Cris Cyborg made MMA history on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
In the PFL Super Fights pay-per-view co-main event, Cyborg scored a unanimous decision win over Larissa Pacheco (49-46×3). The win earned Cyborg a world championship in her fifth organization.
We’ve seen Cyborg mow down opponents throughout her career. That wasn’t the case on Saturday against Pacheco. Cyborg had to fight through bad cuts over both eyes and a surge from Pacheco in the third round. However, Cyborg showed a more well-rounded MMA approach, leaning on some powerful takedowns in the first two rounds and some hard, significant strikes.
In particular, Cyborg landed a huge head kick in the first round, which Pacheco ate without going down. The MMA media members reacted on social media after Cyborg’s victory.
ESPN MMA paid homage to Cyborg for her big win.
Jon “Bones” Jones also praised Cyborg, calling her an “OG.”
MMA journalist Nina Drama also took to X to show her appreciation for Cyborg’s accomplishments.
Pacheco made an excellent account of herself in the fight. She would have likely had enough to beat most featherweights in the world, but unfortunately, she ran into an all-time great who still has a lot left in the tank.
Cyborg says she has three more fights left in her career and plans to fight again in February in Dubai. Her opponent hasn’t been announced, but it seems the Professional Fighters League will attempt to find Cyborg a formidable opponent to face the legend.
The issue the PFL may have is that there aren’t many options at 145 pounds in women’s MMA. That’s a big reason why the UFC doesn’t have the division. Had Kayla Harrison not left the organization to go to the UFC, and to compete in the bantamweight division, the organization would have a natural opponent for Cyborg in February.
As it is, undefeated Australian Sara Collins might be the best option the PFL has for an opponent for Cyborg if it is looking at fighters currently signed under the organization’s umbrella.
Aside from Collins, the PFL might look to acquire the services of a bantamweight fighter with some level of notoriety who will soon be a free agent from another organization. A hefty payday and an opportunity to fight a legend might be an attractive offer.
Here is a look at all of the results from the PFL’s Super fights PPV, which also saw Francis Ngannou score a vicious first-round KO win in his return to MMA.
- Francis Ngannou defeats Renan Ferreira via first-round KO
- Cris Cyborg defeats Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46×3)
- Johnny Eblen defeats Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47×3)
- Zafar Mohsen defeats Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Paul Hughes defeats AJ McKie via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
