Professional Fighters League (PFL) News
Mark Martin provides update following nasty eye injury at PFL Challengers: “If my eye recovers 100% I will be back”
Harry Kettle - February 28, 2022
PFL Challengers fighter Mark Martin has provided an update on his recovery following a gruesome eye injury during his last fight. While he may have enjoyed some success against Dilano Taylor, the night didn’t end well for Mark Martin on Friday as he lost due to a doctor stoppage between the first and second round. The reason for the stoppage was because the eye of Martin was bulging out of the socket, which his manager believes happened because he blew his nose which led to the pressure causing an escalation of the initial injury.
Anthony Pettis responds to rematch request from new PFL signee Jeremy Stephens: “My chin has been tested and it’s proven”
Susan Cox - February 21, 2022
Anthony Pettis has responded to a rematch request from Jeremy Stephens. Jeremy Stephens (28-19 MMA) recently signed with PFL (Professional Fighters League) and has expressed interested in having a rematch with Anthony Pettis (24-10 MMA).
Tyron Woodley, Randy Couture, Wiz Khalifa, others to serve as special judges for PFL Challengers Series
Josh Evanoff - February 18, 2022
PFL Challengers is starting up with its first event this week. Ahead of the inaugural show, the promotion has announced it has some interesting judges. The PFL Challengers Series operates very similarly to the Dana White Contender Series. There are multiple fights, and then the best fighters are selected to be brought into the promotion.
Kayla Harrison on her relationship with former roommate Ronda Rousey: “I don’t think we’re friends anymore”
Harry Kettle - February 16, 2022
Kayla Harrison has spoken about her previous friendship with fellow judoka Ronda Rousey and why it may be over. While they may be in very different places in their careers now, with Harrison in mixed martial arts and Rousey transitioning over into professional wrestling, there was once a time when the two were close friends. They both won medals at the Olympic Games, they’ve both found success at the elite level in MMA, and judo was their first love.
Kenny Florian says the UFC slowly removed him from broadcasting gigs after he turned down a coaching position on TUF
Harry Kettle - January 25, 2022
Kenny Florian has claimed the UFC began removing him from broadcasting roles after he turned down a coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter. Following his retirement from active competition, former title challenger Kenny Florian became an even bigger part of the UFC family. He was regularly featured on a series of broadcasts by the promotion, usually in a commentary position. However, a few years ago, he slowly began to drop off the radar – prompting questions from the fanbase.
Report | Kayla Harrison expected to re-sign with PFL
Cole Shelton - January 18, 2022
Kayla Harrison will likely be heading back to the Professional Fighters League. According to MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani, PFL is the front-runner to sign the coveted free agent in Harrison. The deal is not done yet but the report says an agreement is all but finalized. It’s also trending in the right direction to be made official soon.
Jake Paul fighting in PFL is a serious possibility according to CEO Peter Murray
Harry Kettle - January 14, 2022
PFL CEO Peter Murray has said that Jake Paul fighting for the promotion could be a serious possibility in the future. For the last few years we’ve seen Jake Paul focus most of his energy on a successful transition into professional boxing. With a 5-0 record to his name alongside knockout wins over the likes of Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren, it’s safe to say the man formerly known as a “controversial YouTube star” has turned the game on its head in a fairly substantial way.
PFL, Bellator veteran Jordan Young dead at 27
Cole Shelton - December 19, 2021
Jordan Young has passed away at age 27. Young, a veteran of PFL and Bellator, passed away on Saturday, his boxing coach at American Top Team Derik Santos. ATT and PFL confirmed the news on Sunday. The cause of death is not known at this time.
PFL fighter Christian Lohsen has testicle removed after MMA training accident
Adam D Martin - November 12, 2021
PFL fighter Christian Lohsen announced on social media that he had to have his testicle removed after an MMA training accident. On Thursday, Lohsen took to his social media to reveal that he had to have his left testicle removed after a training accident. According to the fighter, he was hit with a knee in his left testicle which led to it being ruptured and then surgically removed. It appears as though Lohsen has a good attitude about everything as he cracked some jokes in his post despite the pain he must be in. Take a look at his post below.
Claressa Shields reacts following loss at PFL 10, responds to criticism from Jake Paul
Harry Kettle - October 29, 2021
Claressa Shields has hit back at Jake Paul’s criticism after her defeat to Abigail Montes at PFL 10 on Wednesday. After a successful mixed martial arts debut earlier this year, Claressa Shields was handed her first loss in the sport at PFL 10 when she suffered a split decision loss to Abigail Montes. While Montes was the deserving winner, Shields definitely showcased some progress in many aspects of her game.
