The first women’s lightweight action of the new Professional Fighters League campaign for 2022 is on the board for MMA bettors this Saturday. While there was a ton of speculation about this season’s debut in the past offseason, it will indeed feature some Kayla Harrison odds.
While Harrison flirted with Bellator and UFC, she ultimately re-signed with the PFL and looks to start her belt defense this weekend. Bettors have some time to decide whether she will maintain her unblemished record on the PFL circuit.
Harrison odds vs Mokhnatkina
Harrison (12-0 MMA, 11-0 PFL) returns to the PFL cage on Friday night against Marina Mokhnatkina (6-2 MMA, 1-0 PFL). The two women headline this weekend’s PFL 3 card.
Harrison, a two-time PFL champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo is looking for her third PFL championship and $1 million check. She won the lightweight tournaments in 2019 and 2021 after not fighting for the PFL in 2020 due to the pandemic shutting down the league for the season. The only bout she had that year was with Invicta FC.
How to watch:
When: Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: ESPN Plus (Main Card also on ESPN 2 at 9 p.m. ET)
Harrison has had dominant wins in her career so far, only going to decision twice, both against Larissa Pacheco. Other than that, she has had many first and second round finishes against the likes of Genah Fabian, Cindy Dandois, Courtney King, Taylor Guardado, and about a half-dozen others.
Women’s MMA is currently in a state where three of its best featherweights/lightweights are in three separate organizations: Harrison in PFL, Cris Cyborg in Bellator, and Amanda Nunes in the UFC.
Julianna Pena‘s win over Nunes late last year at UFC 269 simmered talks of a Harrison/Nunes matchup in the UFC.
Cyborg is still doing her thing in Bellator, earning mostly dominant wins over her opponents. Her last fight with Arlene Blencowe ended up being a slugfest that went to decision, but other than that, she’s been breezing through most of her opponents.
However, both Bellator and PFL have made it known they are open to the possibility of a cross-promotion event between Harrison and Cyborg in the future. Fingers crossed fight fans.
Before that could happen, though, Harrison has to get through Mokhnatkina and the rest of the lineup PFL has to offer this year to win a third championship.
Mokhnatkina signed with the PFL late last season and had one fight, a decision victory over Claudia Zamora. Previously, she had a 1-1 stint with Bellator and a 4-1 run with Fight Nights Global in Russia.
A matchup between Harrison and Mokhnatkina is expected to be one sided, according to sportsbooks.
Kayla Harrison | Marina Mokhnatkina |
|
|---|---|---|
31 | Age | 33 |
5'8'' | Height | 5'6'' |
155 lbs | Weight | 155 lbs |
66 inches inches | Reach | 65.5 inches |
Taylor Guardado: W (Sub) | Last 5 | Claudia Zamora: W (Dec.) |
Genah Fabian: W (TKO) | Amanda Bell: W (Dec.) | |
Cindy Dandois: W (Sub) | Janay Harding: L (Dec.) | |
Mariana Morais: W (TKO) | Liana Jojua: L (Dec.) | |
Courtney King: W (TKO) | Karine Silva: W (Sub) |
Fabian vs. Budd
Along with the main event, four other women’s lightweight bouts are scheduled for Friday night.
Genah Fabian (4-2 MMA, 3-2 PFL takes on MMA veteran Julia Budd (16-3 MMA, 1-0 PFL) earlier in the evening.
Fabian’s last fight was a loss to Harrison and Budd fought for the PFL once last year with a decision win over Kaitlin Young.
Fabian, a kickboxer from New Zealand, made her PFL debut in 2019.
Budd, a veteran of Strikeforce, Invicta and Bellator has a resume that includes wins over Blencowe, Germaine de Randamie, and Dayana Silva. Her only three losses have come at the hands of Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, and Nunes. If most fighters faced Cyborg, Rousey and Nunes, they would probably go 0-3 too.
If Budd makes a successful run with PFL this season, she could be a tough matchup for Harrison in the future.
Genah Fabian | Larissa Pacheco |
|
|---|---|---|
31 | Age | 27 |
6'0' | Height | 5'6'' |
155 lbs | Weight | 155 lbs |
74 inches inches | Reach | 69 inches |
Julia Budd: W (Dec.) | Last 5 | Zamzagul Fayzallanova: W (TKO) |
Kayla Harrison: L (TKO) | Olena Kolesnyk: W (KO) | |
Julija Pajic: W (TKO) | Julija Pajic: W (TKO) | |
Laura Sanchez: W (Dec.) | Kayla Harrison: L (Dec.) | |
Moriel Charneski (TKO: W) | Sarah Kaufmann: W (Dec.) |
Pacheco vs. Fayzallonva
Pacheco (14-5 MMA, 4-2 PFL) will face off against Zamzagul Fayzallonva (7-1 MMA, 0-0 PFL) in her PFL debut.
Pacheco, who has been with the PFL since 2019 has notable wins over Sarah Kaufmann, Karol Rosa, and Irene Aldana. She had a 0-2 run in the UFC where she lost to top contender de Randamie and former champ Jessica Andrade.
Fayzallonva is making her PFL debut with only one loss back in 2017. The fighter from Kazakhstan has only fought in the regional circut in Asia so far.
Kolesnyk vs Montes
Ukraine’s Olena Kolesnyk (5-4 MMA, 0-2 PFL) is matched up against Mexico’s Abigail Montes (2-0 MMA, 1-0 PFL).
Kolesnyk has had an unsuccesfful PFL career so far with loses to Pacheco and Guardado.
Montes’ PFL debut was a split decision victory over boxing champion Clarissa Shields.
Melo vs Jindrova
Vanessa Melo (11-8 MMA, 0-0 PFL) is making her PFL debut against Martina Jindrova (4-2 MMA, 1-0 PFL).
Melo is coming off a 1-3 UFC run that saw a victory over Sarah Moras but losses to Rosa, Tracy Cortez, and Aldana.
Jindrova’s last bout was a win over Jacqueline Cavalcanti in her first PFL bout.
