The 2022 PFL Championships have been announced.
Professional Fighters League (PFL) confirmed the event is set to be taking place on Friday, 25th November, inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York. An eight-fight main card with four fights on the undercard is available for the first time on pay-per-view (PPV), including six titles and six $1 million purses on the line. Some exciting showcase fights were announced with the likes of Shane Burgos vs Marlon Moraes and Jeremy Stephens vs Natan Shulte.
Women’s Lightweight Championship
Kayla Harrison, the headliner of the card, is most likely the most well-known fighter in the PFL, and for a good reason. She is undefeated and also a two-time world champion, and her record is 15-0. Larissa Pacheco, the challenger, has already been beaten twice by the champion but has undoubtedly confirmed her spot as the No.2, going 5-0 with five finishes since her second loss to Harrison and sporting an 18-4 record.
Featherweight Championship
Brendan Loughnane, the UK frontrunner for the PFL going into this fight with seven wins in his last eight and a record of 25-4, has his chance to capture PFL gold and that exclusive $1 million purse. From being turned away from the UFC to doing his own thing successfully, UK fans should be behind Brendan to do something special. It will not be an easy task, however, as he is fighting Bubba Jenkins, Jenkins with a record of 19-4, who has fought everyone and everywhere. He is an extremely seasoned fighter who is coming into his stride as a high-level fighter and is coming into this fight on a three-fight win streak.
Heavyweight Championship
Ante Delija gets his second chance after losing a unanimous decision last year in his championship fight. He has a record of 22-5, and since his title fight loss, he has gone 3-0 with 2 KOs, one of which being against his opponent for this fight, proving he has got what it takes to secure the title. Matheus Scheffel, 17-8 Brazilian MMA veteran, has a chance in his first PFL season to capture the title and prize money. He just has to avenge his loss to the man who most recently beat him.
Lightweight Championship
Olivier Aubin-Mercier has gone undefeated in two seasons of PFL and has finally secured his shot at the title even though he is yet to get a finish with a record of 16-5. With a win in this fight, he could prove for good that separating from the UFC was a good decision. Stevie Ray comes into this 25-10 and has picked up two wins over the former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis one by decision and the other by way of twister. He has the chance to bring Scotland home a title in the former years of his career.
Welterweight Championship
Sadibou Sy is one of few fighters that has taken part in all four PFL tournaments, and this year has finally got his chance in the championship fight with a record of 12-6-2. He formally used to be a kickboxer but has since rounded his game to compete in MMA. Dilano Taylor has not had the most usual route to the final as he stepped in on a day’s notice three times, and the final time he did that, he defeated former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald in the very first round, which has given him this oppurtunity.
Light-Heavyweight Championship
Omari Akhmedov, former UFC fighter 24-7-1, has been impressive in the PFL and is now reaping his rewards with a title opportunity, he is on a three-fight win streak, and if he can make it four, it will be the biggest of his career. Rob Wilkinson, also a former UFC fighter, is proving that there is life for him outside the UFC. He was let go after Israel Adesanya beat him and hasn’t lost since. He sports a record of 16-2 and is a three-fight victory KO streak.
Featured image credits to PFL
