Cris Cyborg defeats Larissa Pacheco, wins superfight title at PFL: Battle of the Giants
Cris Cyborg makes history
The Professional Fighters League returns to us tonight, October 19, 2024, for PFL: Battle of the Giants, going down live from Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Headlining the event is a heavyweight affair between lineal UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) and PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira (13-3) 3 NC.
Co-headlining the event was a 145 lb encounter showcasing former Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, featherweight champion and current Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (28-2) 1 NC, who faced former PFL featherweight and lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco (23-5) in the co-main event of the evening.
Cyborg had won seven-straight fights since losing her UFC title to Amanda Nunes in 2018, the only belt she ever lost in a fight, and had also gone 4-0 in professional boxing competition since 2022.
Pacheco on the other hand came in on a 10-fight win streak, becoming the only woman to ever defeat 18-1 Kayla Harrison in 2022 with her claim of the PFL lightweight title.
Continue reading to see how this champion versus champion featherweight clash went down:
Official Result: Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Cyborg opened up the bout with a stiff jab, Pacheco soon after walking right into a perfectly timed double leg. Once she got back to her feet Cyborg caught her with a nasty head kick before again getting her back down to the mat where she ended the first in dominant position.
Pacheco started to bust Cyborg’s face up in the second, opening cuts over both of her eyes, though Cyborg continued to utilize her superior wrestling through much of it.
Pacheco had a much better third round, catching Cyborg on a few occasions, dropping her on one of which after catching a kick thrown her way and riding the remaining second half of the middle stretch on top of the multi-organization champion.
Round four was an even battle on the feet, each of them fighting with a measured approach and landing on one another here and there.
Cyborg appeared to be having a good fifth and final round, stuffing Pacheco’s lone takedown attempt and making her pay for it, though Pacheco had a strong finish to the fight.
This one was closer than the three scorecards may suggest. Nonetheless, Cris Cyborg adds yet another world champion to her long and legendary resume tonight at PFL: Battle of the Giants.
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