Fight Facts: PFL 3: 2021 Regular Season

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Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 614
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 62

The heaviest fighters in the Professional Fighters League’s men’s and women’s divisions went to battle as we reached the halfway point of the 2021 regular season. Dramatic finishes in both categories occurred, although not all stoppages were created equal. PFL 3: 2021 Regular Season featured the two fastest finishes among all female fighters, a one-hitter quitter in a non-tourney bout and high controversy in the main event.

Who Makes These Lines: Only one bout of 10 saw betting odds with one favorite below -210 throughout the night. Although there were numerous massive favorites, Renan Ferreira (+215), Brandon Sayles (+435) and Bruno Henrique Cappelozza (+385) all notched major upsets by stoppage.

Let’s Check the Replay: The official result at the moment of Ferreira vs. Fabricio Werdum is that Ferreira won by knockout at 2:32 of the first round. Although the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board allows for instant replay, PFL has declined to use it this season. Werdum’s team has already filed an appeal, on the grounds that Ferreira tapped out to a triangle choke.

Big Problema: As it stands, “Problema” retained his finish rate of 100 percent by pounding out Werdum. Ferreira has still never competed beyond the second round in a career that began in 2013.

A Tournament for One: Dominating Mariana Morais early into the first round, Kayla Harrison lifted her record to 9-0. Seven of those wins have come by stoppage, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist now posts five first-round finishes.

Hmm…Upgrades: Harrison’s 83-second knockout victory is the fastest finish of her career. She had never before won a fight quicker than 3:18 of the opening frame, and she set the record for the second fastest stoppage in World Series of Fighting-PFL women’s divisional history.

The PFL World is Her Oyster: Eight of Harrison’s nine wins have come under the PFL banner. Her quick triumph extended her own record for the most fights, wins and finishes among all female fighters to ever grace the WSOF-PFL cage.

Harrisonian Lines: Closing as a -2150 favorite, Harrison is now responsible for three of the six fights in PFL tournament history where one fighter came in above -2000 odds. Harrison has vanquished all three foes in the first round under those conditions.

Hawaiian Crunch: Sayles upset Mohammed Usman in their heavyweight contest, disabling “The Motor” with a rear-naked choke in the second frame. Every win for the Hawaiian has come inside the distance, with two-thirds taking place in Round 2.

Sleep Now in the Fire: The choke by Sayles put Usman to sleep, earning “Man of War” the first technical submission in either WSOF or PFL heavyweight history.

Not So Fast, My Friend: While Harrison clocked the second quickest knockout among all women’s divisions in the company, Larissa Pacheco beat that earlier in the night. The 2019 women’s lightweight finalist needed just 51 seconds to dismantle Julija Pajic.

She Knocked Out a Man Too: Pajic, whose career began in late 2019, has seen all four of her career matches end in the first round. Before her quick loss to Pacheco, the Croatian’s past wins all came quickly.

Committing Carbicide: In 46 seconds, Cappelozza decked Ante Delija to earn himself six points and the upset victory. All 11 of the Brazilian’s career wins have come by knockout.

It Speaks for Itself: Cindy Dandois dropped a decision to Kaitlin Young, and in her last nine bouts dating back to 2017, all of her wins have come over opponents with .500 records or below while all of her losses came against competition sporting winning records.

The D.E.N.I.S. System: Earning six points after a first-round knockout of Muhammed DeReese, Denis Goltsov earned his 21st career win by stoppage. The Sambo Piter fighter hoisted his finish rate to 81 percent with the win.

Umalatov Was Robbed of Five Points: In a welterweight non-tournament bout, Magomed Umalatov lifted his spotless record to 10-0 by dispatching Kyron Bowen. All 10 of the Russian’s wins have come by stoppage, including nine by knockout.

Welcome to the 2022 Season: At the seven-second mark of Round 2, Umalatov took Bowen out with one punch. The finish is the fastest to come in at the beginning of any round – Movlid Khaybulaev did starch Damon Jackson in 10 seconds with a knee in the first round of their bout.

Bowe or Be Bowed: Since his professional debut in 2017, Bowen has yet to go the distance. Win or lose, each of his last 14 fights have ended by stoppage.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into PFL 3: 2021 Regular Season, Usman had never been finished (eight fights), DeReese had never lost consecutive bouts (10 fights) and Helena Kolesnyk had never lost on the scorecards (eight fights).