Matches to Make After PFL 9

The Professional Fighters League and its playoff format once again made my job easier with PFL 9 on Saturday at Copper Box Arena in London. With the featherweight and women’s lightweight champions now set, let us examine the matches and look toward Nov. 25:

2022 PFL Featherweight Championship

#3 | Bubba Jenkins (19-5, 5-1 PFL) vs. #4 | Brendan Loughnane (24-4, 7-1 PFL)

A onetime NCAA wrestling champion, Jenkins advanced to the featherweight final with a quick rear-naked choke submission of an overmatched Ryoji Kudo. His PFL resume also includes wins over Lance Palmer, Bobby Moffett, Kyle Bochniak and Reinaldo Ekson, with his only setback coming in a decision defeat to Chris Wade. Loughnane, meanwhile, continued to show that the Ultimate Fighting Championship made an idiotic mistake by not signing him following a successful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. He is now 10-1 over his past 11 bouts after taking a lopsided unanimous verdict from Wade in their semifinal. Loughnane has won seven of his eight fights in the PFL, a split decision loss to the unbeaten Movlid Khaybulaev in 2021 his only misstep. MMA math has its flaws, but it is notable that Loughnane just decisively beat Wade—the same man who dominated Jenkins a year ago. While his wrestling credentials were not as good as those Jenkins brings to the table, Wade featured the better mixed martial arts grappling and significantly better striking. If Loughnane just defeated the former Ring of Combat champion, it seems clear he should be a heavy favorite against Jenkins. Of course, the Englishman could always show up off his game at the final. That seems unlikely. Loughnane figures to batter him with strikes, all while avoiding takedowns or getting to his feet after he hits the mat. Expect him to win an easy decision or to garner a late stoppage.

2022 PFL Women’s Lightweight Championship

#1 | Larissa Pacheco (18-4, 7-2 PFL) vs. #2 | Kayla Harrison (15-0, 14-0 PFL)

Surprising exactly no one, Harrison triumphed as a modest -4000 favorite when she submitted Martina Jindrova with a first-round arm-triangle choke in their semifinal. It raised her overall record to 15-0, with 14 of those victories coming under the PFL banner. All but three of them—her first two encounters with Pacheco and her May 6 pairing with Marina Mokhnatkina—have resulted in stoppages. Harrison is a massive, powerful and athletic lightweight in ways no other women at 155 pounds can match. On top of her physical superiority, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is a sublime grappler who can sink opponents from the clinch with ease. Harrison has a solid all-around game with competent defense, and she fights patiently and intelligently. She is not unbeatable, but it is all but impossible to see anyone in the PFL upsetting her at this point. Meanwhile, Pacheco proved the she is just as easily the second-best women’s lightweight in the PFL, as she delivered her fifth straight first-round knockout by finishing Helena Kolesnyk with punches for a second time. The Brazilian will now face Harrison in a trilogy bout, which serves as a rematch of their 2019 PFL final. Pacheco has a better chance than anyone to beat Harrison, but those chances need not be overstated. She may be destroying other opponents, but all of that goes out the window against Harrison. In order to land her punches, Pacheco moves forward in predictable fashion to get close to her target. Doing so would allow Harrison to clinch and take her down. Moreover, Pacheco does not typically knock out opponents with a single blow. There is a possibility she hurts Harrison at some point in the fight, but again, the judoka can clinch and recover. Harrison might actually be less than a four-digit favorite this time, but expect her to threepeat as PFL women’s lightweight champion.