{"id":864209,"date":"2026-08-22T09:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T09:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/864209\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T09:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T09:28:10","slug":"pfl-tampa-staff-picks-womens-mma-legends-final-bout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/864209\/","title":{"rendered":"PFL Tampa Staff Picks: Women&#8217;s MMA Legend&#8217;s Final Bout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PFL Tampa takes place Saturday night. Our staff picks are in, so who did our writers choose this time around? <\/p>\n<p>PFL Tampa serves as the last appearance of famed women\u2019s mixed martial arts star Cris Cyborg. Attempting to defend her featherweight title for the first time in the main event, the Brazilian icon locks horns with newly-minted promotional signee Ketlen Vieira. In penultimate fight of the evening, Dagestani sensation Gadzhi Rabadanov \u00a0mixes it up with Tracy Reeder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>PFL Tampa Main Event<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of her illustrious career, <a href=\"https:\/\/mmasucka.com\/..\/..\/news\/cris-cyborg-throws-retirement-plans-into-question-with-ronda-rousey-fight-tease\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cyborg<\/a> has racked up an incredible list of accolades that would be envied by any competitor, which include the Bellator and UFC women\u2019s featherweight straps, and even the Women&#8217;s International Boxing Association\u2019s light middleweight title. With nothing left to prove as a fighter, the 41-year old leaves behind a legacy that will only be supplemented further if she can retain her throne Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>Previously embarking on a massive warpath through the UFC\u2019s female bantamweight division, <a href=\"https:\/\/mmasucka.com\/..\/..\/news\/ketlen-vieira-calls-out-ufc-after-unbelievable-cut-while-others-below-her-level-remain\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vieira<\/a> was almost immediately picked up by the PFL upon her departure from the former. Still eager to have world championship gold wrapped around her waist, \u201cFen\u00f4meno\u201d enters PFL Tampa with one goal on her mind: win the 145-lb belt no matter the cost.<\/p>\n<p>PFL Tampa Co-Main Event<\/p>\n<p>Standing among the most dominant figures in the sport fighting out of Makhachkala, <a href=\"https:\/\/mmasucka.com\/..\/..\/predictions\/mmasucka-staff-picks-pfl-9-20205-betting-predictions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rabadanov <\/a>has buzzsawed his way into international fame during his time with the PFL. Securing wins over Jay-Jay Wilson, Kevin Lee, and Brent Primus, the American Kickboxing Academy product is considered one of the preeminent lightweights in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Initially suffering a three-contest skid in 2024,<a href=\"https:\/\/mmasucka.com\/..\/..\/news\/fac-18-results\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Reeder <\/a>has since seemingly reinvented himself as an athlete, rattling off five straight victories in a row. Earning a coveted co-main event showcase at PFL Tampa, the Oklahoma competitor poses a very real threat to his veteran foe, as all of his triumphs during his winning streak have all ended via finish.<\/p>\n<p>More Bouts On PFL Tampa Main Card<\/p>\n<p>Also on the main card, Taila Santos battles Sabrinna de Sousa. Also, Luke Trainer tests himself against Roland Dunlap.<\/p>\n<p>PFL Tampa Predictions and Staff Picks<\/p>\n<p>MMASucka staff picks are composed of four of the world\u2019s leading mixed martial arts organizations: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufc.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ultimate Fighting Championship<\/a> (UFC), the <a href=\"https:\/\/pflmma.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Professional Fighters League<\/a> (PFL), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onefc.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ONE Championship<\/a> (ONE FC), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufc.com\/dwcs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dana White\u2019s Contender Series<\/a> (DWCS).<\/p>\n<p>UFC picks will include main card fights ranging from four to six matchups per event.<\/p>\n<p>PFL picks from main cards for pay-per-views and from tournament fights in the Regular Season, Playoffs, and Finals.<\/p>\n<p>ONE FC and DWCS picks will feature all MMA fights from the event with a minimum of three matchups.<\/p>\n<p>Staff picks in 2025 were won by Hank Strandberg with a record of 216-119.<\/p>\n<p>Find our PFL Tampa picks and fight odds below.<\/p>\n<p>Staff records after UFC 330:<\/p>\n<p>1. Hank Strandberg: 144-65<\/p>\n<p>2. Frazer Krohn: 117-82<\/p>\n<p>3. Drew Zuhosky: 105-106<\/p>\n<p>4. Andrew Benjamin: 27-23<\/p>\n<p>*Note \u2013 not all staff pick for every event*<\/p>\n<p>Luke Trainer -400<br \/>\nVs.<br \/>\nRoland Dunlap +300<br \/>\nLIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT<\/p>\n<p>Hank Strandberg: Trainer by First Round Submission<\/p>\n<p>Drew Zuhosky: Trainer Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Frazer Krohn: Trainer Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Trainer: 3<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Dunlap: 0<\/p>\n<p>Taila Santos -160<br \/>\nVs.<br \/>\nSabrinna de Sousa +140<br \/>\nWOMEN\u2019S FLYWEIGHT<\/p>\n<p>Hank Strandberg: Santos by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Drew Zuhosky: Santos by Unanimous Decision <\/p>\n<p>Frazer Krohn: Santos by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Santos: 3<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking de Sousa: 0<\/p>\n<p>Gadzhi Rabadanov -3700<br \/>\nVs.<br \/>\nTracy Reeder +1396<br \/>\nLIGHTWEIGHT<\/p>\n<p>Hank Strandberg: Rabadanov by First Round Knockout <\/p>\n<p>Drew Zuhosky: Rabadanov by First Round Knockout<\/p>\n<p>Frazer Krohn: Reeder by Unanimous Decision <\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Rabadanov: 2<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Reeder: 1<\/p>\n<p>Cris Cyborg -400<br \/>\nVs.<br \/>\nKetlen Vieira +316<br \/>\nWOMEN\u2019S FEATHERWEIGHT<\/p>\n<p>Hank Strandberg: Cyborg by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Drew Zuhosky: Cyborg by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n<p>Frazer Krohn: Cyborg by Third Round Knockout <\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Cyborg: 3<\/p>\n<p>Staff picking Vieira: 0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PFL Tampa takes place Saturday night. Our staff picks are in, so who did our writers choose this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,49041,786,48251,323298,28778,785,5963,85,426067,408067],"class_list":["post-864209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cris-cyborg","tag-fighting","tag-gadzhi-rabadanov","tag-ketlen-vieira","tag-lightweight","tag-mma","tag-pfl","tag-sports","tag-tracy-reeder","tag-womens-featherweight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}