The ''PFL 8''

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event for the 2021 season of the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

was held on August 19, 2021. This was the second event for of the playoffs with the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

and Women's

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

divisions competing. This event aired on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, with the prelims on

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

Background

Kayla Harrison Kayla Jean Harrison (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former judoka. She currently competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Wo ...

, the only two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo in the history of the United States, entered her second PFL playoffs unbeaten in 10 pro bouts. She faced

Genah Fabian Genah Fabian (born September 5, 1989) is a New Zealand Combat Sports athlete competing in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, MMA and Boxing. Background Fabian spent her early years living with her mother in West Auckland, before moving to Central Aucklan ...

who held a 4-1 record and had won both of her PFL regular season bouts against Julija Pajic and Laura Sanchez to advance to the playoffs. This is the second time that Harrison and Fabian had been scheduled to fight in the PFL. They were set to meet in the 2019 semifinals in October of that year, but Fabian withdrew due to an illness after issues with her weight cut. The other lightweight semifinal was expected to feature 2019 finalist

Larissa Pacheco Larissa Moreira Pacheco (born September 7, 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women’s Featherweight division of the professional fighters league (PFL). She won the 2022 PFL Women's Lightweight Championship a ...

and former

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

fighter Taylor Guardado. However, at the weigh-ins,

missed weight by 2 pounds and therefore was removed from the tournament and was replaced by 5th seeded

Mariana Morais Mariana Morais (born May 3, 1995) is a Brazilian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. From April 2020 to October 2020, Fight Matrix had Morais ranked within the top 10 of the rankings for Women's Featherweight+, r ...

. Morais's original opponent, Claudia Zamora, instead faced

Marina Mokhnatkina Marina Yuryevna Mokhnatkina (; née Kormiltseva, born 12 May 1988) is a sambo competitor and mixed martial artist. Mokhnatkina is a six-time world champion and two-time European champion in sambo. She is also an eight-time Russian champion in sam ...

after

Kaitlin Young Kaitlin Young (born September 15, 1985) is an American former mixed martial artist who last competed in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Young has also competed for EliteXC, Invicta Fighting Championships, ...

, Marina's opponent, was removed from the card. The heavyweight playoffs also began. Top seed

Bruno Cappelozza Bruno Henrique Cappelozza (born 20 May 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to the Professional Fighters League, where he competes in the heavyweight division. He is the 2021 PFL heavyweight world champion. Cappelozza has al ...

took on Jamelle Jones, who qualified for the playoffs with a knockout of

Klidson Abreu Klidson Abreu (born 24 December 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist competing in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). Mixed martial arts career ...

after stepping in as an alternate.

Denis Goltsov Denis Alexandrovich Goltsov (; born 10 June 1990) is a Russian sambo competitor, mixed martial artist, and former amateur boxer. As a sambist, Goltsov is a two-time world champion, two-time European champion, and three-time Russian champion. As a ...

and Ante Delija also met in the other heavyweight semifinal.

Results

2021 PFL Heavyweight playoffs

2021 PFL Women's Lightweight playoffs

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Professional Fighters League events 2021 in mixed martial arts August 2021 sports events in the United States Organized events in Hollywood, Florida Sports competitions in Broward County, Florida 2021 in sports in Florida

Background

Results

2021 PFL Heavyweight playoffs

2021 PFL Women's Lightweight playoffs

See also

References