Kayla Harrison To Headline PFL 2022 Season Opener In May
Kayla Harrison is back in action.
The PFL announced its opening women’s lightweight and men’s welterweight matchups for the 2022 regular season. It’ll feature Harrison (12-0) against Russia’s Marina Mokhnatkina (6-2) in the PFL 3 main event.
The co-main event will feature welterweight champion Ray Cooper III (24-7-1) and Magomed Umalatov (11-0).
This will be Harrison’s first event since going on the free agency market in late 2021 and early 2022. Her previous contract ended when she became a two-time PFL champion after submitting Taylor Guardado in the second round.
The American lightweight received lucrative offers from Bellator and a smaller offer from the UFC, but PFL matched the biggest contract, to which Harrison went with.
Harrison is ESPN’s No. 7 female pound-for-pound fighter, and has yet to taste defeat in her professional career.
PFL 3 will take place on May 6 at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Here’s the projected lineup:
- Kayla Harrison vs. Marina Mokhnatkina, women’s lightweight
- Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Umalatov, welterweight
- Anthony Pettis vs. Myles Price, lightweight
- Rory MacDonald vs. Brett Cooper, welterweight
- Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino, welterweight
- Genah Fabian vs. Julia Budd, women’s lightweight
- Sadibou Sy vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin, welterweight
- Larissa Pacheco vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova, women’s lightweight
- Gleison Tibau vs. Jarrah Al Silawi, welterweight
- Olena Kolesnyk vs. Abigail Montes, women’s lightweight
- Vanessa Melo vs. Martina Jindrova