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Jeff Wagenheim, ESPN
Liz Carmouche missed the flyweight limit for Friday’s PFL playoff semifinal bout with Taila Santos, and it complicates her bid to advance to the final.
Carmouche, who is also the Bellator MMA champion, tipped the scale at 127 pounds — two pounds over the limit — at Thursday’s weigh-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to surrendering 20% of her purse to Santos, Carmouche also will be deducted one point on the judges’ scorecards — not in the official athletic commission result but for the PFL’s playoff advancement purposes.
Should the three-round bout end with Carmouche winning 29-28 on the scorecards, the PFL would treat it as a 28-28 draw and Santos would advance to the fall finale because she made weight. For Carmouche to advance, she would need a knockout, submission or scorecards lopsided enough in her favor to withstand the point deduction.
Three other fighters on the 10-bout card also missed weight, but none of the others is competing in the two heavyweight and two women’s flyweight semis. The main card fights are on ESPN and ESPN+.
Carmouche, 40, had never missed weight in 29 previous fights.