Unified World Cruiserweight Champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez returning to Corpus Christi…as a promoter! ‘Gulf Coast Glory’ to feature hometown fighters Julian Delgado & Jerry Belmontes in Co-main events on January 31 in Texas LOS ANGELES (January 5, 2026) – Zurdo Promotions has announced it will co-promote the January 31st “Gulf Coast Glory” card along with Knuckle Up Promotions, […]
AMANDA SERRANO VS. REINA TELLEZ & HOLLY HOLM VS. STEPHANIE HAN RESULTS & VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS San Juan, Puerto Rico (January 4th, 2026)– Amanda Serrano defeated Reina Tellez by unanimous decision on Saturday, January 3, 2026, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to retain her unified WBA and WBO featherweight world titles. The fight was a 10-round […]
Illness forces Paddy Donovan to withdraw from IBF Welterweight World Eliminator January 16 versus Liam Paro in Australia NEW YORK CITY (January 3rd, 2026) – Irish welterweight contender Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan (14-2, 11 KOs) has had to withdraw from his planned January 16th, 12-round International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Welterweight Title Eliminator against Australian […]
SIGN UP TO DAZN REAL COMBAT MEDIA WEEKLY BOXING/MMA NEWS *For Immediate Release to Publish Roselle, Park, NJ (January 2, 2026)– Welcome to the Real Combat Media Boxing & MMA Fights of the Week, where we discuss the week’s most significant news and the most notable fights in the sports of boxing and MMA, so you can […]
RIZIN 10th Anniversary Super Powerhouse Festival Results Saitama, Japan (January 1st, 2026)– The RIZIN 10th Anniversary Super Powerhouse Festival, also referred to as RIZIN Year-End Super Powerhouse Matsuri, was RIZIN’s landmark 2025 New Year’s Eve event that takes place each year. The event was defined by five high-stakes title fights, including several major upsets: Featherweight […]
Ray Cooper III and Magomed Magomedkerimov set for Welterweight Championship Rematch
PFL’s final event for the 2021 Season airs live this Wednesday, October 27th at 4:30 PM ET on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) with the action continuing on ESPN2 at 8:00 PM
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – The Professional Fighters League, the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, held official weigh-ins for the 2021 PFL World Championship, the culminating event in the widely successful 2021 season. Headlining the card will be a PFL Women’s Lightweight Championship showdown between Kayla Harrison and Taylor Guardado.
Harrison tipped the scales at 153.8-pounds, as she tries to remain undefeated and become a two-time PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion. Guardado, the talented newcomer, came in at 154.4-pounds as she faces the biggest challenge of her young MMA career.
In the co-main event, rivals face off for the PFL Welterweight World Championship, as 2019 champion Ray Cooper III faces 2018 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov.
Cooper came in at 169.8-pounds as he looks to even the score with the man that denied him the 2018 PFL Welterweight Championship. Magomedkerimov meanwhile weighed in at 170-pounds, as he tries to once again become the league’s top welterweight.
The weigh-in takes place Tuesday, October 26 at Seminole Hard Rock at 5:00 pm ET.
Here are quotes from today’s press conference . . .
ABIGAIL MONTES
I have been training really hard for this. Claressa in the world of boxing is who she is and there is no denying that and I am not going to sit here and say otherwise. But this is the world of MMA and this is something I have been training a long time for and have been really preparing myself for this opportunity. Every single weapon in my arsenal I am going to utilize in order to go after her as best that I can.
Every single trainer I have had are the best at what they do. I am using every effort to train and adapt all of their teachings so that I have the confidence to use everything that I have learned to really put it into action and this actions will speak for themselves. I can’t thank my trainers enough for all of the knowledge they have passed on. That’s why I am confident and I am ready.
I don’t know what will happen in the cage but I feel that I am prepared for anything.
I saw that Claressa made a lot of mistakes in her first MMA fight using Jiu Jitsu. While I can’t get overconfident, those mistakes that she made may happen again, so I just have to be ready for anything that she is ready to throw at me. Just because she is from the world of boxing and not Jiu Jitsu, I can’t bank on her making the same mistakes.
CLARESSA SHIELDS
In my last fight, she had a background in kickboxing and she also had amateur background in boxing and I thought we were very evenly matched. This fight, I am not taking her lightly.
I am 1-0 in MMA. I’m not 12-0. She has experience. She has a kickboxing background. I watched her fight and she takes girls down. She’s a ground and pound girl. She throws kicks. She throws punches and combinations and stuff. I have to be very alert for this fight. It is a different kind of fight. I am going for a very competitive fight and she is going to know she was in a fight. I need to not get messed up by her, and mess her up. We are very evenly matched. I’m not taking her lightly and I don’t think she is taking me lightly.
