Larissa Pacheco unimpressed by Kayla Harrison’s ‘pretty average’ 2022 PFL debut

Larissa Pacheco has unfinished business with Kayla Harrison.

The Brazilian faced Harrison twice in 2019, dropping a pair of decisions – including a five-round defeat in the PFL lightweight final. Pacheco believes she is a far different fighter now than she was back then.

“The 2019 Larissa was the return of a person who had been off for multiple years, coming off injuries. Still hurt as a matter of fact,” Pacheco said at a PFL media day. “The 2022 Larissa is an athlete and she is fully prepared, not skipping a single training session. Great mental shape and great physical shape too.”

Pacheco kicked off her 2022 campaign with a bang, earning a first-round technical knockout victory over Zamzagul Fayzallanova at PFL 3 on May 6. That was Pacheco’s third straight first-round KO/TKO victory, and she will look to add to her resume when she faces Genah Fabian at PFL 6 on Friday night. Fabian is coming off a decision win over former PFL champ Julia Budd.

“It was a good fight, but Genah didn’t make weight. She was a lot heavier than Julia Budd that night. She started at a different point than Julia herself,” Pacheco said. “From my side, you can expect what you’ve been seeing in my last fights. It’s me putting in everything I have – full throttle all the time.”

Pacheco was an interested observer for Harrison’s first bout of the 2022 season, and she came away underwhelmed following the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s decision triumph over Marina Mokhnatkina in the evening’s main event.

“I actually watched the fight live that night. I wasn’t impressed,” Pacheco said. “It was what you always see from Kayla. It was her taking her opponents down, staying on top, heavy top position, strikes from there. In my opinion this is not what the people want to see. People want to see diversity in mixed martial arts. People want to see you giving all you got. They want to see different types of martial arts.. I feel like what we saw that day was pretty average. It’s not what the MMA fan wants to see.”

Pacheco won’t hide from the notion that a third meeting with Harrison is at the top of her to-do list. At the moment, Pacheco and Harrison would seem like the odds-on favorites to meet again in the 2022 PFL final.

“I see myself winning. I can see it in a couple different ways. I can see a big hand landing and knocking her out. I can see me submitting her,” Pacheco said. “I know for a fact she doesn’t like getting punched in the face and my hands are getting heavier by the day. I just simply do not see myself losing that fight. I truly feel like I’m a lot more complete mixed martial artist than she is.”

PFL 6 takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta on Friday and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Harrison and Kaitlin Young. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, while prelims will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.