After record-setting knockout, Larissa Pacheco sets sights on PFL title repeat

Larissa Pacheco wasted no time securing her spot in the PFL women’s featherweight final with a record-setting knockout, and it’s not a stretch to say the weigh-ins might’ve had something to do with it.

Pacheco (22-4) quickly and easily dispatched Olena Kolesnyk at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, needing just 14 seconds to knock her out in the co-main event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Pacheco’s third first-round knockout in as many fights with Kolesnyk (9-6), who was overmatched before the opening bell even rang.

Kolesnyk also came in to the fight overweight after she missed the 146-pound limit by almost 2 pounds, which didn’t sit well with Pacheco.

“Yes, it did (bother me) a lot, because the time when I missed weight, I got cut out of the tournament,” Pacheco said afterward. “Simply got cut out, didn’t have another chance. So, yeah, it bothered me. …

“In the weigh-in, I felt that she was a little bit unstable, and so I went in there and did what I had to do.”

Larissa Pacheco wasted NO TIME securing her spot in the women’s featherweight final with this record-setting finish last night at 2023 #PFLPlayoffs 2.

( @PFLMMA) pic.twitter.com/O0qavlWqbj

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 19, 2023

Pacheco, 28, is now on a nine-fight winning streak dating back to May 2021. Her 14-second knockout is now the fastest finish by a woman in PFL history, a record she’s proud to hold.

“I’m very happy,” Pacheco said. “We work very hard for this, for these moments, so I’m really excited and happy for them.”

Pacheco, who last year upset Kayla Harrison to win the women’s lightweight title, now has a date with Marina Mokhnatkina in the women’s featherweight final. Earlier Friday night, Mokhnatkina submitted Amber Leibrock with an armbar in Round 1 to punch her ticket to the PFL Championships in November. It’ll be the first time Pacheco and Mokhnatkina have faced off.

Pacheco said she plans to take a week off, enjoy eating some Brazilian barbeque, and relax a little before she gets back to business.

“I’m gonna keep on going,” Pacheco said. “I don’t take any fight as a given. I know that any opponent is always a tough opponent. I don’t take things for granted. I’m gonna keep on working hard.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.