Vieira Misses Weight by 7.2 Pounds, Altering Cyborg's PFL Tampa Main Event

Ketlen Vieira missed the featherweight limit by 7.2 pounds at the PFL Tampa weigh-in, changing the terms of her main event against champion Cris Cyborg. Official Professional Fighters League results listed Vieira at 152.2 pounds and Cyborg at 145.0. The promotion said the fight will proceed on Saturday, August 22, as a 153-pound catchweight contest at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.

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The weight miss removes Vieira's chance to leave with the PFL women's featherweight championship. According to the promotion, Vieira is not eligible to win the title regardless of the result. Cyborg has agreed to vacate the championship if she loses, while a victory would allow her to remain champion. Those conditions mean the bout will not operate as a conventional title defense.

BBC Sport also reported the change after Friday's weigh-in, confirming that Cyborg's championship would not be awarded to Vieira. The fight itself remains on the card because Cyborg accepted the catchweight arrangement. Vieira had originally been booked to challenge at the 145-pound featherweight limit.

PFL listed Cyborg's professional record as 29-2 and Vieira's as 16-5. The promotion has described the appearance as Cyborg's final PFL fight. A win would be the 30th of her professional MMA career, but the organization has not changed the opponent or the scheduled five-round main-event position following the weigh-in issue.

The rest of the main card remained largely intact after the official weigh-in. Gadzhi Rabadanov registered 156.0 pounds for the lightweight co-main event, with opponent Tracy Reeder at 155.6. Taila Santos and Sabrinna de Sousa both made weight for their women's flyweight bout, while Luke Trainer and Roland Dunlap did so for their light-heavyweight contest.

One preliminary bout was removed for a separate weight-cutting issue. PFL said Florim Zendeli was unable to step on the scale, cancelling his scheduled fight with Omran Chaaban. Marcirley Alves also missed weight at 141.8 pounds for his bantamweight bout against Nkosi Ndebele, who weighed 140.4. The U.S. main card is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, following preliminaries on the ESPN App from 5:30 p.m.