What was werdum pointing at

One problem with that explanation: Werdum did not let go of his triangle. It remained locked in as Ferreira landed punch after punch to the side of the year-old's head, loosening only as the punches took effect. The organization has chosen not to use it because not every jurisdiction we have gone to allows replay, and we want to remain consistent in how the League operates no matter where PFL fights are held. Ferreira , who is 31 and stands 6-foot-8, is in good position in the four-fighter heavyweight picture -- provided things stand as they ended on Thursday night.

For now, Werdum , who reigned in the UFC in and and left that promotion following a submission of Alexander Gustafsson in July, ends his first night in the PFL in a hole in the playoff race with just one fight left in the regular season.

The evening's other big attraction, women's lightweight champion Kayla Harrison, has no such problem. She smashed her opponent, Mariana Morais, in less than 2 minutes, putting herself in good position for another playoff run. Women's lightweight: Kayla Harrison 6 points def. Mariana Morais 0 points by first-round TKO. Same as it ever was. Harrison, who rolled through the PFL season to the women's lightweight championship, opened the season with another dominant victory.

Harrison , a year-old who won gold medals in judo at the and Olympics, showed one new wrinkle from her work with American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Right out of the gate, she threw a head kick. The kick missed, so Harrison went right to work the way she always has.

She engaged Morais in a clinch against the cage and quickly took her to the canvas. Forty-five seconds into the fight, she was in side control. Before the bout was a minute old, she was in full mount. From there, Harrison rained down punches -- hard punches, the kind that make an opponent cover up and a referee hover, ready to intercede. Gary Copeland waved off the bout at The quick finish for Harrison, who had a edge in strikes, earned her 6 points.

But she ended the night in second place in the lightweight standings because Larissa Pacheco had earned a second TKO earlier in the night. Harrison defeated Pacheco twice in , the second time in the championship fight. Heavyweight: Brandon Sayles 5 points def. Mohammed Usman 0 points by second-round submission. The name was familiar, but the result connected to it was not.

When Werdum challenged Velasquez at UFC , then, it should have come as a surprise to exactly no one when the Brazilian again cinched up a fight-ending choke against a more highly regarded opponent. Velasquez was the heir apparent to Emelianenko's throne as the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time. With his cardio, power and pressure, nobody could stop him, and he was only getting better with time.

Injuries slowed his ascent, but when he fought, there was no questioning his talent. Until Saturday when Werdum questioned —and answered —it with authority, that is. It's crazy to think we need to be reminded of this fact in this sport.

Massive upsets happen all the time, yet we seem to forget. Renan Barao, on his fight undefeated streak, was untouchable as the UFC bantamweight champion. I felt I had to put him in his place, because he was full of himself. He was thinking he was all that. The guys are tripping, trying to play this thing, with hats and glasses. Even the reporters saw that he had a heavy energy.

Ali is my manager. But you see he said that. Ali is one thing. I have a different relationship with him from before. Credit: AP. In an interview with MMAjunkie. Werdum denied Covington's claim that he punched him.

After defeating Demian Maia in a fight in Sao Paulo in October, Covington called Brazilians "filthy animals" in another verbal barrage. I wake up in the morning and have my breakfast, that's it. I'm focused on the fight.