First-round finish for @KaylaH
#PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/s6bNP5VYia— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
August 20, 2021
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla
Harrison advanced to the 2021
Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight final and made
it look easy.
The undefeated
American Top Team star disposed of Genah
Fabian with punches in the first round of their
PFL 8 headliner on Thursday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and
Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Harrison (11-0, 10-0 PFL) brought
their semifinal to a close 4:01 into Round 1.
Fabian (4-2, 3-2 PFL) never stood a chance. Harrison closed the
distance, trapped the City Kickboxing representative in the clinch
along the fence and executed a takedown. She transitioned from side
control to mount and threatened with an armbar before turning to
her ground-and-pound. Harrison then battered the Kiwi with punches from
above, floated to the back and continued the assault with both
hands until referee Andrew Glenn had seen enough.
Harrison, 31, now shifts her attention to the tournament final and
a date with a still-nascent Taylor
Guardado on Oct. 27.
Thudding leg kicks, multiple takedowns and a steady diet of counter
right hands carried Guardado to a split decision over Mariana
Morais on the other side of the women’s lightweight bracket.
All three judges struck 29-28 scorecards: John Rupert and Michael
Tate for Guardado, Eliseo Rodriguez for Morais.
Guardado (3-1, 3-0 PFL) did just enough to get by during a
15-minute encounter in which neither woman seemed able or willing
to seize command. Morais (17-12, 1-2 PFL) answered the
Xtreme Couture rep’s efforts with a pair of beautiful hip-toss
takedowns—one in the first round, another in the third—but failed
to consolidate them with meaningful damage or control.
The 30-year-old Guardado has won three fights in a row.
Meanwhile, former Jungle
Fight champion Bruno
Henrique Cappelozza put away Jamelle
Jones with punches in the second round of their 2021 PFL
heavyweight semifinal. Jones (12-7, 1-1 PFL) succumbed to blows 93
seconds into Round 2, his three-fight winning streak at an end.
Cappelozza (13-5, 3-0 PFL) chipped away at the Dana White’s
Contender Series alum’s base with repeated kicks to the inside of
his lead leg. He picked his spots from the outside, steered clear
of danger and waited for his investment to pay off. Jones became
more and more stationary as time progressed, leaving him more and
more vulnerable to the Brazilian’s other weapons. Cappelozza stunned and floored him with a jab early
in the second round, trailed him to the canvas and drew the curtain
with a volley of punches.
The win moves Cappelozza into the Oct. 27 heavyweight tournament
final, where he faces a rematch with Ante
Delija—a man he knocked out in 46 seconds a little more than
three months ago.
The 31-year-old Delija leaned on timely takedowns and suffocating
positional control, as he sprang an upset and walked away with a
unanimous decision over Denis
Goltsov on the other side of the heavyweight bracket. All three
judges scored it 29-28 for Delija (19-4, 3-1 PFL).
Delija withstood being mounted midway through the first round,
trapped the former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder in the
clinch and managed to set a pace for which he was better suited.
Goltsov (27-7, 5-2 PFL) was dominant in the middle stanza, where he
stung the Mirko
Filipovic protege with jabs, sprawled out of an attempted
takedown and drove his counterpart to a kneeling position along the
base of the fence. Once there, he unleashed a series of right hands
to the side of the Croatian’s head. However, the Sambo Piter
export’s inability to finish proved costly. Delija rebounded in
Round 3, struck for a takedown inside the first 20 seconds and kept
the Russian pinned to the canvas for much of the period.
The loss snapped Goltsov’s two-fight winning streak.
In other action, Renan
Ferreira (8-2, 2-0 PFL) knocked out Stuart
Austin (15-7, 0-1 PFL) with a clean right cross 31 seconds into the first
round of their heavyweight confrontation; Muhammed
DeReese (9-4, 4-4 PFL) was awarded a unanimous verdict over
Carl
Seumanutafa (12-14, 0-4 PFL) in a three-round heavyweight
scrap, prompting 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 nods from the judges;
Marina
Mokhnatkina (6-2, 1-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous decision
over Claudia
Zamora (3-2, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round women’s lightweight
tilt, earning 30-27 scores across the board; Amanda Leve
(1-0, 1-0 PFL) submitted Miranda
Barber (1-2, 0-1 PFL) with a rear-naked choke 4:18 into the first round
of their women’s lightweight pairing; and Christian
Lohsen (9-2, 1-0 PFL) took a unanimous decision from Jonas Flok
(14-6, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round lightweight affair, drawing 29-28
marks from all three cageside judges.