The ''PFL 8''

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

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 Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

and Women's

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

divisions competing. This event aired on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, with the prelims on

ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Background

Kayla Harrison Kayla Jean Harrison (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former Olympic and world champion judoka, currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Harrison competed in the weight category in jud ...

, 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 kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Background Said by Fabian in an interview, "I was born and raised in West Auckland as a kid and then we moved into central Auckland when I went to Hig ...

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 competes in the Lightweight division of the PFL. Since 2020, Pacheco was ranked within the top 10 of the Women's Featherweight+ rankings by Fight Matrix, ha ...

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

Marina Mokhnatkina Marina Yuryevna Mokhnatkina (russian: Марина Юрьевна Мохнаткина; 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 ...

after

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

, Marina's opponent, was removed from the card. The heavyweight playoffs also began. Top seed Bruno Cappelozza 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 of Professional Fighters League. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early ...

after stepping in as an alternate. Denis Goltsov 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 2021 in mixed martial arts August 2021 sports events in the United States Events in Hollywood, Florida

Background

Results

2021 PFL Heavyweight playoffs

2021 PFL Women's Lightweight playoffs

See also

References