PFL Photo
KEY POINTS
- Kayla Harrison suffers first loss in MMA career
- Larissa Pacheco avenges prior losses to Harrison
- Six new champions have been crowned in the 2022 PFL finale
Larissa Pacheco has done the seemingly impossible.
On Friday, November 25, the Brazilian striker outworked two-time champion Kayla Harrison to win by unanimous decision and become the season’s PFL women’s lightweight champion and take home a million-dollar payday.
Pacheco outstruck Harrison and held her own in the grappling department over the course of the five-round contest, even threatening a submission of her own in the third round.
After the five-round war, the judges awarded the contest to Pacheco, 48-47, across the cards.
The biggest win of Pacheco’s career, she finally avenged her two previous losses to Harrison.
For Harrison, on the other hand, this was obviously the toughest fight of her career and her first defeat in 16 professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts.
PFL Photo
The co-main event featured one of the night’s most anticipated matchups, as Manchester, England’s Brendan Loughnane defeated Bubba Jenkins to capture the PFL featherweight championship.
In the other championship contests, Ante Delija stopped Matheus Scheffel again to become the heavyweight champion, while Olivier Aubin-Mercier scored a scintillating one-punch knockout over Stevie Ray to claim the lightweight title.
League veteran Sadibou Sy finally claimed gold as he dominated Dilano Taylor to become the welterweight champion, whereas Robert Wilkinson knocked out Omari Akhmedov to bring home the light heavyweight championship.
The affair also saw the league debut of former UFC standout Aspen Ladd, who defeated women’s MMA pioneer Julia Budd by split decision in a women’s featherweight contest.
Marlon Moraes, another league debutant, wasn’t as fortunate as he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Sheymon Moraes.
Former two-time league champion Natan Schulte was also impressive as he choked out UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens with an arm-triangle submission in the second round.
PFL Photo
Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, opened the card with a 45-second knockout of Tom Graesser in an amateur lightweight bout.
See the full list of results below:
MAIN CARD
- PFL Women’s Lightweight Championship: Larissa Pacheco def. Kayla Harrison by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- PFL Featherweight Championship: Brendan Loughnane def. Bubba Jenkins by TKO (strikes) 2:38, Round 4
- PFL Heavyweight Championship: Ante Delija def. Matheus Scheffel by TKO (punches) 2:50, Round 1
- Aspen Ladd def. Julia Budd by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- PFL Lightweight Championship: Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Stevie Ray by KO (punch) 4:40, Round 2
- PFL Welterweight Championship: Sadibou Sy def. Dilano Taylor by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- PFL Light Heavyweight Championship: Robert Wilkinson def. Omari Akhmedov by TKO (doctor stoppage) 5:00, Round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Sheymon Moraes def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (punches) 0:58, Round 3
- Natan Schulte def. Jeremy Stephens by Submission (arm-triangle choke) 1:32, Round 2
- Magomed Magomedkerimov def. Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dakota Ditcheva def. Katherine Corogenes by KO (punches) 4:20, Round 1
- Biaggio Ali Walsh def. Tom Graesser by TKO (punches) 0:45, Round 1
