Kayla Harrison is a fighter who doesn't make mistakes. Two Olympic gold medals in judo have been won by Harrison, while her MMA record is perfect at 11-0. After Harrison defeated Genah Fabian in Thursday's PFL women’s lightweight semifinals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and secured a place in the Oct. 27, final, she made an emphatic statement that was bold but dismissed one of her greatest compliments.
"Listen, everybody keeps saying, Oh, how can you solve the Kayla Harrison puzzle?" ... Spoiler alert! There is no fricking puzzle!" she declared after her first round TKO win. "I put you on my back and I mess up your life."
Harrison is wrong. Harrison is wrong. She can get the "on your back", and "messing you up" parts right. But she is still a puzzle. She may view her self as hard to solve and she wouldn't be the first to feel that way. Few people have ever made it to the other side of the finish line without finding the solution. They are able to see the good in it and to be humbled they can appreciate all those years that were spent trying to solve them.
Harrison is there right now. She is now in a wonderful world that no one can deal with. It is something she should treasure as she works to preserve her status and build on her legacy.
It's not hard to see that grappling is as difficult as MMA grappling. It seems that the only way to defeat her is to keep your hands off of her while you put your fists on them -- hard and decisively. Harrison might be gone forever if you don’t give up. She will keep coming at your face.
Kayla Harrison is the most difficult puzzle to solve. In 2019, Harrison won the $1 million championship. This has continued to be the case through the 2021 season. Taylor Guardado will next be her opponent. Taylor defeated Mariana Morais, an alternate 155-pound semifinalist. Harrison is the No. 2 seed, Guardado No. 3. Morais was the late replacement for No. Larissa Pacheco was the 1st seed, but she lost weight on Wednesday. Harrison is Harrison's only opponent who has not been defeated twice by Pacheco.
On Thursday, the heavyweight division was decided. Bruno Cappelozza was the top seed and defeated No. Jamelle Jones, the 4th seed, won his place in Round 2 -- his 13th professional KO. Ante Delija will be his opponent. He beat Denis Goltsov, the second-seeded seed, by unanimous decision.
The finals of the six weight classes in the PFL will also be held in Hollywood and will be aired on ESPN2. On Aug. 13, the welterweight and lightweight finalist were announced. The featherweight and light-heavyweight finalists were announced on Aug. 27.
Here's a preview of the finals as they were on Thursday night.
Women's lightweight: Kayla Harrison vs. Taylor Guardado
Do you think that the 11-0 Harrison is too young for this sport? Guardado, who has been MMA since her return nearly a decade ago after a promising amateur career, is only 3-1 as a professional. Her only loss as an amateur was to a pre-UFC Ronda Ronda Rousey judoka. This gives her some experience in tangling with Judo. But will that make any difference? It's unlikely. Harrison is so dominant in the PFL, that the rest are far behind.
Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija
It appears that there is a Bruno Cappelozza puzzle as well. All three of Cappelozza's fights in 2021 ended in knockouts. In his semifinal, the big, explosive Brazilian fighter used a jab. A fighter with this much power in both hands should be avoided. In his semifinal, Delija was able to stop a dangerous striker. He can do it again. On October 27, we'll find out.
Heavyweight: No. 1 Bruno Cappelozza def. No. No. 4 Jamelle Jones in the second round TKO
Cappelozza burst into the 2021 PFL Heavyweight Final -- with a jab.
The top seed in the division, the 32-year old Brazilian man from Brazil, threw everything with power. He even landed the left jab that sent No. The 4th seed Jones was knocked to the ground in the first round. After that, Cappelozza attacked his opponent with powerful punches before Keith Peterson intervened at 1:33 to end the fight.
Cappelozza (13-5), a pro wrestler who has won knockouts in all 13 of his pro victories, softened Jones' left leg with low kicks. Cappelozza kept Jones mostly backed against the cage where the Brazilian threw leather in his direction.
Jones (12-7), 33-year-old Jones from Coeur d'Alene (Idaho), saw a three-fight winning streak end.
Taylor Guardado is best known for her grappling abilities, but she also used her kicks to win a split over Mariana Morais on Thursday and was awarded a spot at the PFL women’s lightweight finals. Cooper Neill / PFL
Semifinale for women's lightweight: No. 4 Taylor Guardado def. No. No.
Guardado was expected to compete as an underdog going into fight week. Larissa Pacheco, top seed, lost weight and was replaced by Morais, an alternate in the division. Guardado was favored going into the bout but she had to wait for the judges' decision. She was awarded a place in the final for women's lightweight.
