NEW YORK — Kayla Harrison has still yet to taste defeat.
The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist defeated Larissa Pacheco in the rematch to remain undefeated in her MMA career and win both the 2019 PFL women’s lightweight championship and the $1 million prize that went with winning the season tournament.
Harrison’s performance against Pacheco (13-4 MMA, 2-2 PFL) was dominant. The former judoka player was able to take down and control the Brazilian there in all five rounds. Harrison won easily on the scorecard, outpointing Pacheco 50-43, 50-45, 50-45.
Despite looking dominant, Harrison (7-0 MMA, 7-0 PFL) did face some adversity in the fight.
Pacheco threatened with a knee to the head in the third round that seemed to connect clean on Harrison. She also came alive in the fifth, as she walked down Harrison for a good portion of the round while landing shots. Towards the end of the firth and final round Pacheco also threaten with standing ten-finger choke but Harrison eventually turned it into a takedown to finish the fight on top.
Ray Cooper III earns redemption, finishes David Michaud for welterweight crown
Ray Cooper III once again got to a PFL championship final, but this time he didn’t leave home the loser.
The Hawaiian fighter stopped David Michaud in the co-main event by using a nasty left hook to the body that shut down Michaud. The official stoppage came at 2:56 of round two.
Cooper (20-7-1 MMA, 7-2-1 PFL) came close to having a flawless performance. He controlled Michaud (18-6 MMA, 3-2 PFL) against cage early in the first, dropped him with a hook to the body and maintained top control for the rest of the round.
In the second round, Cooper failed to get the fight to the ground so he engaged on the feet with Michaud, which got dicey for a bit. A couple minutes in, Michaud connected with some hard knees to the head and some solid hooks that appeared to hurt Cooper. Cooper responded with a takedown and while Michaud was working his way back to his feet, Cooper sat him down with a nasty shot to the liver followed up by punches.
Copper lost in the final of the 2018 PFL season. The win over Michaud marks his first PFL championship win.
Ali Isaev outwrestles Jared Rosholt, finishes for heavyweight crown
Ali Isaev defeated Jared Rosholt at his own game.
The Russian fighter outwrestled Rosholt (20-8 MMA, 6-4 PFL) over the course of four rounds to eventually get the finish and win the 2019 PFL heavyweight championship.
Rosholt landed good strikes throughout the fight and even threatened with a guillotine at the end of round one. However, Isaev’s pressure and takedowns proved to be the superior factor throughout the fight.
After three rounds of heavy grappling, Isaev (9-0 MMA, 5-0 PFL) was able to get Rosholt to the ground in round four and wear down the American. With less than a minute remaining, Isaev turned up the ground-and-pound and forced Rosholt to shell up. With Rosholt offering no answer to the strikes, the referee had no option but to stop the fight at the 4:09 mark.
Isaev is 36 years old and remains undefeated in his MMA career.
Natan Schulte bests Loik Radzhabov in thrilling throwdown
If there were “Fight of the Night” bonuses in PFL, Natan Schulte vs. Loik Radzhabov would’ve easily earned it.
Both Schulte (20-3-1 MMA, 9-0-1 PFL) and Radzhabov (13-2-1 MMA, 2-2-1 PFL) engaged in a non-stop action battle for 25 minutes. In the end, Schulte left with his hand raised, a $1 million in his pocket, and the 2019 PFL lightweight title. Schulte beat Radzhabov 49-44, 49-46, 48-47 on the scorecards.
Schulte started hot in the fight, wobbling and taking down Radzhabov to have the biggest impact of round one. Second round things took a turn. Radzhabov landed plenty of clean shots and at time seems to hurt Schulte.
From that point on, Rounds 3-5 were quite competitive. Both fighters had good moments on the feet and ground, but ultimately Schulte had the best highlights and control, mounting Radzhabov in rounds four and five. It was a grueling bout that had both fighters spent in the end.
Schulte remains unbeaten PFL, winning both the 2018 and 2019 lightweight championships.
Lance Palmer claims second straight featherweight title
Lance Palmer has Alex Gilpin’s number.
The 2018 PFL featherweight champion defeated Gilpin (14-4 MMA, 2-3 PFL) for a third time to win the 2019 PFL featherweight belt and his second $1 million dollar prize in the company. Palmer (22-3 MMA, 11-0 PFL) was favored 50-43, 50-44, 50-44 on the judge’s scorecards.
Palmer’s strong wrestling and dominant top control was the protagonist of the fight. Throughout the entire five rounds, Palmer took down Gilpin and controlled top position.
Palmer was able to avoid referee stand-ups with his constant advancement in position and ground-and-pound. Gilpin had some threatening moment in rounds one and two with some choked that seemed to catch Palmer’s attention. But despite the admirable efforts, Gilpin was out-grappled the entire fight.
Palmer had beaten Gilpin twice prior to the final, first in May and then again in October.
Emiliano Sordi’s quick stoppage claims light heavyweight gold
Argentina now has a champion in a major North American promotion.
Emiliano Sordi used heavy ground-and-pound to stop Jordan Johnson and earn himself $1 million plus the 2019 PFL light heavyweight title.
Sordi (22-8 MMA, 6-1 PFL) and Johnson (12-2-1 MMA, 2-2-1 PFL) traded heavy shots early, but it was Sordi landed the better shots. About halfway through the round, Sordi dropped Johnson with a big straight right hand. Johnson tried to takedown Sordi with a low single once on the ground, but the Argentinian followed up with ground-and-pound to force the referee to wave off the fight.
The official stoppage came at 2:01 mark of the first round.
Meet one of 2020’s newest millionaires! @emilianosordi
with an explosive performance! #PFLChampionship pic.twitter.com/7CKiG81T2v
— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) January 1, 2020
Brendan Loughnane decisions David Valente
Brendan Loughnane remains unbeaten inside the PFL cage.
The Englishman had a seamless decision win over Brazil’s David Valente to kick off the PFL championship finals. Loughnane (19-3 MMA, 2-0 PFL) controlled most of the fight using his range and leg kicks.
In the first round, Loughnane took control of the center of the cage and picked apart Valente (11-5 MMA, 0-1 PFL) with leg kicks. Round two was a similar story, as Loughnane used distance and avoided many of the strikes Valente threw. Valente was bit trigger shy and was switching stances to alleviate the leg kicks being absorbed.
Third round Loughnane took down Valente early. Valente got up not long after the takedown. With a sense of urgency, Valente walked down Loughnane but didn’t land anything flush. Loughnane would score another takedown where he landed good ground-and-pound until the final bell rang.
Loughnane defeated Valente 30-27 on all three judge’s scorecards.
The 2019 PFL championships went down on Dec. 31 from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Graden in New York. The entire main card, which hosted six championship bouts, aired live on ESPN 2. Harrison vs. Pacheco headlined the event.
Full 2019 PFL Championship results:
- Kayla Harrison def. Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-45, 50-45) (wins women’s lightweight championship)
- Ray Cooper III def. David Michaud via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 2:56 (wins welterweight championship)
- Ali Isaev def. Jared Rosholt via TKO (punches) — Round 4, 4:09 (wins heavyweight championship)
- Natan Schulte def. Loik Radzhabov via unanimous decision (49-44, 49-46, 48-47) (wins lightweight championship)
- Lance Palmer def. Alex Gilpin via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44) (wins featherweight championship)
- Emiliano Sordi def. Jordan Johnson via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 2:01 (wins light heavyweight championship)
- Brendan Loughnane def. David Alex Valente via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2019 PFL Championship results: Kayla Harrison claims first PFL women's $1 million title