PFL 2025 World Tournament Dark Horse: Ekaterina Shakalova

The Professional Fighters League will see three more tournament finals set at PFL 2025 World Tournament 6 on Friday at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Semifinal showdowns in the men’s bantamweight, women’s flyweight and men’s lightweight divisions are set to take center stage, meaning more dark horses could emerge and set themselves up for shots at tournament titles.

Fresh off a quarterfinal stunner, Ukraine’s Ekaterina Shakalova looks to extend her upset trail into the next round. After defeating former Bellator MMA champion Juliana Velasquez in the quarterfinals, Shakalova now sets her sights on Jena Bishop—a playoff contender from a year ago. Prior to coming over to the PFL, Shakalova went 1-1 in two fights in Bellator, but in her first action with the new promotion, she made an immediate impact. Though she entered as a heavy betting underdog, Shakalova picked up a first-round submission over Velasquez and made an emphatic statement that she was championship material.

Any fight that goes to the ground should immediately be considered in Shakalova’s favor, as five of her nine career victories have come by submission. Leading into the tournament, Shakalova made it a point to emphasize that she wanted to showcase her elite wrestling and prove that she was the best women’s wrestler in the flyweight division, which would allow her to fight to her strengths. Her first tournament bout went according to plan.

The matchup against Bishop gets interesting when the fight does hit the ground, as the American is well-known for her Brazilian jiu-jitsu expertise. It becomes a wrestler-versus-grappler showdown on the mat. Shakalova was an underdog coming into the competition, and as 2024 champion Dakota Ditcheva waits for more competition to arise, the Ukrainian finds herself just two wins away from a tournament title. That could conceivably lead to a future fight against Ditcheva.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the Semifinals of the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, June 20 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

Shakalova may have been a filler name to begin this tournament, but she has silenced all her critics and next faces and interesting matchup against Bishop with a spot in the women’s flyweight final on the line.