This past Friday night, the PFL hosted their second event of the 2023 regular season. Heavyweights and for the first time ever, the women’s featherweight division was in the spotlight including having the main event slot.
2022 PFL lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco (20-4) took on former Bellator champion Julia Budd (16-6) in the main event. Budd was much more game than I thought she’d be and Pacheco looked solid, but not as ferocious as we saw her in 2022. Perhaps the extra weight cut hurt the explosiveness.
Nevertheless, the 2022 lightweight champion looked very solid and even rocked Budd in the third round. The fight went the distance with Pacheco scoring the unanimous decision victory while Budd fell to just 1-3 in the promotion which includes losing her last three fights.
The main card also featured the second fight in the promotion for former top UFC contender Aspen Ladd (10-4). Ladd was a pretty big favorite over her opponent Olena Kolesnyk (8-5). Unfortunately, Ladd didn’t fight with enough urgency early on and let Kolesnyk get out to an early lead.
Ladd came on strong in the final round, but by that point, the fight had gotten away from her on the scorecards. A majority decision went to the Ukrainian featherweight while Ladd suffered her first PFL defeat.
PFL Heavyweights and Standings
In the co-main event of the evening, 2021 heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza (16-6) was looking for some revenge. He took on last year’s runner-up Matheus Scheffel (17-10) who bested him by decision during the regular season last year.
In addition to the loss to Scheffel, Cappelozza suffered an injury which dashed his hopes for winning the 2022 heavyweight title. He wanted to come right out and make a big statement and that’s what he did knocking out Scheffel in the first round earning him six points.
Maurice Greene (11-7) fought on the prelims and scored a second round TKO while Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1) won a decision over Renan Ferreira (9-4) in the featured prelim. Overall, it was a very solid second night for the PFL and they have their third event of the season coming up this weekend.
For a current view of the 2023 season standings, click here.