Larissa Pacheco Wants to Continue Building Legacy By Winning PFL Featherweight Title

Larissa Pacheco proved the doubters wrong in 2022 when she upset Kayla Harrison to win the Professional Fighters League lightweight crown.

Now she’s the odds-on favorite to become a two-division champion heading into a featherweight semifinal matchup against Olena Kolesnyk at PFL 8 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday night. The evening’s main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

“Winning the belt and championship last year was my way of proving that I was right, that I should not have given up on my dream. I’m so happy I didn’t,” Pacheco said during a PFL media day. “This is the continuation of me building a legacy, me writing my name in the MMA history books.”

The first task at hand is to improve to 3-0 against Kolesnyk, whom Pacheco has already defeated twice via first-round stoppage. While some might want to draw parallels to Pacheco’s breakthrough against Harrison in their trilogy last year, the Brazilian doesn’t see it.

“I don’t really see the evolution in Olena as I brought to the table my third fight against Kayla,” Pacheco said. “I’m not necessarily worried about what she brings to the table … I’m not (underestimating) her, which I think is what happened in my third fight against Kayla. I think she [Harrison] thought she was going to cruise right through me.”

Pacheco, who is in the midst of an eight-fight winning streak in PFL, claims that a big part of her success is her preparation. No matter the situation, she never overlooks an opponent.

“Part of the secret behind all of this is the way I’ve treated all my opponents,” she said. “I’ve treated every single one of them equally with the same respect, and I’ve prepared for them with the same intensity.”

If Pacheco wins the PFL featherweight championship as expected, she will be one of the league’s biggest stars. The next agenda would be finding more opponents to keep her engaged. One name floated her way was boxing champion Claressa Shields, who recently re-signed with PFL.

“I’ve never picked opponents and I’m not gonna start doing it now,” Pacheco said. “I’m up for a challenge, I’m up for a big name and a big fight. Kayla was the main name. I’ve been able to check that box out. If Claressa is an option, I’d love to test myself against her as well. I think that’d be a great fight.”