The PFL made a massive announcement this morning when they announced a Super Fights event that will go down on October 19th. The main event will feature former UFC champion Francis Ngannou taking on last year’s heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira. However, the co-main event that was announced is also massive.
Arguably the two best women’s MMA fighters in the world will finally collide as Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (27-2) will be taking on 2022 lightweight and 2023 featherweight PFL champion Larissa Pacheco (23-4). This is a fight that’s been months in the making after the PFL purchased Bellator at the end of last year.
Starting with Pacheco, she has drastically risen to the top of the MMA world over the past few years. After an early stint with the UFC, Pacheco moved over to the PFL in 2019. In her first season, she lost to Kayla Harrison in the first fight, but made it to the world championships where she lost to Kayla Harrison once again.
In 2021 when she returned, she won her first two fights by first round knockout and looked like she was on a collision course with Harrison again. However, missing weight cost her that opportunity. In 2022, Pacheco looked visibly leaner and she looked way more dedicated. She ran through her first three opponents by first round finish leading her back to Harrison.
Harrison had never lost but Pacheco defeated her over five rounds to become the lightweight champion. The next year, the PFL had a featherweight season and Pacheco dropped in weight. She won a decision in her first fight but followed that up with two straight first round finishes. A dominant decision win in the finals cemented her as a two-time champion.
PFL Super Fight
Cris Cyborg will make her Professional Fighters League debut in October and she’ll look to capture the Super Fight championship that will be on the line. If she’s able to do that, she would have successfully captured a world championship in every major organization that she’s ever fought in.
Cyborg rose to stardom in Strikeforce where she became a world champion. Then, she moved to Invicta where she became a world champion. The UFC finally brought her in and she became their featherweight champion. She lost that title to Amanda Nunes and then left for Bellator after her contract was up.
In her Bellator debut, she knocked out Julia Budd to become the featherweight champion. During her time with Bellator, she’s defended her title five times. However, since the PFL acquisition, there’s been some frustration in getting this fight booked. Cyborg actually has boxed twice this year while waiting for this matchup with Pacheco to materialize. Now, it’s officially signed and we are going to see a helluva matchup.