MMA Kayla Harrison to headline the PFL Finals on New Year’s Eve by Daniel Yanofsky December 27, 2019 For the past two years, the PFL has built up Kayla Harrison as the next big thing in MMA. The two-time Olympic Judo Champion entered the MMA scene in 2018 following a 45-7 judo record. Now, their gamble will look to pay off, as she will main event the PFL Finals inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater on New Year’s Eve. Harrison is set to face Larissa Pacheco in a rematch from the beginning of the second season. All fights will be five rounds, with the winner set to become a champion and win $1 million. It has been a somewhat easy road for Harrison (6-0) to make it towards the finals, going a perfect 3-0 in the women’s lightweight tournament. She ended up beating Larissa (13-3) back in May in the PFL season opener. This one is more personal just for the fact of how she was taken care of; Harrison did not finish Pacheco, winning by unanimous decision. The only woman to avoid a submission or KO attempt, Larissa’s resiliency upset Harrison. It also upset fans after she beat fan favorite Sarah Kaufman in the semifinals. Now, the 29-year-old Harrison will look to prove to herself and the world she can get the job done. The co-main event will feature Ray Cooper III against David Michaud in the welterweight finals. Cooper was the runner-up last season, losing to Magomed Magomedkerimov via second-round submission. Opening up the main card will be Emiliano Sordi v. Jordan Johnson for the Light Heavyweight Title. The prelims will feature Brendan Loughnane v. David Alex Valente. Here is the PFL New Year’s card, with the main card set to begin at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2: * Kayla Harrison v. Larissa Pacheco – Women’s Lightweight Finals * Ray Cooper III v. David Michaud – Welterweight Finals * Natan Schulte v. Loik Radzhabov – Lightweight Finals * Lance Palmer v. Alex Gilpin – Featherweight Finals * Ali Isayev v. Jared Rosholt – Heavyweight Finals * Emiliano Sordi v. Jordan Johnson – Light Heavyweight Finals Prelims on ESPN+ * Brendan Loughnane vs. David Valente Post Views: 1,386 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Daniel Yanofsky Baseball Editor, Misc. Sports Editor. Covers all things combat sports (MMA, Pro Wrestling and Boxing). When he's not writing, Daniel hosts a podcast, The Main Event. Latest posts by Daniel Yanofsky (see all) Mets hire Luis Rojas to replace Carlos Beltran as manager - January 23, 2020 An Outsider’s 2020 Hall of Fame Ballot - January 21, 2020 A Wild Yo Sighting: Yoenis Cespedes participates in running, fielding and hitting drills - January 21, 2020 Following Conor McGregor’s win at UFC 246, is “The King” truly back? - January 20, 2020 Related TopicsFeatureKayla HarrisonmmaPFLPFL FinalsProfessional Fighters League Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 113: New York Post Columnist Phil Mushnick (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 29, 2021 More in MMA The Mockery of A Sport: Paul vs. Askren Jake Paul and Ben Askren are set to fight tonight, and as a fan... The Leverage Game: What’s Going on Between Jon Jones and UFC? After Francis Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic, fight fans everywhere were already excited about... Athletes and their “Charitable” Contributions The other day I was watching TV when I saw a commercial for Conor... Should the Holloway vs. Katter fight have been Stopped in the 4th Round? Dana White thought so… In my honest opinion, when it comes to sports there is nothing like watching... PFL signs former UFC, Bellator megastar Rory MacDonald DGS Staff Reflects on Favorite 2019 Metro-Area Sports Moments
For the past two years, the PFL has built up Kayla Harrison as the next big thing in MMA. The two-time Olympic Judo Champion entered the MMA scene in 2018 following a 45-7 judo record. Now, their gamble will look to pay off, as she will main event the PFL Finals inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater on New Year’s Eve. Harrison is set to face Larissa Pacheco in a rematch from the beginning of the second season. All fights will be five rounds, with the winner set to become a champion and win $1 million. It has been a somewhat easy road for Harrison (6-0) to make it towards the finals, going a perfect 3-0 in the women’s lightweight tournament. She ended up beating Larissa (13-3) back in May in the PFL season opener. This one is more personal just for the fact of how she was taken care of; Harrison did not finish Pacheco, winning by unanimous decision. The only woman to avoid a submission or KO attempt, Larissa’s resiliency upset Harrison. It also upset fans after she beat fan favorite Sarah Kaufman in the semifinals. Now, the 29-year-old Harrison will look to prove to herself and the world she can get the job done. The co-main event will feature Ray Cooper III against David Michaud in the welterweight finals. Cooper was the runner-up last season, losing to Magomed Magomedkerimov via second-round submission. Opening up the main card will be Emiliano Sordi v. Jordan Johnson for the Light Heavyweight Title. The prelims will feature Brendan Loughnane v. David Alex Valente. Here is the PFL New Year’s card, with the main card set to begin at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2: * Kayla Harrison v. Larissa Pacheco – Women’s Lightweight Finals * Ray Cooper III v. David Michaud – Welterweight Finals * Natan Schulte v. Loik Radzhabov – Lightweight Finals * Lance Palmer v. Alex Gilpin – Featherweight Finals * Ali Isayev v. Jared Rosholt – Heavyweight Finals * Emiliano Sordi v. Jordan Johnson – Light Heavyweight Finals Prelims on ESPN+ * Brendan Loughnane vs. David Valente