Summer of Violence – Rematch Season: PFL, UFC, and More

Overtime Heroics Editorial

302 days ago

Closing out the Summer of Violence is PFL rematch season, as we get four huge rematches in the last week of August! Moving on from only the second 100% finish rate UFC card in the modern era, as Jamahal Hill does what Jon Jones, Magomed Ankalaev, and Johnny Walker could not as he finished Thiago Santos in the fourth round.

Moving past this week"s cards into the later half of August, Week 4 of DWCS features undefeated Cage Warriors alum, Jack Cartwright aims for the big leagues as he takes on Jose Johnson. Johnson is making his second run at the Contender Series, having lost a UD back in the 2020 Season against Ronnie Lawrence.

August 20th carries the month on its shoulders, as we see KSW 73 going down in Warsaw, PFL Playoffs head to London, and UFC 278 tops off the weekend, and kicks off rematch season with Usman vs. Edwards II in Salt Lake City, Utah.

While the KSW card lacks much name value, these KSW cards always entertain. However, it"s the perfect lead-in to the PFL Playoffs: Featherweights and Women"s Lightweights. Kayla Harrison returns to the site of her first Olympic Gold Medal victory in Judo, eager to secure her place in the PFL Finals, as she takes on Martina Jindrova. The hometown hero, Brendan Loughnane also hopes to punch his ticket for a chance at the $1M prize money and the PFL Championship as he takes on Chris Wade.

Rematch Season!

UFC 278 promises a PPV card stacked from top to bottom with UFC talent, and kicks off a week of rematches! Brother of UFC Flyweight Champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, Francisco returns to action against Amir Albazi, while WSW Miranda Maverick hopes to “top" Shanna Young.

The Main Card features what has to be a #1 Contender Bout between former UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo, and Serra Longo trained Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili is on a seven-fight streak, which may see him make the pound-for-pound top 15, and trains with Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling.

The long awaited middleweight bout between former Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold, and absolute unit, Paulo Costa will serve as the Co-Main Event. This bout could have huge implications for the future of the Middleweight Division, as a win for either man could see them in a title eliminator, or even title challenge in their next bout. Costa lost his last bout to Marvin Vettori after severely missing weight due to an alleged injury, while Rockhold has been out of action since a botched move to 205 saw him flatlined by Jan Blachowicz.

The Main Event scarcely needs an introduction as a rematch seven years in the making, as P4P King Kamaru Usman aims to defend his Welterweight Title against Leon Edwards, who is 9-0-1NC since losing to Usman. Both fighters have grown immensely since their last bout, but who has grown more?

ONE Ring to Rule Them All

Before we get to one of the most anticipated cards of the summer and rematch season proper, we have Week 5 of DWCS, which sees undefeated heavyweights Eduardo Neves and Michael Parkin slug it out for the opportunity at a UFC contract.

Closing out the month on August 26 and 27 are ONE 160 and ONE on Prime Video 1. Each card is topped with highlights of rematch season, all with titles on the line. The former features Ok Rae Yoon taking on Christian Lee following their razor-close first bout that saw Rae Yoon take the belt from Lee. The Co-Main features Featherweight Champion Thanh Lee defending his belt against Tang Kai.

The next day, ONE Championship makes its debut on Prime Video, as the greatly anticipated rematch between former UFC Flyweight Champion and divisional GOAT, Demetrious Johnson and reigning ONE Champion, Adriano Moraes. Reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Champion, Rodtang Jitmuangnon also returns to action against Savvas Michael. Do not miss this card.