2022 PFL Championships: Preview

Get the Full StoryWe re gonna do this again.

The 2022 season comes to a close with a million on the line for each division, and a handful of other bouts. In yet another year of unexpected surprises, PFL winds down to their final event for the year with their championship fights. Each divisional winner takes home ae a a cool million, along with bragging rights for the year.

What makes this year vastly different is the amount of upsets that have led to the landscape changing drastically during the playoffs. Now the finals have a fair amount of newer faces and some fighters that haven t been this close to the top.

All of this is a net good, by the way. It s interesting to see lesser-known participants work through the field to get here. But we re gonna start by discussing the most well-known fighter under the company s umbrella, Kayla Harrison.

Harrison remains undefeated at 15-0, and has already fought against Larissa Pacheco 18-4 twice. Given the tournament format, we re here again, with the devastating striker hoping the third time s the charm to overcome the overwhelming odds. To her credit, Pacheco s gotten even better at focusing the power in her shots and doesn t need to land much to put someone away - or at least in grave danger.

The featherweight title has a pair of new faces facing each other for the first time. Bubba Jenkins 19-5 sealed the deal after two decision wins and notched a lovely submission win to get here. Brendan Loughnane 25-4 had some consistent and sturdy performances to earn three decision wins one of them a technical decision . Jenkins has utilized his wrestling heavily but his slick boxing has also helped a big deal. Loughnane has used his range and his kicking game with a controlling clinch as his aides.

Light heavyweight has a real treat, as Ante Delija 22-5 finally broke free from the pack to be a major threat. And he meets Brazil s Matheus Scheffel 17-8 in a bout of heavy-hitters, although Delija has more submission threats and more layers to his striking arsenal. Scheffel makes up for it in power and ferocity, but will want to be careful against the measured veteran.

Stevie Ray 25-10 displayed ground dominance en route to the finals with back to back wins over Anthony Pettis. He meets Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who has had a nice run in hard-fought battles to reach the finish line.

Sadibou Sy 12-6, 2 draws won three straight by decision after imposing his size and smarts to control and outpace opponents. He ll fight for the welterweight championship against surprise success Dilano Taylor 10-2 , who bounced back from a loss to Magomed Magomedkerimov with a sensational upset against former UFC and Bellator star Rory MacDonald.

Omari Akhmedov 24-7, 1 draw looks like a totally different fighter from his UFC days. He squares off against fellow UFC vet Rob Wilkinson 16-2 , who has also made strides in his evolution having three straight finishes in 2022.

Julia Budd 16-4 welcomes Aspen Ladd 9-3 to the PFL cage at featherweight, while Sheymon Moraes 14-6 and Marlon Moraes 23-10, 1 draw - no relation have a Brazilian striker battle. Jeremy Stephens 29-20 faces former champ Natan Schulte 22-5, 1 draw at lightweight, and Gleison Tibau yes, that Gleison - 36-16 meets Magomed Magomedkerimov 20-6 in what could be an under-the-radar banger.

Finally, alternates for each division also weighed in should they be needed for the event.

You can check out the weigh-ins right here:

Full card is as follows:

Kayla Harrison 154.4 vs. Larissa Pacheco 154.2 - Lightweight final

Brendan Loughnane 144.8 vs. Bubba Jenkins 145 - Featherweight final

Ante Delija 241.8 vs. Matheus Scheffel 256.4 - Heavyweight final

Aspen Ladd 145.4 vs. Julia Budd 146 - Lightweight showcase

Stevie Ray 154.6 vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier 154.6 - Lightweight final

Dilano Taylor 169.4 vs. Sadibou Sy 169.6 - Welterweight final

Omari Akhmedov 202.8 vs. Rob Wilkinson 204.6 - Light heavyweight

Prelims

Marlon Moraes 146 vs. Sheymon Moraes 145.8 - Featherweight

Jeremy Stephens 155.8 vs. Natan Schulte 155.4 - Lightweight

Magomed Magomedkerimov 175.8 vs. Gleison Tibau 174.6 - Welterweight

Dakota Ditcheva 125.6 vs. Katherine Corogenes 124.3 - Flyweight

Biaggio Ali Walsh 154.8 vs. Tom Graesser 154.8 - Lightweight

Delan Monte 204.8 - Light heavyweight alternate

Martina Jindrova 153.6 - Women s lightweight alternate

Alexander Martinez 154.6 - Lightweight alternate

Renan Ferreira 259.8 - Heavyweight alternate

The PFL 2022 finals will be airing with the prelims streaming live at 5:00pm EST on ESPN , and the main card on PPV starting at 8:00pm.

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