Kayla Harrison’s move to the UFC is a positive thing for Larissa Pacheco. With the former PFL fighter no longer in her way, the champ can now be certain she’ll be the lone choice for the promotion to pair with Cris Cyborg.
Pacheco had a huge success last November at the 2023 PFL Championship when she defeated Marina Mokhnatkina via a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46). This followed her 2022 win, allowing her to capture the attention of the promotion and set her up against Cyborg. After the Bellator acquisition, the company announced prioritizing the Cyborg vs. Pachecho fight over Harrison, who earlier called out the Bellator fighter. While this sounded like an assurance for Pacheco, the plan seemingly pivoted over the past few weeks, with both her and Cyborg not included in the PFL vs. Bellator event next month in Riyadh.
In the past weeks, news about Cyborg and Harrison being arranged for a fight also surfaced, further making the position uncertain for Pacheco, who admitted feeling “frustrated” about it. Then, UFC CEO Dana White announced that the promotion signed Harrison, who is now expected to join its UFC 300 event in April. While many were shocked by the news, this means good news for Pacheco as the PFL no longer has any other options for Cyborg other than her.
“It was supposed to happen anyway,” Pacheco told MMA Junkie in an interview. “I put the work in here. I won it two times. I am the champion. It’s supposed to be champion-vs-champion. … I think this just establishing the correct way things should be, because I am the champion, and it’s champion-vs-champion.”
The news came the same week the PFL announced the changes in its women’s division in the league season format. According to the company, it will replace its women’s featherweight division with women’s flyweight division in the 2024 PFL season. In line with this, Pacheco and others who are featherweight will join the events of the promotion outside its season.
