Olena Kolesnyk recaps PFL 2022 season, previews ‘title winning’ 2023 campaign
Olena Kolesnyk joins Lenny March this week to recap her PFL 2022 season and look ahead at the 2023 season.
First and foremost, thank you to the PFL for setting it up.
Olena (7-5-1), had a good run in 2022 for the PFL making it to the semi-final. Her run to the semi-final consisted of wins over Abby Montes and former UFC fighter Vanessa Melo.
In the semi-final she suffered defeat to Larissa Pacheco in London, England.
I asked Olena what she thought about her 2022 season in PFL:
“I am so obsessed with my MMA career; I am even training just in case someone can’t fight in November.
I beat really good girls. Next time I will be much smarter and not let the fight go to the judges. I will try and kill them in the first and second round. I missed out on an alternate spot by one point.”
Olena was excited about the 2023 season already and is looking to make it to the final and become champion:
“I will be ready for both (featherweight or lightweight) of them, which one doesn’t matter. I will have the belt, which weight class I don’t care.
I have responsibility for myself, I do not care about them, I want to kill them. I want the belt and that is it.”
PFL will debut their new featherweight division in 2023 and Olena wouldn’t mind returning back to the weight class:
“Well, I look hot in 145…I think better for my fans that I lose a little bit of fat. We Ukrainians like to cook, and we like to eat so that is not easy. If the belt is at 145 it will be 145.”
Unfortunately, It has been a very difficult year for Olena and her home-country of Ukraine, Olena fled her home land during the war to proceed with her MMA career:
“This is about me and Ukrainian people, this is all about who we are and we are showing it in the war. We are never going to give up.
I started my career in 2016, I am in a great team and everything has changed in my life. My parents, friends and boy sin the army texted me that I am an inspiration for them, It was not an easy decision to leave my family but this is my dream.
This is how I’m choosing to speak, I can use my words to represent Ukraine. If I wasn’t (Las Vegas) here i would be ready to fight for Ukraine with my people.”
Please help support Ukraine any way you can here.
Thank you for reading, if you like it and want to listen to the rest please click here.
We speak:
– PFL 2022 Season
– Visiting London
– 145 or 155?
– Aspen Ladd
– PFL 2023 Season
Once again, thank you to the PFL for helping set this up.
Check out their next event on November 25th, PFL Championships 2022.
