As we approach the launch of the Professional Fighters’ League’s 2021 season, we finally know the full extent of the organization’s plans. There’s been a lot going on over the last couple weeks – big UFC events, the unveiling of Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, et cetera – but last week, the PFL gave us a look at the final two divisions that will be rounding out their 2021 slate, heavyweight and a PFL staple, women’s lightweight.
So for those who are looking to get into the PFL this year, like I did for the first two PFL division drops earlier this month, here’s a look at a few big names to know in those two weight classes.
Like it did when it inked former UFC stars Anthony Pettis and Rory MacDonald to anchor its lightweight and welterweight divisions, the PFL’s signing of former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum gives it a well-known name to build an interesting group of heavyweights around.
Werdum may be 43 years old, but his name still carries some cachet. Maybe that’s because of his absolutely stunning late-career renaissance, where he developed into one of the true best heavyweights in the world in his late 30s, and won the UFC title from Cain Velasquez at the age of 37. Maybe it’s because when we last saw him in the UFC, he was running through Alexander Gustafsson, showing that his legendary grappling skills haven’t faded.
Werdum knows quite well that his time as an active fighter grows short, and he signed with the PFL because its structure guarantees him that he can stay as busy as possible with the few years he has left. The PFL promoted him as the “MMA Heavyweight GOAT” when he signed with the organization, and while it’s a stretch, he’s not that far off. That means that no matter his age, he’ll enter the tournament as the betting favorite.
He showed at times during his last few years in the UFC that he still has the skills to back it up. Werdum fell on some hard times over the last few years: still considered a tip-top contender as recently as 2018, Werdum got knocked out by dream-killer Alexander Volkov and was then suspended for a PED violation, returning in a split decision loss to Alexey Oleinik in May 2020 where he looked out of shape and unmotivated.
He looked great against Gustafsson, the former light heavyweight title challenger moving up to heavyweight for the first time, in June. And his still brilliant BJJ chops remain – Werdum is one of the most celebrated grapplers in the history of mixed martial arts, having won two ADCC championships and a host of other world titles. He also emerged as a shockingly confident and dangerous striker later in his UFC career, which elevated him to the top.
On pedigree alone, Werdum should take this home. But this is a group of heavyweights with some interesting talents, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
See: Ali Isaev. Werdum’s road to the million will likely run through the defending PFL heavyweight champion, an undefeated Dagestani wrestler who’s returning after publicly expressing his displeasure with the PFL over the last year. Casual MMA fans may not be aware of Isaev, but he’s one of the best heavyweights in the world outside of the UFC, and a big threat to repeat.
Isaev made the transition to mixed martial arts in his mid-30s after a very successful wrestling career, reaching the 2008 Summer Olympics and winning a European title in 2009 while competing for Azerbaijan. The PFL picked him up for its 2019 season after Isaev turned in some good showings in the very strong Russian promotion Fight Nights Global, and the MMA world watched as Isaev dominated the field, going 5-0 to take home the gold.
Isaev is a big, strong wrestler from Dagestan: that knowledge alone gives you an image of what type of fighter he is. And while it’s not the only thing he does, Isaev makes great use of his wrestling chops when he’s in the cage. Here he is in the finals of the PFL tournament, repeatedly taking down and controlling UFC veteran (and former NCAA All-American) Jared Rosholt before finishing him with ground-and-pound.
Isaev has also flashed a loose and at-times effective striking game, threatening with powerful hands when he lets his punches go, and occasionally letting fly with a spinning kick or two. He’s also got much fewer miles in the cage than Werdum does, which could give him a major edge despite entering the tournament at 37 years old.
That’s the same age Werdum won the UFC title, wasn’t it? Werdum or no, I wouldn’t bet against Isaev to make a strong run at repeating.
Finally, Big Titty…… you’re home. As it turns out, when Curtis Blaydes hit poor, unsuspecting Justin “Big Pretty” Willis with the “Big Titty go home” line after their fight in March 2019, he wasn’t just sticking Willis with a nickname that will follow him around for the rest of his MMA career and possibly destroying any credibility Willis will ever have again. He was giving him sincere career advice, directing him to find a new place where he can ply his trade and potentially make a shitload of money: the PFL.
Willis is a bit of an oddball story in heavyweight MMA. 33 years old, Willis was a pretty decent defensive lineman at San Jose State who switched to MMA after college, fighting in Japan and in the WSOF before signing with the UFC in 2017. What people forget about Willis is that before the infamous Blaydes fight, Willis was 4-0 in the UFC, and was considered one of the more interesting rising heavyweights in the division.