Bruno Cappelozza reacts after learning his father passed away just minutes after winning PFL heavyweight title
Adam D Martin - October 28, 2021
Bruno Cappelozza reacted after learning his father passed away just minutes after winning the PFL heavyweight title and $1 million. Cappelozza defeated Ante Delija in a five-round heavyweight slugfest to win the PFL heavyweight championship and the $1 million grand prize. Just minutes after Cappelozza won the heavyweight tournament, the broadcast revealed that his family told him following his win that his father, Joao, passed away on Sunday. Cappelozza’s family wanted him to stay completely focused on his fight against Delija and they did not tell Cappelozza that his father had passed away until after the fight. It was an incredibly emotional moment for Cappelozza, and following the event, he took to his social media to react to the sad news.
Kayla Harrison non-committal to joining the UFC following expiration of PFL contract
Adam D Martin - October 28, 2021
PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison is non-committal to joining the UFC following the expiration of her PFL contract. Harrison defeated Taylor Guardado via second-round submission in the women’s lightweight finals at the PFL Championship on Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Harrison dominated the fight from beginning to end by utilizing her dominant grappling game to get her opponent to the mat and finally submit her. It was the second straight tournament championship victory for Harrison in PFL, and the fight also marked the end of her contract with the promotion. Now that she has fought out the final fight of her deal, Harrison is headed towards free agency for the first time.
PFL 10 Results and Highlights: Ray Cooper lll and Kayla Harrison earn $1 million with stunning finishes
Harry Kettle - October 28, 2021
Ray Cooper III and Kayla Harrison were amongst the newly crowned millionaire champions on PFL 10 last night. It was another thrilling evening of PFL action on Wednesday with six champions, and six $1 million payouts, being made from the prelims all the way up to the main event. The usual contenders were in the mix with everything from dramatic decisions to world-class finishes being on display for the masses to enjoy.
Wiz Khalifa open to taking MMA fight with PFL: "I could see myself getting in the ring"
Adam D Martin - October 27, 2021
Hip-hop artist Wiz Khalifa says that he is open to staking an MMA fight with PFL in the future, saying “I could see myself getting in the ring.” Khalifa recently became an investment with PFL, which holds its tournament championship on Wednesday. Khalifa is a huge MMA and combat sports fan himself, so when he had the opportunity to join the PFL family, he took it. But for Khalifa, this is not just about making a business investment or getting his name out there to more MMA fans. Instead, this could be the start of him potentially competing himself.
PFL star Kayla Harrison details previous run-in with Dillon Danis: “I slapped him, I think”
Harry Kettle - October 26, 2021
PFL star Kayla Harrison has spoken about the time she had a run-in with notorious Bellator fighter Dillon Danis. As Harrison attempts to continue her phenomenal run in PFL, many folks who are on the outside looking in have been talking about her potential and where she may go from here. After all, she’s had an incredibly dominant MMA career up to this point and she’s showing no signs of slowing down.
PFL Founder Donn Davis fires back at Dana White for comments about Kayla Harrison
Drake Riggs - October 25, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison will be a free agent after this Wednesday’s PFL 2021 Championship. Appearing during the fight week’s media day, Harrison answered the usual round of questions – lastly focusing on comments from Dana White earlier in the day.
Claressa Shields insists she is not homophobic after protesting DC Comics’ bisexual Superman
Harry Kettle - October 14, 2021
PFL star Claressa Shields has insisted she isn’t homophobic after questioning DC Comics’ decision to make Superman bisexual. It was revealed earlier this week that in an upcoming comic book story, Jon Kent – the son of Clark Kent – will be involved in a romantic relationship with a man. That led to quite the divide within the community regarding whether or not it was a good or bad move and based on her comments, Shields clearing wasn’t happy about it.
Brendan Loughnane among alternates named for PFL $1 million tournament finals
Adam Martin - October 10, 2021
Former UFC fighter Brendan Loughnane was among the alternate fighters named for the upcoming PFL $1 million tournament finals. Loughnane competed once in the Octagon in 2012, losing a decision to Mike Wilkinson. After putting in the work on the regional scene, Loughnane made his way to Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. However, while he did win a decision over Bill Algeo, White passed on signing Loughnane to a UFC contract due to shooting for a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the fight. In a cruel twist of fate, Algeo would later be signed to the UFC.