today, I just want to say, I know you’re not a bad guy,” Kayla Harrison tweeted. “It wasn’t personal and I hope you know that. Sending you good vibes.“

Boasting an undefeated professional record ahead of her bout with Fabian, Harrison enters the tie off the back of 10 consecutive victories. 

The 2019 PFL lightweight tournament victor is a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the summer Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and has taken notable career wins over the likes of aforenoted, Pacheco (x2), Courtney King, Mariana Morais, and UFC alum, Cindy Dandois. 

Auckland standout, Fabian enters the bout with a 4-1 professional record, scoring victories in her last three outings under the PFL banner.

The 31-year-old City Kickboxing striker has bested Jo Jo Obolevics, Moriel Chameski, Laura Sanchez, and Julija Pajic in her professional career. 

EXCLUSIVE | Rory MacDonald Open To UFC Return ‘For A Fair Deal’

Rory MacDonaldRory MacDonald is open to the idea of once again competing inside the Octagon. ‘The Red King’ joined the UFC in 2010 as an undefeated prospect. MacDonald lost his promotional debut against Carlos Condit before running through the welterweight division. The 32-year-old left the company in 2016 having picked up several high-profile wins over the […]

Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald is open to the idea of once again competing inside the Octagon.

‘The Red King’ joined the UFC in 2010 as an undefeated prospect. MacDonald lost his promotional debut against Carlos Condit before running through the welterweight division.

The 32-year-old left the company in 2016 having picked up several high-profile wins over the likes of Nate Diaz, BJ Penn, Jake Ellenberger, Demian Maia, and Tyron Woodley.

Since leaving the UFC, MacDonald has become a champion with Bellator and is now competing in the Professional Fighters League. The Canadian welterweight is scheduled to fight Ray Cooper III in the semi-final of the PFL 2021 season on August 13.

Ahead of that bout, MacDonald spoke to LowKickMMA about the fight which he has been anticipating since the moment he joined the PFL roster.

“I knew eventually we would cross paths,” MacDonald said. “I felt like it was inevitable, you know, he’s a very exciting guy that the PFL really likes to promote and he’s done really well. And obviously, they’re promoting me a lot. So, I think it was a crash course waiting to happen.”

Despite feeling the love from PFL, MacDonald refused to rule out a potential UFC return and explained to us exactly what it would take for him to re-join MMA’s premier promotion.

“It would be interesting to go back there. It would be cool.” MacDonald said. “All the eyes and the attention are there and that’s the big stage. If I were to find my way back there, it would have to be for a fair deal. I fought for the UFC for a long time and I understand how it works, but at this point in my career, I’m also fighting for my family’s future. That’s a very important thing for me.”

Would you like to see Rory MacDonald return to the UFC?

EXCLUSIVE | Rory MacDonald Wants Review Board For MMA Judges

Rory MacDonaldRory MacDonald has an idea on how to improve MMA judging. This past weekend, we saw several bad decisions at UFC Vegas 32. Francis Ngannou has since spoken out against the extremely poor judging of MMA fights that more often than not leaves unlucky fighters out of pocket. MacDonald was on the wrong end of […]

Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald has an idea on how to improve MMA judging.

This past weekend, we saw several bad decisions at UFC Vegas 32. Francis Ngannou has since spoken out against the extremely poor judging of MMA fights that more often than not leaves unlucky fighters out of pocket.

MacDonald was on the wrong end of a bad call in his last fight. ‘The Red King’ squared off against Gleison Tibau at PFL 5 on June 17. The former Bellator champion seemed to have eased to a decision win after three rounds of fighting before the judges shockingly awarded Tibau a split decision victory.

At the PFL 5 post-fight press conference MacDonald called for an investigation into the result he called a “clear robbery.”

In a recent interview with LowKickMMA, MacDonald revealed he was unable to right the wrong done to him at PFL 5, he said.

“We’d looked into what we could do (to overturn the result), but really our hands are tied. There’s nothing we could really have done.”

MacDonald wants to see more ex-fighters judging and also wants to see judges be held accountable for their poor work.

The 32-year-old even suggested a strike-based system to eliminate the bad officials.

“That would help (having ex-fighters judge) and also some accountability,” MacDonald said. “I said something like maybe like a board that would review controversial decisions and scorecards. You know, if it’s too many strikes for a certain judge, they get removed.

“Right now, (in) the current format, these judges just do whatever they want bad, or good and they keep their job and they keep moving forward,” MacDonald added. “But for the people who are fighting and have to live with the consequences is us the fighters. You know, even though we do our end of the job, we end up suffering and they just continue on, get paid, and move forward.”

Do you agree with Rory MacDonald? Would a strike-based system help improve the level of MMA judging?