Larissa Pacheco, riding a ten-fight win streak, anticipates criticism even if she defeats MMA legend Cris Cyborg in their highly anticipated PFL bout, but remains focused on proving herself and making the fight a historic event.
Cris Cyborg is one of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA history. But Larissa Pacheco still expects some fans and experts to downplay her feat if she beats her fellow Brazilian countrywoman in the co-main event of PFL’s Oct. 19 pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pacheco enters the match riding 10 straight victories. This run includes PFL championship wins in two different weight classes and a 2022 decision win over Kayla Harrison.
“I think this [Cyborg fight] gives a gigantic push to my career,” Pacheco told MMA Fighting. “Beating her, when I beat her, they’ll still say, ‘Oh, it’s easy now, Larissa is nine years younger than Cris.’ They’ll always have excuses for my wins.”
“But I couldn’t care less,” she added. “What matters is to go there and win and prove it to myself. I have nothing to prove to anyone else. No one pays my bills and I don’t owe anyone anything.”
Harrison, who’s likely one win away from a shot at the UFC bantamweight title after dominating Holly Holm in her octagon debut, has only lost once in MMA. That loss came at the hands of Pacheco.
Though the two-time PFL champion still went 1-2 over three contests against Harrison under the PFL banner, she hopes Harrison never loses again.
“I want her to be champion, to continue to grow, and everything goes well in her life, and she only has one [loss] there,” Pacheco said with a laugh. “‘Larissa! Larissa!’ Echoing forever in her head.”
Cyborg has won six straight MMA bouts since leaving UFC in 2019. She has also picked up four wins in boxing.
Pacheco admits she wondered if PFL would ever get this fight done after some delays. But she kept training for months hoping it would eventually materialize.
“[This fight] is not a dream for me,” she said. “It’s not something I’ve looked up to my entire career because she wasn’t even in the PFL until this year.”
“But a friend of mine reminded me that she told me, seven years ago, that she was a fan of Cyborg,” Pacheco continued. “And I told her we’d be fighting one day. And it’s happening now.”
“We have an idea of how the fight will play out, but we never know for sure,” she continued. “We have a similar style; we’re both aggressive and walk forward the entire time, no turning back.”
“For some people, it’s like a lottery,” Pacheco mused. “Who goes down first? I don’t know; it’s hard to say.”
“But all I know is that we’ll both give our all in there,” she concluded. “Cris has a unique style and will do everything she can to win, so it’s going to be a historic fight.”