Larissa Pacheco has made it clear where she wants to be after her departure from the Professional Fighters League.<\/p>\n
The two-time PFL champion told MMA Fighting she was already in camp to rematch Julia Budd later this year when the company communicated to her they had changed plans and decided to let her walk free. According to Pacheco, her recent opponent Cris Cyborg is also partly to blame for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey reached out to me about a month ago saying they were going to send me a date, possibly against Julia Budd,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cSo we waited, and waited, and then they said they were no longer interested in doing another fight, in keeping the division going, and that they were releasing me. The reason they gave me was that there were no other fighters left. It was just me, [Sara Collins] who\u2019s fighting Cyborg now, who\u2019s 6\u20130, and Cyborg. I was supposed to fight Julia one more time, Cyborg would fight that girl. She\u2019d defend her title, and then I\u2019d have the chance for my rematch afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c[PFL] said Cyborg told them that if her last fight was against me, she\u2019d retire early, that she had no interest in fighting me again,\u201d she continued. \u201cSo I said, alright. That\u2019s what happened. They released me, even though I still had two fights left on my contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pacheco said she won\u2019t \u201cwaste my energy\u201d thinking about a possible lawsuit against PFL for allegedly owing her two bouts, but \u201cwe\u2019re seeing what\u2019s best to do and what path to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Cyborg\u2019s alleged decision to rather retire from the sport than face her a second time, Pacheco admits she\u2019s surprised. They went the distance in October 2024 for the PFL Superfight belt, and Cyborg left with the title. The defeat snapped Pacheco\u2019s 10-fight winning streak, a run that included victories over Budd and future UFC champion Kayla Harrison.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s her choice,\u201d Pacheco said of Cyborg\u2019s decision. \u201cBut there are several Instagram accounts and pages tied to her that keep saying I\u2019m crying on the internet, that I\u2019m complaining. It\u2019s not crying. I know I\u2019m capable of beating her, you know? What I wanted was the chance to prove it. I took her to five rounds. I think it\u2019s my right, and based on how that fight went. It was a great fight, she came out with the win, but I truly believe I could have a totally different outcome this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be an amazing fight not just for me and her, since she\u2019s nearing the end of her career, but for the fans too. What would be more meaningful, a rematch against me, or a fight against a 6\u20130 prospect? To look at a fight and say, \u2018Oh well, Cyborg\u2019s going to win,\u2019 or to actually appreciate MMA for what it is and elevate women\u2019s MMA? I believe a rematch with me would have much more value \u2014 not to take anything away from that girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pacheco admits she\u2019s expected to see PFL end the division eventually, especially after closing the 155-pound class following Harrison\u2019s departure to the UFC. Pacheco cut an extra 10 pounds to win another season in 2024, and has now been informed of no featherweight future at PFL.<\/p>\n
A free agent now and training alongside Amanda Nunes in Florida, Pacheco feels \u201cthere\u2019s no other place that makes sense for me\u201d but the UFC. \u201cThe Lioness\u201d is expected to return from retirement in 2026 to challenge Harrison for the bantamweight gold, and Pacheco would be returning to the UFC more than a decade after joining the promotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 19 years old when I first got into the UFC,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even have 10 percent of the resources I have now in terms of weight cutting, fight quality, everything. I was just a kid, and they threw me against two champions, Jessica [Andrade] and Germaine [de Randamie]. I was at the height of my innocence in the sport, just getting started. It\u2019s been 12 years since my last UFC fight. Look what I\u2019ve built since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019ll probably need to take a few fights outside and clean up my record,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut I\u2019ll do whatever it takes to show them that I belong in the UFC. To show I can deliver results, make the division exciting, and put on great fights. I\u2019m not embarrassed or afraid to take a few steps back if it helps me move forward and earn another shot in the UFC to show what I can really do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pacheco said that having a history with Harrison, a 1-2 run in PFL and now training Nunes for their historic clash, could get her a shot in the UFC despite the fact she\u2019s lost to Cyborg in her most recent match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s possible if they want to it,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cWe know it\u2019s not unrealistic. After all, I have a win over Kayla, Karol Rosa, Irene Aldana, and they\u2019re all top 10 fighters, including the current champion. But if I have to prove that I deserve to be there, that\u2019s fine. I\u2019m not even thinking about what advantages those wins might give me, I\u2019m focused on what I need to do to get there. I\u2019ll do everything I can to go back because I truly believe that\u2019s where I belong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve fought three times, I won the last one, and I think she\u2019s not too eager to see me again. But now that I\u2019m training with Amanda, who\u2019s her next opponent, I really believe the UFC is where I should be. That\u2019s where there are women my size, in my division. People say I can\u2019t make weight, but they\u2019re wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the hottest MMA free agents in MMA today, Pacheco sends a message to UFC CEO Dana White making her intent clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cDana, I\u2019m here, ready and willing,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cI\u2019m here to prove I have what it takes to be there, to deliver great results, to show a different Larissa. I was just a kid when I joined the UFC. I\u2019m mature now, I\u2019m structured, I can make weight and put on a show. I\u2019m ready to fight outside events too if I have prove to you, Dana and Mick [Maynard], the ones running things, that I\u2019m here. My partnership with Amanda only shows my strength as an athlete and how much I can contribute. I\u2019m here. Just call me. I\u2019m ready to step in, but if I have to prove myself, I\u2019m ready for that too. \u2026 That\u2019s my life goal right now. I\u2019ve achieved a lot already \u2014 now it\u2019s time to come back home, and hopefully soon, to fight for that UFC belt.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Larissa Pacheco has made it clear where she wants to be after her departure from the Professional Fighters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,701,638,1863,8417,82,640,702],"class_list":{"0":"post-248203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-latest-news","12":"tag-mma","13":"tag-pfl","14":"tag-pfl-news","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-ufc","17":"tag-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}