Larissa
Pacheco proved the doubters wrong in 2022 when she upset
Kayla
Harrison to win the Professional Fighters League lightweight
crown.
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Now she’s the odds-on favorite to become a two-division champion
heading into a featherweight semifinal matchup against Olena
Kolesnyk at PFL 8 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in
New York on Friday night. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and
ESPN+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
“Winning the belt and championship last year was my way of proving
that I was right, that I should not have given up on my dream. I’m
so happy I didn’t,” Pacheco said during a PFL media day. “This is
the continuation of me building a legacy, me writing my name in the
MMA history books.”
The first task at hand is to improve to 3-0 against Kolesnyk, whom
Pacheco has already defeated twice via first-round stoppage. While
some might want to draw parallels to Pacheco’s breakthrough against
Harrison in their trilogy last year, the Brazilian doesn’t see
it.
“I don’t really see the evolution in Olena as I brought to the
table my third fight against Kayla,” Pacheco said. “I’m not
necessarily worried about what she brings to the table … I’m not
(underestimating) her, which I think is what happened in my third
fight against Kayla. I think she [Harrison] thought she was going
to cruise right through me.”
Pacheco, who is in the midst of an eight-fight winning streak in
PFL, claims that a big part of her success is her preparation. No
matter the situation, she never overlooks an opponent.
“Part of the secret behind all of this is the way I’ve treated all
my opponents,” she said. “I’ve treated every single one of them
equally with the same respect, and I’ve prepared for them with the
same intensity.”
If Pacheco wins the PFL featherweight championship as expected, she
will be one of the league’s biggest stars. The next agenda would be
finding more opponents to keep her engaged. One name floated her
way was boxing champion Claressa
Shields, who recently re-signed with PFL.
“I’ve never picked opponents and I’m not gonna start doing it now,”
Pacheco said. “I’m up for a challenge, I’m up for a big name and a
big fight. Kayla was the main name. I’ve been able to check that
box out. If Claressa is an option, I’d love to test myself against
her as well. I think that’d be a great fight.”