Kayla Harrison headlined PFL 10 and won her second consecutive championship in the women’s lightweight division in style. She took on Taylor Guardado in the final of the 2021 season and put her undefeated record on the line, but showed once again how dominant she is in the division. She never really looked in trouble against Guardado and landed multiple takedowns at will, following up with brutal ground and pound as soon as the fight hit the ground. Guardado made it to the second round but after another takedown and even more ground and pound, she managed to secure a tight armbar to force the tap.
Shortly before Harrison put on a dominant display and took home her second million-dollar prize, Ray Cooper III managed the exact same feat. He viciously knocked out Magomed Magomedkerimov in the third round of a back-and-forth fight that it looked like Cooper might be losing, coming from behind to win his second PFL welterweight championship. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night wasn’t even in any of the championship finals however, as multiple-time boxing world champion Claressa Shields had her second professional MMA fight and was shut down from start to finish.
Shields was also seen to be in trouble in her debut fight against Brittney Elkin but managed to weather the storm and finish the fight by knockout. While that showed that her punching power translated brilliantly to MMA, it also showed that she was leagues behind her fellow female athletes in the grappling department. She drew the ire of the grappling world when she first announced her transition to MMA and believed that she could earn a BJJ black belt within two years, and a year after that she is still getting dominated on the ground but relatively unheralded prospects. She did well in the first round against Abigail Montes but after that simply couldn’t keep the fight standing and wasn’t able to work any offense off her back either, losing a decision.
PFL 10 Full Results
Kayla Harrison defeats Taylor Guardado via Submission – Armbar (Rd 2, 4:00)
Kayla Harrison wins Lightweight PFL Championship
Ray Cooper III defeats Magomed Magomedkerimov via Knockout – Punches (Rd 3, 3:02)
Ray Cooper III wins Welterweight PFL Championship
Abigail Montes defeats Claressa Shields via Decision – Split (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Bruno Cappelozza defeats Ante Delija via Decision – Unanimous (49-45, 49-45, 48-46)
Movlid Khaybulaev defeats Chris Wade via Decision – Unanimous (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Antonio Carlos Jr. defeats Marthin Hamlet via Submission – Rear-naked Choke (Rd 1, 3:49)
Raush Manfio defeats Loik Radzhabov via Decision – Unanimous (48-46, 48-46, 49-46)
Jordan Young defeats Omari Akhmedov via Knockout – Punches (Rd 3, 1:32)
Julia Budd defeats Caitlin Young via Decision – Unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Don Madge defeats Nathan Williams via Submission – Rear-naked Choke (Rd 2, 2:15)
The full PFL 10 Championship event replay, headlined by Kayla Harrison v Taylor Guardado, will be available to watch on ESPN, click here for international alternatives.
