The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, is set for its third 2022 Regular Season event this Friday, May 6 on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
For Irish fight fans, coverage will be streaming online via Channel 4 Sport (video below) and on your screens on Channel 4.
Fighters across the Welterweight and Women’s Lightweight divisions will look to make a strong first impression and earn valuable points in the standings. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will also make his 2022 debut in a Lightweight division matchup against Myles Price.
PFL 3 begins at 6 pm. ET / 11 pm Irish time on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) and Channel 4 then the action continues on ESPN2 and Channel 4 and will be simulcast on ESPN+ at 9 pm. ET or 2am Irish time (Saturday).
Who’s fighting on PFL 3?
Two-time PFL World Champion Kayla Harrison returns to the SmartCage to face Sambo ace Marina Mokhnatkina in the main event. Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, is a perfect 12-0 since making the move to MMA in 2018 and has established herself as the top fighter in women’s MMA today. Mokhnatkina will have her hands full with Harrison who will be looking to claim her third consecutive Women’s Lightweight World title.
Ray Cooper III has been a mainstay in the PFL since its first season in 2018. The anvil-fisted Hawaiian slugger has been to the final in each of the league’s three seasons, claiming the coveted crown in 2019 and 2021. He’ll look to notch a hat trick in 2022 and his first opponent will be Carlos Leal. The Brazilian Welterweight loves to throw down and he will surely be obliged by one of MMA’s heaviest hitters in Cooper.
Pettis returns to the PFL for his second campaign in 2022. The MMA legend will square off with Kilkenny’s own Myles Price in a Lightweight matchup. Pettis (24-12) had a rocky start to his PFL run but is motivated and looking for redemption this Regular Season. Standing in his way will be Price (11-7), a dogged competitor looking to hoist the Irish flag in the PFL for the first time.
Rory MacDonald saw his 2021 PFL run come to an end in the semifinals when he fell, by unanimous decision, to the eventual champion Cooper III. The 32-year-old Canadian feels he has plenty left in the tank and is poised to prove he still belongs among the elite at 170-pounds. He’ll face a different Cooper this time around when he duels with Brett Cooper, a veteran of more than 40 professional MMA tilts. Cooper has some heavy hands (18 KO’s) and a ton of experience, but will that be enough to challenge one of the best welterweights the sport has ever seen? We’ll find out Friday night.
Calling the live action will be play-by-play announcer and former world champion, Sean O’Connell. He’ll be joined by Hall-of-Famer and MMA legend Randy Couture and one of the most popular MMA personalities today, Kenny Florian.
PFL 3 Fight Card
ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+ (Channel 4 Main Card)
- Kayla Harrison vs. Marina Mokhnatkina
- Ray Cooper III vs. Carlos Leal
- Anthony Pettis vs. Myles Price
- Rory MacDonald vs. Brett Cooper
- Larissa Pacheco vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova
ESPN+ Card (Channel 4 Prelims)
- Dilano Taylor vs. Joao Zeferino
- Genah Fabian vs. Julia Budd
- Sadibou Sy vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin
- Gleison Tibau vs. Jarrah Al Silawi
- Olena Kolesnyk vs. Abigail Montes
- Vanessa Melo vs. Martina Jindrova
