It appears that Larissa
Pacheco, not Kayla
Harrison, will be Cristiane
Justino’s first opponent on the heels of Professional Fighters
League’s
acquisition of Bellator MMA.
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Pacheco became the first two-division champion in PFL history when
she defeated Marina
Mokhnatkina in their featherweight final on Friday night in
Washington, D.C. “Cyborg,” meanwhile, is coming off a first-round
stoppage of Cat Zingano
in a 145-pound title defense at Bellator 300.
Although Harrison has long been mentioned as an opponent for
“Cyborg,” PFL founder Donn Davis believes it makes more sense for
Pacheco to face Justino first. While Bellator will continue to run
separately in 2024, it was announced that there will also be a
champions vs. champions event featuring both promotions. That could
be the ideal time to book Pacheco vs. Justino. In the meantime,
Harrison vs. “Cyborg” isn’t off the table — it will just be planned
for a later date.
“It’s champ vs. champ,” Davis told media following the PFL
Championship event (video via
MMAjunkie.com). “Larissa has earned that. But will Cris then
fight Kayla in 2024? One hundred percent. That is going to happen.
Cris will have two fights in 2024, Kayla will have two fights in
2024, and one of those will be Cris against Kayla. We think that
Larissa has earned that.
“Once again, you have to do champ vs. champ. Cris is the champ of
Bellator. Larissa is the champ here. We have to see that fight
happen first. Coming out of that, you’ll see Cris Cyborg vs.
Kayla
Harrison as the next fight in 2024.”
After spending the majority of this past year on the sidelines,
Harrison enjoyed a successful return at the PFL Championships,
where she took a three-round verdict over Aspen Ladd
in a 150-pound catchweight affair. Davis says that Harrison will
remain active, even if Pacheco vs. “Cyborg” is booked as
planned.
“We will develop a plan for her in the meantime,” Davis said.
“Kayla has earned the right to fight the best, and we’ll make sure
that she’s happy, and she has really, really good fights.”