Kayla Harrison is ready to defend her title. MCT

Defending champs Kayla Harrison, Ray Cooper III highlight PFL week 3 lineup

Originally posted on Sherdog.com | By Tristen Critchfield | Last updated 4/5/22

Kayla Harrison will begin her bid for a three-peat as Professional Fighters League champion on May 6.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will face Marina Mokhnatkina in a 155-pound bout that will serve as the PFL 3 main event at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. In the co-headliner, 2021 welterweight champion Ray Cooper III will square off against Magomed Umalatov at 170 pounds. The main card airs on ESPN2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

Two other bouts complete the evening’s main card: Anthony Pettis vs. Myles Price in a rescheduled lightweight bout that was originally supposed to take place at PFL 1, and Rory MacDonald vs. Brett Cooper at welterweight.

Seven bouts were announced for the preliminary draw: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino at welterweight; Genah Fabian vs. Julia Budd at lightweight; Sadibiou Sy vs. Nikolai Aleksakhin at welterweight; Larissa Pacheco vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova at lightweight; Gleison Tibau vs. Jarrah Al Silawi at welterweight; Olena Kolesnyk vs. Abigail Montes at lightweight and Vanessa Melo vs. Martina Jindrova at lightweight.

Harrison elected to re-sign with the PFL after testing the waters of free agency. The judoka is 12-0 in MMA and has rolled through all competition en route to capturing PFL lightweight championships in 2019 and 2021. Ten of her 12 triumphs have come inside the distance.

Russia’s Mokhnatkina is on a two-bout winning streak that includes a decision win against Claudia Zamora in her PFL debut last August. The Sanford MMA product is 6-2 during her professional MMA career, with four submission triumphs to her credit.

Also a two-time champion, Cooper is in the midst of a six-bout winning streak in PFL competition. He capped off his most recent 170-pound title campaign with a third-round KO of Magomedkerimov at the PFL Championships this past October.

Anchored at Eagles MMA, Umalatov is undefeated in 11 pro outings thus far — including two under the PFL banner. Most recently, the Russian defeated Leandro Silva via unanimous decision last August.

This article first appeared on Sherdog and was syndicated with permission.

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