Guardado (2-1), a 30-year old Las Vegas native, dominated the fight. He could strike from far away, grapple in the clinch, or even touch the canvas. To secure the top spot in the first and third rounds, Morais was able to quickly take down judo throws. Morais did not cause any damage on the mat but maintained her position.
The bout was scored by all three judges 29-28. Guardado won (3-2), and Morais took the nod.
Morais (17-12), 25 had a strong showing, despite having to fight Guardado in just one day. She had won four of her five previous fights.
Ante Delija (right) won his place in the 2021 PFL Heavyweight Finals by beating Denis Goltsov unanimously. Cooper Neill / PFL
Semifinale for heavyweight: No. 3. Ante Delija def. No. No.
Seconds before the last bell, Delija raised his arms above his head, then fell to his knees in pain after hugging his coaches, including Mirko "CroCop", Filipovic, the legendary Croatian politician.
He was right on the money. All three judges gave Delija a 29-28 victory. The 31-year old from Croatia was able to secure a place in the heavyweight season finale by defeating Goltsov. He had a clever game plan that kept the big Russian clinched against his cage or on his side, negating Goltsovs striking prowess.
Delija (19-44) has won six of his seven last fights. Goltsov (27) saw his two-fight winning streak end. This was Goltsov’s second consecutive loss in the semifinals of the PFL’s heavyweight division. In 2019, he lost against eventual champion Ali Isaev.
Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira def. Stuart Austin knockout in the first round
The 33-year old British heavyweight Austin was knocked out by Ferreira's straight right hand in the fight's first seconds. As Austin's head bounced off of the ground, his Brazilian opponent charged with his right hand, cocked to do more damage. Referee Keith Peterson was quick to take a dive onto Austin's body and into Ferreira's path. Ferreira missed another devastating punch.
Peterson called it quits at 31 seconds. Ferreira, 31, is unbeaten in his four previous fights. This includes a knockout of Fabricio Werdum, former UFC heavyweight champion. Later it was ruled a no-contest.
Austin, originally from London, fell to 15-7.
Heavyweight: Muhammed DeReese def. Carl Seumanutafa by unanimous decision
DeReese jumped on Seumanutafa's sudden aggression and dropped the Samoan with an easy punch halfway through Round 3. This turned a close fight into a win for him.
The bout was scored by all three judges, with scores of 29-28/29-28/30-27.
DeReese, Seumanutafa and the rest of the fight were in the clinch against a cage for a significant amount of time, including the first round. They came out swinging punches during the final round. This aggression cost Seumanutafa, 38, who is a San Francisco fighter (12-14). DeReese is 33 years old and hails from Titusville in Florida. He moved to 9-4.
Marina Mokhnatikina began with leg kicks, and then took control of the action with her striking. She won a unanimous victory over Claudia Zamora. Cooper Neill / PFL
Marina Mokhnatkina wins women's lightweight Claudia Zamora by unanimous decision
Mokhnatkina from Russia, a six time combat sambo world champion, injured Zamora's left leg with kicks. She then followed Zamora for three rounds to win. Mokhnatkina, 33, was scored by all three judges (30-27), 30-27, and 30-27.
Zamora, a Miami native, weighed more than 6 pounds less than the women's lightweight limit. After previously finishing as low as bantamweight, she appeared to be undersized for this division.
Amanda Leve, a two-time jiu jitsu world champion, began her professional MMA career by defeating Miranda Barber in the first round. Cooper Neill / PFL
Women's lightweight: Amanda Leve def. Miranda Barber, first round submission (rear naked choke)
Leve, a two time world champion in jiu jitsu, wanted to make a statement in pro MMA by showing off her standup abilities in her debut. In the first three minutes, she did not attempt to take down Barber. After Barber had wacked her with a straight righthand, and then attacked her with punches, Leve decided it was time to end the fight.
Barber was stopped by Leve at 4:18. Leve is a Philadelphia fighter. Barber, from Boca Raton is currently a pro at 1-2.
Christian Lohsen (left) opened Thursday's PFL action with an impressive unanimous win over Jonas Flok. Cooper Neill / PFL
Men's lightweight: Christian Lohsen def. Jonas Flok by unanimous decision
It was fitting that "Hollywood" was the first fighter to win in a fight night in Hollywood, Florida. Lohsen displayed strong, fluid grappling in order to win his fifth victory in six fights. All three judges gave the bout 29-28 (29-28), 29-28 (29-28), and 29-28 at three rounds.
Lohsen, 26, had won six of his eight previous fights by submission. He did attempt to submit Flok several times throughout the fight, but Flok, a Wisconsin fighter, held firm until the end. Both lightweights were making PFL debuts.
