Pacheco: Cyborg Was Never My Dream Fight

Cris Cyborg will finally get her chance to make her long-awaited Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut on Oct. 29, 2024 when she goes toe-to-toe with the promotion’s reigning women’s featherweight champion, Larissa Pacheco, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It will by Cyborg’s first-fight since dismantling Cat Zingano at Bellator 300 in Oct. 2023 (see it again here), while Pacheco was last seen defeating Marina Mokhnatkina at the finals of the 2023 PFL tournament.

For Pacheco — who is on a 10-fight win streak — facing Cyborg is a huge challenge and would catapult her career, but admits that facing her was never exactly a “dream” because she knew the chances of them ever facing one another were slim since they could never really get in the same organization.

“[This fight] is not a dream for me, it’s not something I’ve looked up to my entire career because she wasn’t even in the PFL until this year,” Pacheco said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “But a friend of mine reminded me that she told me, seven years ago, that she was a fan of Cyborg, and I told her we’d be fighting one day. And it’s happening now.”

Pacheco — who has two big wins over Kayla Harrison — says she knows if she defeats Cyborg the excuses are sure to come up, but it’s something she says won’t bother her since opinions are everywhere. All she knows is that fight fans are in for a treat when the two aggressive strikers throw down.

“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. 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. Cris has an unique style and will do everything she can to win, so it’s going to be a historic fight.”

Headlining the “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) fight card will be a heavyweight showdown between PFL champion, Renan Ferreira, and former UFC 265-pound title holder, Francis Ngannou, who will also be making his debut for the promotion.