The Copper Box Arena in Stratford, London played host to PFL Playoffs 3, with the women’s lightweight and men’s featherweight final matchups decided on a spectacular night in the English capital.

The main card saw three of the four semi-final bouts decided with first-round finishes, while the other semi-final matchup produced a stand-out display for a fighter on home soil.

Here’s our bout-by-bout recap of a stellar night of fights on the Olympic Park.

Harrison cruises to women’s lightweight final

Kayla Harrison was an unbackable favourite with the oddsmakers ahead of her semi-final bout against Martina Jindrova, and she showed exactly why as she completely dominated her Czech opponent to claim a first-round submission victory and book her place in the women’s lightweight final.

Harrison caught a kick and took her opponent to the mat, then set to work on the ground to set up the submission finish. Harrison quickly moved into mount, softened up her opponent with some ground and pound, then switched to a mounted arm-triangle choke to force the tap at the 3:17 mark.

After her victory, Harrison addressed the London crowd, telling them, “You guys know a couple of things about queens, right? You got a queen over here.

“Listen, I’m here to tell you I’m the queen Not of the PFL, not of the 155-pound division. I am the queen of women’s MMA, and if those three Brazilians would take off their track shoes and meet me, then you’d find out!”

Loughnane produces masterclass to reach featherweight final

In the co-main event, England’s Brendan Loughnane produced a stellar striking showcase as he lit up No. 1 seed Chris Wade over three rounds to earn a shutout decision victory in their featherweight semi-final.

Wade looked to wrestle early, but found Loughnane’s switch-hitting tricky to time, but a huge head kick from the American helped secure the first takedown of the fight. However, Loughnane did well to get himself back to the feet before scoring with a succession of eye-catching strikes.

The second round started with Loughnane scoring with his strikes as he continually clipped Wade as the No. 1 seed looked to step into takedown range. The Briton looked in the sharpest form we’ve seen from him in 2022 as he picked apart the American through the second round to claim the ascendency heading into the final frame.

The final five minutes were a near copy of the previous five, as Loughnane continued his controlled, crisp striking attack. Mid-way through the round Loughnane planted his feet and loaded up with some heavy shots that had Wade on wobbly legs, but the American, who has never been finished in his career, showed a granite chin as he continued pushing forward.

But whenever Wade looked to connect, Loughnane had a counter ready, and the best performance of the Mancunian’s PFL career was made official as the fight went the distance, with the judges all scoring the bout 30-27 to the Englishman, who sealed his place in the $1 million featherweight final.

Pacheco blasts her way to lightweight final

Brazilian power-puncher Larissa Pacheco showcased her heavy hands as she claimed a swift first-round TKO finish over Ukraine’s Olena Kolesnyk.

Pacheco was on the front foot from the opening bell, as the No. 1 seed pushed the pace on a nervy Kolesnyk, who looked very wary of her opponent’s power.

Pacheco didn’t take long to find her mark as she stung her opponent with right hands early, and kept that pressure on to finally fold her opponent with a left hand to force the stoppage at the 2:09 mark of the opening round.

It gave Pacheco her fifth straight first-round finish, and the Brazilian sad she wanted to face Harrison in the final to exact revenge on the woman who handed her the only two defeats of her career in the last seven years.

Jenkins claims quickfire win

In the first featherweight semi-final of the night, Bubba “Bad Man” Jenkins called upon his national championship-level wrestling to dominate Japanese contender Ryoji Kudo before finishing his man with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Jenkins wasted no time in getting to work as he hit two high amplitude suplexes on Kudo, before judo throwing him to the floor and locking up a tight rear-naked choke to claim the finish in just 109 seconds.

Brits shine in main card showcases

The two British fighters in action in the two showcase bouts at the start of the main card both delivered the goods with impressive finishes to set themselves up for bigger roles in the PFL in 2023.

Light heavyweight Simeon Powell used punishing leg kicks to finish Joao Paulo Fagundes via second-round TKO, while Dakota Ditcheva needed less than a minute to force her opponent Hassna Jaber to tap to strikes in the clinch as the Brit claimed a debut victory under the PFL banner to book her spot in the PFL’s upcoming European season.

PFL Playoffs 3: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Kayla Harrison def. Martina Jindrova via submission (mounted arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:17 – women’s lightweight semi-final
  • Brendan Loughnane def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)  – men’s featherweight semi-final
  • Larissa Pacheco def. Olena Kolesnyk via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:09 – women’s lightweight semi-final
  • Bubba Jenkins def. Ryoji Kudo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:49 – men’s featherweight semi-final
  • Dakota Ditcheva def. Hassna Jaber via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:58 – 2023 PFL Europe qualifier
  • Simeon Powell def. Joao Paulo Fagundes via TKO (calf kicks) – Round 2, 1:56

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Stuart Austin def. Sofiane Boukichou via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Alex Chizov def. Omar Hussein via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:12
  • Zebenzui Ruiz def. Raphael Uchegbu via unanimous decision

POSTLIMS

  • Marcin Held def. Myles Price via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:37
  • Abraham Bably def. Louie Sutherland via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Magnus Iversen def. Tayo Odunjo via knockout (punch and hammerfists) – Round 1, 4:36 – 2023 PFL Europe qualifier
  • Ali Taleb def. Darius Mafi technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:58 – 2023 PFL Europe qualifier