Kayla Harrison wins second PFL lightweight title in a row, $ 1 million salary

The dominance of Kayla Harrison in the MMA continued on Wednesday night as she claimed her second consecutive PFL lightweight title by defeating Taylor Gardado in the second round arm bar submission. This victory once again earned her $ 1 million.

“I feel more grateful,” Harrison said. “I understand that nothing is given in this world, you have to earn it all. I am blessed and fortunate that I work hard every day.”

Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, has traveled almost every round since becoming a professional fighter in June 2018. The same thing happened again in the 2021 championship match with Guardado.

Throughout the battle, Harrison took full or half of the mount and struck hard from above. This happened in the middle of the second round until Harrison transitioned to an arm bar effort, which tapped her opponent.

In the co-main event, Ray Cooper III also claimed the second straight PFL welterweight title in the third round with a right-handed knockout of Magomed Magomedkarimov. His opponent appeared to be nearing completion just moments before, but Cooper reversed the role, gaining two hard-fought rights that sent Magomedkarimov down.

Cooper and Harrison are both free agents and may find other ads later.

Elsewhere on the card, Clarissa Shields dropped her first fight in boxing or MMA on Wednesday night, losing to Abigail Montes in a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in the Professional Fighters League. Shields, the best female boxer in the world, recently added mixed martial arts to her portfolio and competed for the second time in Florida tonight. She was entering her matchup with Montes 11-0 as a boxer and 1-0 in the MMA.

The Shields took the first round after a heavy combination landed on Montes before the fight went to Clinch, and nothing significant happened after that. The final two rounds showed Shields’ inexperience on the mat as Montes dropped her heavy ground-and-pound several times.