Willis had shown some promise with his good boxing and what appeared to be a strong knowledge of how to control the range of the fight. But when he got in the ring with Blaydes, a true top heavyweight, he was brutally exposed and humiliated, as Blaydes took him down again and again, dominated him, and gave him a very unflattering nickname. This came after Willis spent months relentlessly talking shit. It was just a complete, total own.
That was also the last time we saw Willis fight. Just 6-foot-1, Willis was very heavyset and flabby for the division, but still a very good athlete. However, he had trouble getting down under the 265-pound weight limit, which is believed to have led to his release from the UFC a couple months later. He’s since become an insane conspiracy YouTuber, and we’ll see soon if he’s spent any of that time actually training to fight.
Still, with his 4-1 record in the Octagon, Willis carries one of the best UFC histories of anyone in the field, and a higher level of name recognition – whether for good or for ill. However he looks in the PFL cage, it’ll be worth checking out his progress.
In the UFC welterweight division, Kamaru Usman reigns supreme as the undisputed king of all he surveys, a dominant force who should be one of the world’s pound-for-pound best fighters for a very long time. Over in the PFL, Kamaru’s younger brother Mohammed Usman is looking to start his own journey to the top.
The younger Usman has been on the radar of MMA prospect-watchers for quite a while now, and Usman signed a deal with the PFL last year over reported interest from the UFC and Bellator. He looks just like his brother, except way more jacked. Usman is 6-foot-2, 245 pounds of muscle, appears to have surprisingly good cardio for a man of his size, and just like Kamaru, he knows quite well how to overpower his opponents.
Usman was a defensive end at Houston and Arizona in college, and by the time he made his pro MMA debut, his big brother was already well on his way to UFC stardom. Many of his opportunities are probably going to come, at least at first, because of his last name. But you shouldn’t write him off because of that: Usman has looked very strong against low-level competition so far, and shows some genuine tools.
Usman has some natural wrestling ability, a lot of raw strength, and has shown some power in his hands. He’s still very raw, but the fact that he seems to have such a high motor is very encouraging for his future prospects. Usman feels like the type of fighter who can really be something if he manages to put his tools together – we’ll see if he’s any closer to that point this year.
The PFL is the only major organization that sanctions a women’s 155-pound division, and it’s essentially a showcase for one woman: Kayla Harrison, one of the most decorated martial arts athletes in American history. Harrison has been compared to Ronda Rousey from the start of her MMA career, having surpassed Rousey as the most decorated American judoka ever to compete in MMA.
Rousey made history in 2008 as the first American woman to ever win an Olympic medal in judo, but four years later, Harrison did her one better. Harrison won a gold medal at the 2012 London Games – she was the first American, male or female, to win Olympic gold in judo – and followed up with another Olympic gold in 2016.
After such a trailblazing career in judo, she transitioned to MMA in 2018 after signing with the PFL. She’s been dominant ever since, going a perfect 8-0 and winning the million-dollar prize in 2019, her first year entering the actual tournament structure.
Women’s 155 is a barren wasteland of competition. There’s barely anything at 145, for that matter – the UFC women’s featherweight division essentially consists of Amanda Nunes and whoever feels froggy enough to challenge her at 145 – and Bellator’s division is only slightly better. That means that the tournament is Harrison’s to lose for as long as she wants to compete in it. Judo is a great background for MMA, and Harrison is one of the best in the world: she hasn’t met anyone yet who could really challenge her.
Harrison just comes off as a completely different level of athlete from anyone she’s ever going to face at this weight class, and that isn’t going to change this year. This year’s assemblage includes UFC vet Larissa Pacheco, whom Harrison dominated twice in 2019, and 36-year-old Belgian Cindy Dandois, a good grappler who became something of a meme after her one UFC appearance because of how bizarre and clueless her striking looked.
Harrison should roll over the field again. Still, you shouldn’t miss the chance to see her. Harrison was one of the contracted PFL fighters who was allowed to take fights elsewhere during the canceled 2020 season, during which time she took a pilot run at cutting down to 145 for a fight in Invicta. She seemed to have no trouble, and won the fight by knockout.
If Harrison can successfully cut down to featherweight, that opens up a potential UFC or Bellator future, and a down-the-line meeting with Nunes or Cris Cyborg that would be quite interesting. It also could mean this is the last time we see Harrison roll through the PFL. Harrison’s future is a very interesting subplot of the 2021 season, and I’m looking forward to see how it plays out.
The Big Fight 