With the girls I train with, it is very exciting working with them (Holly Holme, Cyborg). I can say, ‘oh I should have done this or I should have done that.’ Instead of watching them and being confused. I’ve been learning on the job and getting better and better. I am being taught arm bars and being taught how to get out of them. I am doing really great at wrestling and learning how to get out of clinches and stuff like that. That stuff used to be confusing now I feel good at it.
I felt a part of MMA when I made my debut, now I feel a lot more because I know better. I am looking forward to showing the world that I am putting a lot of work in and I am better at Jiu Jitsu and better at wrestling and betting better at being a mixed martial artist overall. I’m just happy that I have a chance to do better. My team and I went back and watched the film and we have a great game plan.
Well, if I was 30 I wouldn’t be trying MMA. I am 26 so I have a lot of time to learn and I don’t have to rush myself. Next year I can fight in the PFL tourney at 27 and then 28. I think 2023 is the golden year – I will get the chance to get a lot of experience inside the cage and become a great fighter.
I let the right hand go in boxing just like I do in MMA. I just have to widen my stance a little bit to throw kicks. It’s a little different but fighting is fighting. In order to get a powerful punch you need to twist the boxing and you’ve got to have legs. Others I train with that came from boxing we have to remind ourselves ‘he we still have to use our hands.’
When I spar with MMA people, they have it up on e with their legs but I have an up on them with my hands. I have great sparring and we all challenge each other and learn from each other. Before my first MMA fight I would forget that I have legs. I was so used to defending myself with my hands in a fight and now I have to use my legs and sometimes I feel like my legs aren’t there and my partners are like ‘OMG, us too.’
MMA is hard, but boxing is hard also. People think boxers strike harder because MMA fighters can use the ground game but the truth is it’s all kind of equal. Boxers only use their hands and it’s great. But nobody wants to see people own the ground – they want to see punches. You need punches in both. You need punches in MMA and you need punches in boxing. The ground game is hard but if you’re being taught right, you will be good at it.
I was great at boxing and made a great career out of it. If I become PFL champion that will be great and I can be champion at both at the same time. I don’t think you can do combat sorts if you just like it – you have to LOVE fighting and if you don’t, you’re not going to last long.
I’m not thinking about Savannah Marshall. Savannah Marshall is thinking about me. After this, I have a boxing match in about a month. She also has a fight. When those are taken care of, then maybe we can talk about fighting each other.
It takes about a month for me to prepare for a fight. We can look at some tape of my opponent then get ready. My next fight is at 160 and this fight is at 155 so I don’t have to worry about weight. We will look at the girl, game plan and go from there.
I hear people say that Amanda Nunez and Cyborg have better hand than me but I know that I have the best hands. I think Cyborg could go to boxing but I don’t think the other girls could go to boxing and become champion.
Bare knuckles? I feel like the rules in boxing, the gloves, are put in place for fighters’ safety and head trauma would become a bigger issue.
I have proven myself over and over and over again and I never fought PPV on Showtime. I fought in a main event and I sold out arenas, but they won’t pay us even as men. We put on great fights that are entertaining – they see us as valuable but not as valuable as the men. Hopefully they will open their eyes.
Jake Paul? Please. I don’t know what world people live in that think a person that has no boxing background, a man who has not fought professionally, look, there are a lot of women in boxing that can beat up men, especially an average Joe like Jake Paul. If I was to spar Jake, which is all I would get because a real fight would be too embarrassing, right? But if we were to spar, I would use one hand – not even the banger – I’d use my (left) jab and I could out jab and hook and uppercut him and embarrass him. That’s how skilled I am. It’s not a shot at Jake, but he’s not as good a boxer as me. If you are, go to the Olympics and medal. I’ve sparred against those guys too – Olympic Gold Medallists, Silver Medallists – I’ve sparred against all of them. Those guys would destroy Jake just like I would. I box for real – not play stuff – I box for real.
About Professional Fighters League
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is the first and only to present MMA in the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship. PFL is the innovation leader with the PFL SmartCage delivering viewers on-screen fight analytics and real-time prop bets. The 2021 PFL Season began with 60 fighters in six weight divisions. The Playoffs commence with 24 fighters competing for 12 spots in the Championship event and one of six $1 million title purses. All PFL 2021 Playoff events are live in primetime on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+ in the U.S., as well as on leading broadcast and streaming outlets in 160 countries worldwide.
We are the Editorial staff for the top independent international boxing and mma online publication since 2012. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @realcombatmedia. For breaking news reports, contact us at [email protected] and for advertising or publicity service inquiries, email us at [email protected].
English