PFL’s regular season will come to an end this weekend with a card from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The show will see the promotion confirm their lightweight and welterweight brackets after 10 fights go down within those weight classes.
Two-time PFL Lightweight Champion Kayla Harrison will look to secure a playoff spot when she headlines the card against short-notice opponent Kaitlin Young.
Here’s a full preview of the show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 1: Olena Kolesnyk (6-4) vs. Vanessa Melo (11-9) (Lightweight)
Three lightweight bouts will open the evening. In the first of that trio, Olena Kolesnyk and Vanessa Melo will face off.
Kolesnyk snapped an extensive four-fight losing streak in her last appearance, defeating Abby Montes via split decision in May. That win earned her three points, meaning she will need more this weekend to get into the playoffs.
Melo, a former UFC fighter, is searching for her first PFL win. She lost her promotional debut two months back, dropping a decision to Martina Jindrova.
Bout 2: Martina Jindrova (5-2) vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova (7-2) (Lightweight)
Martina Jindrova and Zamzagul Fayzallanova are set to meet on the prelims.
Jindrova will be looking to keep her strong year going. She first earned a PFL Spot in March, defeating Jacqueline Cavalcanti on the promotion’s “Challenger Series” show. She then won her first regular season bout in March, defeating Vanessa Melo via decision. She’ll need to earn more points this weekend to appear in the playoffs.
Fayzallanova had a rough PFL debut earlier this year, getting stopped in just over a minute by Larissa Pacheco. Before then, she had four consecutive wins on the regional scene.
Bout 3: Marina Mokhnatkina (6-3) vs. Abby Montes (3-1) (Lightweight)
Both aiming to score their first win of the year, Marina Mokhnatkina and Abby Montes will face off.
Mokhnatkina had the biggest challenge possible for her first fight this season, losing against Kayla Harrison in May. Before then, she was on a two-fight winning streak that was attained in Bellator and PFL.
Montes took her first pro loss earlier this year against Olena Kolesnyk. She had a pro MMA record of three wins before then, including a victory over notable pro boxer Claressa Shields.
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (ESPN / TSN 2)
Bout 4: Jarrah Al-Silawi (18-3) vs. Magomed Umalatov (11-0) (Welterweight)
The main card will kick off with a welterweight fight between Jarrah Al-Silawi and Magomed Umalatov.
Umalatov has a strong undefeated record of 11 wins. He was last seen in the 2021 PFL season, where he attained two victories. He was scheduled to return in May against Ray Cooper III, although that bout didn’t end up happening.
Umalatov has a last-minute chance to score points and snag a playoff spot this weekend.
Al-Silawi joined the PFL roster in February through their “Challenger Series” program. He followed up that performance with a split decision win in May, defeating vet Gleison Tibau. He will fight to add onto his three points in 2022.
Bout 5: Larissa Pacheco (16-4) vs. Genah Fabian (5-2) (Lightweight)
Larissa Pacheco and Genah Fabian will meet in the next fight.
Pacheco currently leads the lightweight standings with six points. This lead was earned in May, when she put away Zamzagul Fayzallanova in just 85 seconds with punches.
Fabian started her year with a big win, defeating former Bellator Featherweight Champion Julia Budd via unanimous decision. While the win was massive for her, a weight miss stopped her from earning points and actually deducted her a point to start the season. She’ll need some points this weekend if she wants to challenge for a belt in the fall.
Bout 6: Magomed Magomedkerimov (29-6) vs. Dilano Taylor (9-1) (Welterweight)
Stepping in on just a day’s notice, Dilano Taylor will face Magomed Magomedkerimov on the main card.
Taylor is replacing Joao Zeferino, who withdrew from his bout this week. Much like prelim fighter Carlos Leal, it’s hard to understand why Taylor wasn’t on this card in the first place. He won his first PFL regular season appearance of the year, defeating Zeferino via split decision in May.
Taylor has a big challenge ahead of him, as Magomedkerimov was a finalist in the 2021 season.
Magomedkerimov will be appearing for the first time this year. He was booked for the previous welterweight card as well but had to withdraw before it took place. His last appearance was a finish loss to Ray Cooper III in October 2021, as part of PFL’s grand finals.
Bout 7: Ray Cooper III (24-8-1) vs. Brett Cooper (28-16) (Welterweight)
Defending champion Ray Cooper III will need a big performance against Brett Cooper this weekend if he wants to earn another $1 million grand prize.
Cooper III currently has a negative one-point score in the PFL season. This came due to him missing weight for his first fight of the season against Carlos Leal. He also went on to lose that fight, dropping a decision to Leal.
Cooper III had a perfect 2021 before then, scoring four wins and becoming the 2021 PFL Welterweight Champion.
Cooper, a veteran, will be fighting to bounce back from a recent loss. He was submitted early in his sole 2022 fight thus far, getting caught in a rear naked choke early by Rory MacDonald.
Bout 8: Rory MacDonald (23-8-1) vs. Sadibou Sy (10-6-2) (Welterweight)
The welterweight regular season will wrap up with a fight between Rory MacDonald and Sadibou Sy.
MacDonald started his 2022 season with a bang, submitting Brett Cooper in the first round with a rear naked choke. This turned things around for him after a rough 2021 season, which saw him earn one win but suffer two consecutive losses.
Sy, a PFL vet, is coming off a win over Nikolay Aleksakhin that he earned via split decision.
Bout 9: Kayla Harrison (13-0) vs. Kaitlin Young (12-12) (Lightweight)
Undefeated lightweight Kayla Harrison will face short-notice opponent Kaitlin Young in the final bout on Friday night.
Friday’s card was originally set to be headlined by a bigger bout between Harrison and Julia Budd. However, after Budd pulled out of the fight due to injury, Young stepped in.
Young has an experienced record of 24 pro fights, including many in notable promotion Invicta FC. She is returning to PFL for the first time since her 2021 season run, which saw her start with a win but then take two losses on scorecards.
Harrison started her 2022 with a decision victory over Marina Mokhnatkina in May. With only three points in the season, the two-time PFL Lightweight Champion will likely be hunting for a finish in Friday’s headlining bout.
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