The 2021 PFL World Championship will feature a total of six world title fights, with the victor of each bout taking home $1 million.
Tonight, the third season of the Professional Fighters League will come to a close. In the main event, Kayla Harrison will bring her current contract with the promotion to an end as she looks to repeat as women’s lightweight champion against Taylor Guardado. Harrison has yet to taste defeat in her MMA career, and the -3000 odds in her favor indicate that the public expects it to stay that way in tonight’s main event.
In the co-main event, Ray Cooper III will look to win the 2021 PFL welterweight championship for the second time when he goes against Magomed Magomedkerimov. Magomedkerimov will be bringing in an impressive 28-5 record into the cage with him and an unbeaten PFL record. He’ll also have the privilege of having the man who he believes could be the greatest coach in MMA history, Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner. Stay tuned tonight to see if Coach Khabib will be able to lead Magomedkerimov to a PFL championship.
Also on the championship docket will be heavyweights Bruno Cappelozza taking on Ante Delija. Cappelozza comes in as the -185 favorite, a designation no doubt earned in part by a 3-0 season record. Delija will enter the bout with a 2-1 record this season, with the lone loss coming to guess who? Bruno Cappelozza back in May. In the lightweight championship, Loik Radzhabov will be the moderate favorite as he tries to take home $1 million at the expense of Raush Manfio.
In the final two championship bouts, Movlid Khaybulaev and Chris Wade will square off, with both men entering the fight with a 3-0 season record. Khaybulaev is currently listed as the -170 favorite. Lastly, Antonio Carlos Junior will face Marthin Hamlet for the light heavyweight prize. Carlos Junior spoke with MMA News prior to the fight about the healthy mindset he has heading into the finals after overcoming many dark days in the UFC.
We will also get a second look at Claressa Shields as she returns to the MMA space against 2-0 Abigail Montes. Montes has already shared how she envisions the fight ending, and Shields will have an opportunity to erase those images by bringing a mixed bag of trouble with her into tonight’s scrap. Will Shields go 2-0 tonight? Or will she suffer her first career setback?
Plus, former Bellator Featherweight Champion Julia Budd will make her PFL debut on the main card tonight as she takes on Kaitlin Young.
The 2021 PFL World Championship takes place live tonight, with the main card beginning at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+, and the preliminary card streaming exclusively on ESPN+ at 4:30 PM ET.
You can check out yesterday’s ceremonial weigh-ins below followed by the full fight card and weigh-in results, courtesy of PFL! Be sure to check back here on MMANews.com for all the results and highlights at the conclusion of tonight’s event!
Main Card
- Women’s Lightweight Championship: Kayla Harrison (153.8) vs. Taylor Guardado (154.4)
- Welterweight Championship: Ray Cooper III (169.8) vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov (170)
- Women’s Lightweight Bout: Claressa Shields (155.8) vs. Abigail Montes (154.4)
- Heavyweight Championship: Bruno Cappelozza (236.4) vs. Ante Delija (243)
- Featherweight Championship: Movlid Khaybulaev (145) vs. Chris Wade (145)
Preliminary Card
- Light Heavyweight Championship: Antonio Carlos Jr. (204.4) vs. Marthin Hamlet (205)
- Lightweight Championship: Loik Radzhabov (155) vs. Raush Manfio (155)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Omari Akhmedov (203.6) vs. Jordan Young (206)
- Women’s Lightweight Bout: Julia Budd (154.6) vs. Kaitlyn Young (155.6)
- Lightweight Bout: Don Madge (155.6) vs. Nathan Williams (155.4)
