<
>

Kamaka, Samad lose bouts after missing weight

Two fighters missed weight at PFL 4 weigh-ins Wednesday morning, leading to a pair of canceled bouts and one expelled fighter.

Zane Kamaka and Roberta Samad each missed weight ahead of their second fights of the PFL 2019 season. Kamaka weighed in at 171.8 pounds, 0.8 over the welterweight limit. It was his second missed weight in as many fights, so the PFL has removed him from the league for this year. Kamaka was scheduled to fight Andre Fialho on Thursday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but that bout is now off.

Samad weighed 156.6 pounds, 0.6 over the women's lightweight maximum. She was supposed to face Sarah Kaufman on Thursday night. The fight is now canceled.

As a result of the weight misses, both Fialho and Kaufman earn three points in the PFL 2019 division standings, the same amount they would have gotten for a decision victory.

In a tweeted video, Kaufman said she will still get the winner's purse from the PFL and expressed disappointment that she won't be fighting Thursday.

"I'm very disappointed that I won't be fighting," Kaufman said. "I'm a professional in this sport. I've been doing this sport for 13 years, I love what I do, and I really appreciate that the PFL values that."

Kaufman is sitting at nine points, atop the women's lightweight standings, and has clinched a playoff berth. She finished her first fight of the season in the first round in May. Kayla Harrison and Bobbi Jo Dalziel will need first-round finishes, worth six points, to tie Kaufman in first.

The top four fighters in the women's lightweight standings make the playoffs. Samad is stuck on three points after winning her first fight by decision and cannot control her own playoff destiny.

Fialho lost his first fight in May, so he is sitting on three points. He is in good playoff position, but he'll have to wait to see how PFL 4 plays out Thursday night before knowing if he is in or not. The top eight fighters in the welterweight standings make the playoffs.

PFL is headlined by defending welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov taking on Chris Curtis. In the co-headliner, Harrison, the former two-time Olympic judo champion, faces Morgan Frier.