Highlights! Bloody Cyborg Makes History, Wins Another World Title

Cris Cyborg made her highly-anticipated debut inside the Professional Fighters League (PFL) SmartCage earlier today (Sat., Oct. 19, 2024), facing off against the promotion’s women’s Featherweight champion, Larissa Pacheco, in the co-main event of the massive PFL: “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) event.

And she didn’t disappoint.

Cyborg — Bellator MMA’s reigning 145-pound champion — came out less aggressive to start things off, a level of respect shown to the ever-dangerous Pacheco. One minute into the fight, though, Cyborg secured a massive takedown to get side control. Once on the feet, Cyborg landed a huge head kick on the champion, which she absorbed pretty well before ultimately getting taken down once more. Still, Pacheco found some success on the feet, cutting Cyborg above both eyes, though the Bellator champion did enough to win the first round.

In round two, Pacheco once again proved that she wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with the fearsome striker, as evident by the damage she caused on the Bellator champion’s face in round one. Much to the surprise of many, Pacheco was the one walking down Cyborg, though she was eventually taken down once more halfway through the round.

In round three, Cyborg was really playing it smart, refusing to engage even when Pacheco was doing her best Max Holloway impression to take the center of the cage for a full-on striking battle. Instead, the multiple-time champion stood back and stuck to her calm attack.

Eventually, though, it was Pacheco who was able to secure a takedown to win the round.

Once in the championship rounds, Pacheco looked the fresher fighter, while Cyborg looked a bit hesitant to engage. Once the striking exchanges eventually wound down, it was Pacheco who was landing most of the punches, while Cyborg was content trying to utilize her kicks. It was a very close round that saw both women enjoy success in the striking department.

Heading into the fifth and final round, the fight was up for grabs and a dominant showing would’ve likely locked down the win because the score was 2-2 on our scorecards. As expected, the action slowed down a bit because both ladies had already given all they could in the first four rounds. Cyborg, though, managed to get a second wind and pushed the pace, eventually taking down Pacheco momentarily.

Once on the feet, neither one of the combatants imposed their wills, though Cyborg’s face showed it was Pacheco getting the best of her on the feet throughout the first 20 minutes. In the end, the judges felt Cyborg had done enough to get the unanimous decision.

Checkout some of the highlights below:

With the win over Pacheco — a former PFL two-division champion — Cyborg makes history by winning her fifth title in as many promotions by securing the first-ever PFL women’s Super Fight title, all while improving her overall MMA record to 28-2-1.

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