Cris Cyborg put together an impressive five-round performance on Saturday night, walking away with a unanimous decision win against Larissa Pacheco in a champion-versus-champion matchup. The fight served as the co-main event for PFL’s pay-per-view event this week, “Battle of the Giants.”
Bellator champ Cyborg gained an early lead against two-time PFL season winner Pacheco, then was able to bounce back from a rough third round to take a scorecard nod and win one of the bigger fights that can be made in the women’s featherweight division.
Cyborg scored a perfectly-timed double-leg takedown early in the fight to take control on the ground. She landed one of her best shots of the fight as they returned to the feet, connecting with a clean head kick right after exiting a clinch. Pacheco pulled guard in an attempt to secure a guillotine choke later in the round, but Cyborg eventually slipped out of the hold and finished the opening frame in top control.
Despite having a successful opening round, it was already visible on Cyborg’s face that the win wouldn’t come easy. She already had a few cuts opened around her eyebrows due to shots from Pacheco, making it seem as if she had incurred more damage after five minutes. Cyborg continued to land the better shots in the second round, notably wobbling Pacheco with a leg kick and later also scoring with a hard backfist to the head.
Cyborg took Pacheco down halfway through the second round, setting her up to throw ground and pound from half guard for nearly two minutes.
The third round was easily the most successful for Pacheco, who was able to spend almost half of the round in control on the ground. She got the fight to the ground with a flashy sequence, catching a leg kick and then knocking Cyborg off-balance with a hard right cross to the head.
Cyborg was able to recover and have a solid final two rounds after a hiccup in the third. While not as aggressive as earlier in the fight, Cyborg scored with the better shots in stand-up exchanges to further her lead and secure a decision win.
The performance saw Cyborg prevail after what was likely her biggest test since exiting the UFC roster and joining Bellator in 2020. A fight between Cyborg and Pacheco was one of the major champion-versus-champion bouts missing from a “PFL vs. Bellator” card earlier this year and is one of the most notable women’s MMA matchups to make outside of the UFC.
Cyborg has now won eight consecutive fights, including six fights in her run as Bellator Featherweight Champion.
The five-round defeat put an end to the best streak of Pacheco’s career thus far. She became a back-to-back PFL champion over the past two years, handing Kayla Harrison her first pro loss in a lightweight tournament and then moving down to featherweight to win another bracket in 2023.
Here are the quick results for PFL’s pay-per-view card:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 11:00PM AST) (PPV)
Bout 9: Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:32) (PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via Decision, Unanimous (PFL Super Fights Featherweight Championship)
Bout 7: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards via Decision, Unanimous (Bellator Middleweight Championship)
Bout 6: Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Paul Hughes def. AJ McKee Jr. via Decision, Split
Preliminary Card (12:30PM EDT / 7:30PM AST) (ESPN+)
Bout 4: Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 3:01)
Bout 3: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 2, 3:51)
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